FSU Basketball Reunion
By Jim Joanos
They will be reliving the past. FSU Men's Basketball is having a reunion on the weekend of February 1-2 in Tallahassee. Florida State's former men's basketball players have been invited to come back, spend some time with their former teammates and look around a bit. What will they talk about when they get together?
When did it start?
They might debate the issue of whether FSU men's basketball began in 1946-47 or 1947-48. Intercollegiate basketball was first played by male students attending Florida State during the 1946-47 school year. However, the team that played that year was not officially a "Florida State University" team. In that school year, the institution on Westcott Hill was still named the "Florida State College for Women" and had an all female student body. Attached to FSCW, for that one year was an entity known as the "Tallahassee Branch of the University of Florida". "TBUF", as it was called, consisted of a small administrative staff and approximately 600 male students. The male students were housed out on the west side of town in what had been barracks for the former Army Air Corps' Dale Mabry Field. The men attended classes and participated in activities at FSCW but were technically registered as students of the University of Florida. Most were World War II veterans. The arrangement came about because the University of Florida's Gainesville campus could not accommodate all of the returning vets.
As to athletic programs, TBUF students played in intramural ones. The one exception was basketball. TBUF fielded a team bearing the nickname of "Golden Panthers" that played an array of colleges, junior colleges and independent amateur teams. The Golden Panthers team consisted of all freshmen with no previous college experience. The team was coached by Ed Williamson, the same Ed Williamson who would also later become FSU's first head football coach.
TBUF played its first game on January 15, 1947, in Tallahassee, when it beat a team made up of faculty members of Albany (Georgia) High School that was named the "Albany Professors" 47 to 42. According to The Daily Democrat (now, The Tallahassee Democrat), Albany had "one of the strongest amateur teams in the State of Georgia" and was 3 - 0 coming into the game. At the end of the year, TBUF finished with a 4-7 record including a later loss at Albany, two victories over Norman Park Junior College, a split with the University of Tampa and two losses each to St. Petersburg Junior College and the Savannah Division of the University of Georgia as well as a single loss to Florida Southern College in Lakeland.
Don Grant of Perry, who played on the TBUF basketball team and later on FSU's first two football teams was already enrolled for the 1946-47 school year at the U of F when he got a letter inquiring as to whether he would be willing to go to school in Tallahassee. It did not take him long to decide to shift to the Tallahassee campus. It was closer to Perry, but more importantly, Grant was well aware of the 2500 females attending FSCW. That was about four females to each male.
TBUF played its home games at the old Dale Mabry gymnasium. That facility had an excellent playing surface but there was very little room for spectators. On the road, there were some interesting facilities. At some of the places, the court was shorter than regulation and they had to use a double-center line. At other places, the games were played in school auditoriums.
Members of the TBUF team in addition to Grant, were Jim Pavy, Slick Edwards, Fred Gard, Billy Parker, Fred Schneider, Charles Brown, Joe Peel, Charles Calhoun, and John Pierce. Some would later play on FSU teams.
The first "official" Florida State University team began play during the 1947-48 school year, the same year that the school resumed intercollegiate football. It was the first year that the institution bore the name, "Florida State University" and included males as members of its student body. That team, coached by Don Loucks who had at one time been the plebe coach at West Point went 5-13 over an eighteen game schedule. They won their first two games (Spring Hill and Troy State), lost thirteen in a row, and won their last three (Stetson, Southern and Erskine). Players on that first team included, among others, Sheldon Hilaman, Larry Dickson, Ben McCrary, Orlando Wyman, Hosea Maxwell, Ronald Nettles, William O-Steen, Ralph Chaudron, Ernest Williams, Billy Parker, Don Grant and Jim Pavy. Bill Kratzert, who also played on FSU's first football team, was the squad's leading scorer for the season with 164 points.
The first of the Kennedys
Some of the guys at the reunion will no doubt talk about the weave offense that head coach J.K. "Bud" Kennedy used when they were at FSU. Bud Kennedy took over as head coach for the 1948-49 season and coached FSU for eighteen years through the 1965-66 season. He was head coach at FSU longer than any other basketball coach. During his tenure his teams won 237 games and lost 208. Kennedy loved the "weave" offense. Kennedy's best team was probably the 1954-55 team that won 22 and lost only 4. That team was led in scoring by Jim Oler (549), Ham Wernke (512), Rick Benson (432), and Dick Artmeier (339). In the 1955-56 season, Jim Oler scored 743 points which is still the most points ever scored by a Seminole in one season.
The move to Tully
Some of the players coming to the reunion will compare the atmosphere of the Dale Mabry gym with that at Tully Gymnasium. Bud Kennedy's first eight teams continued to play their home games in the old Dale Mabry gym. However, for the 1956-57 season, the team moved to the "new" Tully Gymnasium on the main campus. Hugh Durham led the team in scoring that first year in Tully by scoring 509 points. After graduation from FSU, Durham became Kennedy's Assistant coach beginning with the 1959-60 season. He would be an assistant at FSU for eight seasons.
The Hugh Durham years
When Bud Kennedy died in 1966, assistant coach Hugh Durham was elevated to head coach. Beginning with the 1966-67 season, Durham coached FSU for twelve seasons. His overall record of 230 wins and 95 losses meant that he won over seventy per cent of his games, no other FSU head coach has done that, before or since. During his tenure, FSU went to three NCAA tournaments.
The Big Redhead
In his first year as head coach, Durham signed a 6'9", red-headed, young man from Newport, Kentucky, who became FSU's most heralded player. Durham built some great teams around Dave Cowens. Cowens is fourth on the FSU all time scoring list and continues to this day to hold both the season (456) and career (1,697) rebounding records. Both records have lasted over 30 years. After FSU, a first round NBA pick, Cowens went on to star for the Boston Celtics. Upon completion of his professional career, he was admitted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He has coached in the NBA for a number of years.
The Busted Flush
Coach Durham was also the first FSU coach to recruit African-American players. Well ahead of most of the primarily white institutions in the South, FSU, under Durham's leadership, signed some very skillful black players. The impact upon FSU's program was immediate and extensive. In a short time, the FSU teams were able to compete on an equal basis with the best basketball programs.
My favorite all-time FSU basketball team was the 1969-70 one, known as the "Busted Flush". Starters for that team usually consisted of the white Cowens and four of the black players. Some of the other members of that team, in addition to Cowens were Willie Williams, Skip Young, Rowland Garrett, Vernell Ellzy, Ron Harris, John Burt, Randy Cable, Ken Macklin, and Jan Gies. That team won 23 games and lost only 3. They were 12-0 at home. That team on defense could press better than any other college team that I have ever seen. There will be plenty of talk at the reunion about what that team might have done if they could have played in the NCAA tournament. They could not go because of some earlier NCAA irregularities.
Playing for the National Championship
Players from the 1971-72 will have some rather special memories to recall. On March 26, 1972, FSU played UCLA for the NCAA national championship. In a hard fought contest played on UCLA's home court, the Seminoles lost by only five points, 81-76. The team had advanced to that final NCAA game after beating Eastern Kentucky, Minnesota, Kentucky, and North Carolina in succession. Members of that national runners-up team included Rowland Garrett, Reggie Royals, Ron Harris, Otto Petty, Greg Samuel, Larry Gay, Otis Cole, Ron King and Lawrence McCray. Some of those guys will be at the reunion and will undoubtedly brag about going further than any other FSU team.
The Durham period was the days of Tully Gym at its finest. There was no air conditioning in Tully. Rumor was that Coach Durham would cut off the fans and raise the heat in the gym for the home games. It sure felt like it. It was a lot of fun!
That period also featured the great FSU-Jacksonville University series of games. The two teams played their best against each other. We fans were treated to some great games between the two at Tully as well as at the then new Jacksonville Coliseum. There is a great deal of irony in regard to that competition. Joe Williams, who was during a portion of that time, JU's coach, later coached FSU. Durham who coached FSU, is now JU's head coach.
Admission into the Metro Conference
In 1976-77, the team became a member of the Metro Conference. In Durham's last year at FSU, the team went to the final conference tournament championship game and lost to Louisville in a tremendous game, 94 to 93. The game proved to be highly indicative of things to come. In the ensuing years, FSU would often play for the Metro Championship but come up short.
The Williams Era
Joe Williams became Florida State's head coach in 1978 and led the Seminoles for eight seasons. His record was 129 wins and 105 losses. The 1979-80 team went 22-9 and went to the second round of the NCAA tournament. That team included among others, Mickey Dillard, Murray Brown, Elvis Rolle, Rodney Arnold, Bobby Parks, Tony Jackson, and Pernell Tookes.
The 1983-84 team went 20-11 including two games in the National Invitational Tournament. Some of the members of that team were Alton Lee Gipson, Vince Martello, Dean Shaffer, Randy Allen, Tony William, Granville Arnold, Maurice Myrick, David Speights, Bobby Miles, and Joe Farrar.
As far as the Metro Conference went, Williams' teams were always a strong contender and as the old expression goes, "often a bridesmaid but never a bride". Williams' first two teams all lost in the Metro Conference tournament championship game, and were, therefore, conference runners-up, as was Durham's last FSU team. The losses were to Virginia Tech, 68-60, in 1979, and to Louisville, 81-72, in 1980. The 1984-85 team lost in overtime of the championship game to Memphis State, 90-86.
The Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center
It was during Joe Williams' tenure in 1981 that FSU began playing its home games at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center. It was quite a change to go from cozy Tully to the modern facility in which FSU now plays.
Pat Kennedy and back to the Big Time
Pat Kennedy became FSU's head coach in 1986. The team immediately improved and went 19-11 in his first season. In all, he coached FSU for eleven seasons, won over sixty per cent of the games, and compiled an overall record of 202-131. His teams played in the NCAA Tournament five times and in the NIT once. The 1990-91 team finally brought FSU a Metro Conference championship by beating Louisvile 76-69 in the tournament championship game. Ironically, it was the last year of FSU's membership in the Metro.
The ACC and two spectacular years
FSU became a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference in time to compete in the 1991-92 conference competition. What a year it was! The "newcomers" won their first conference road game at powerhouse North Carolina and went 11-5 in conference play for the year, finishing second during the regular season. While they bowed out in the second round of the ACC tournament, they went to the "Sweet Sixteen" in the NCAA.
FSU's second year in the ACC, the team again placed second in the conference during the regular season but went further in the NCAA where they made it to the "Elite Eight" before bowing out, one victory short of the Final Four. Both of these great teams were powered by the starting group of Sam Cassell, Douglas Edwards, Bob Sura, Charlie Ward, and Rodney Dobard. It would be hard to believe that any team, anywhere ever had five more talented starters. All but Dobard where taken in the first round of the NBA draft when they completed their college eligibility. Cassell, Sura, and Ward are still playing in the NBA. Sura remains FSU's all time leading scorer having scored 2,130 points during his four years at FSU. Edwards is sixth on that list with 1,604. Cassell, a junior college transfer, scored 1,211 points during the two years that he wore the garnet and gold. Dobard also scored more than 1,000 points while at FSU. Cassell's 97 steals during the 1992-93 season is 16 more than any other Seminole has ever recorded in a single season.
Kennedy's teams never again attained that 1993 level. His last team, however, the 1996-97 made a surprising run in the NIT tournament following the season. They beat Syracuse, Michigan State, West Virginia, and Connecticut, before losing in the championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York City, 82-73.
1997 to the Present
Of course, there will be a lot of discussion about the current period of rebuilding, both of of the team and the team facilities. Steve Robinson became head coach in 1997. His first team had a decent season and made it to the the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Overall, that team went 18-14. In the three seasons since then, while losing more games than winning, there have been some promising developments. The current young talent on the 2001-02 team appears to present a good nucleus to build around. There is a lot of hope that this will be a turnaround year.
The former Seminole players will be introduced at halftime of the FSU-Wake Forest game on Saturday, February 2nd. See you there!