Here is what we know. WSU, which hasn’t released its schedule, is still looking for non-conference games, three last time I checked. Texas Southern is a home opponent, date unknown. Details are subject to change up until Sept. 15. Read More »
Some Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball teams will release schedules today. Wichita State will not.
The Shockers normally take the safe route on their schedule. Because of TV, dates and times can change up until Sept. 15. WSU is still looking for non-conference games. Instead of releasing an incomplete schedule, WSU will wait a week or so.
According to Southern Illinois media relations person Tom Weber, schedules can go public at noon. Missouri State is another school apparently ready to go. In past years, it seems like some schools try to resist rushing out an incomplete schedule. After four or five come out, it becomes pointless and everybody joins in.
If you’re like me, you’ve always wondered what Cleo Littleton looked like as a player. He is WSU’s career scoring leader with 2,164 points. Yet he played from 1951-55, so most fans never saw him play and film clips are rare.
Until now. Littleton gave WSU’s media relations department two game films, which it converted to DVD. On Wednesday, director of media relations Larry Rankin posted the games on WSU’s YouTube site. The games are against Tulsa and Seattle, both in January of 1955. Both are played at the Forum in downtown Wichita.
Rick Barry-style free throws. Lots of hook shots. The narrow free-throw lane. A few set shots, although the jump shot is predominant. Both benches are on the baseline next to each other. The defense is gentlemanly compared to the modern era. My first thought was that the players are more athletic than I expected, but not as skilled with ball-handling, shooting and passing as today’s players. It’s a fascinating look at the early days of Shocker basketball.
Tulsa defeated the Shockers 67-65. TU went on to win the MVC title and advance to the NCAA Tournament and finish No. 16 in the final Associated Press poll. Its star was Bob Patterson, who averaged 27.6 points a game, seventh in the nation. The Shockers beat Seattle 74-71. Seattle went 22-7 that season, but did not play in the NCAA or NIT. The Shockers, with Littleton averaging 21.2 points and Bob Hodgson averaging 14.6, went 17-9. Hodgson scored 1,122 points in his career and ranks 30th on the program’s list.
Rankin says he has more on the way, basketball and football. He is interested in hearing from people who have film of old Shocker games, although copyright restrictions are a concern. Don’t bother if you’ve got NBC’s broadcast of the 1981 NCAA Tournament. If you think it might be of interest to Rankin, contact him at lrankin@goshockers.com.
Wichita State will hold a memorial service for Mitch Caster at 4 p.m., Friday at Eck Stadium.
Gifts can be sent to The Mitch Caster Memorial, WSU Foundation, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, Kansas 67260-0002. The Carl Hall Fund will also receive a portion of the gifts.
Gates open at 3 p.m.
Good day for the recruiting junkies out there: Rivals released its new top 150 for the class of 2011. Scout.com did the same for its top 100.
This list doesn’t appear to have much allure for Missouri Valley Conference fans. MVC schools on the lists of these level of recruits are hard to find.
Why it matters: Somebody at Branniff Airways thought it was important enough to make a trophy in honor of the game. The trophy resides in a storage room in Koch Arena.
Date: Feb. 15, 1964
Short version: The Shocker basketball team, on its way to its first MVC title, won at Cincinnati 59-58 in overtime. That was noteworthy because Cincinnati had won six straight MVC titles and the Shockers were 0-6 in on the home court of the Bearcats. The end of regulation makes the game stand out. The Shockers thought they won 56-54 on a basket by Dave Stallworth at the buzzer. They ran to their locker room after the referees signaled the shot good. The Bearcats, wisely using home-court advantage, stayed on the court. The timekeepers said Stallworth’s shot did not beat the buzzer on their equipment, although it did beat the gun used in the arena to call time unofficially. The rules gave the timekeeper the power to make the judgment, and he waved off Stallworth’s basket.
Stallworth, as was his habit, staved off disaster in overtime. The Shockers outscored the Bearcats 5-4, with Stallworth following in a missed free throw for the winning margin.
When the Shockers returned to Wichita, around 2,000 fans greeted them at the airport. Braniff Airways sales manager Carroll Little handed over a trophy inscribed with both scores and the inscription “One Game – Won Twice.”
More details: The win started a six-game win streak that carried the Shockers to the MVC title and the NCAA Tournament.
Oddly enough: Cincinnati assistant Tay Baker took over for Ed Jucker, who missed the game after an appendectomy.
Quotable: “Time was out when Stallworth shot.” – Anonymous Cincinnati timekeeper, according to The Wichita Eagle
Knowing former Shocker Rob Musgrave, he would say this is no big deal. He would be right. Striking out Manny Ramirez twice in a Class-A game isn’t too significant. Read More »
Classes start today at Wichita State, giving the volleyball team the day off after a week-plus of two-a-days. When practice resumes Friday, coach Chris Lamb wants to do some serious work on settling his unsettled lineups. Read More »
It’s time for that annual exercise of cobbling together the Shocker basketball schedule. Here is what we know (home games in bold): Read More »
Baseball America is reporting that outfielder Scott Schebler signed with the Dodgers for $300,000. Schebler, a sophomore-to-be, was expected to start in left field for WSU in 2011.
Los Angeles drafted Schebler in the 26th round. He hit .446 with 20 home runs as a freshman at Des Moines Area Community College. He hit .294 with 10 home runs for Green Bay this summer.
Some words from Schebler: Read More »