by Bernie Schneider

San Francisco sports fans became aware of the term "repeat" long before the 49ers made the term a familiar one. Knowledgeable sports enthusiasts know the University of San Francisco Dons were the first San Francisco team to repeat as national champions when the school's basketball team defended its title in 1956. Now, fifty years after the Dons accomplished this feat, is a great time to look back and marvel at how it happened-how this basketball team from a small Jesuit school was able to continue that magical blend of great coaching and inspired play that carried them to another championship.

In 1955 USF had defeated the defending champion, La Salle, in the NCAA championship game, spoiling the Explorers' bid to repeat. Similarly, the Dons anticipated that other teams would be gunning for them in 1956. Sure, USF had All-Americas Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, and stellar guard Hal Perry returning, but Coach Phil Woolpert knew that in March he would lose K.C. Jones for the entire post-season. When K.C. had suffered a season-ending attack of appendicitis after playing in just one game in 1953, USF's conference, the California Basketball Association, had granted K.C. an extra year of eligibility to compensate for the one he had lost, but the NCAA had declared him ineligible for the 1956 post-season tournament. With Jones during the regular season, the Dons would be formidable, but without him in the playoffs, how would they do? In addition, how would Woolpert find replacements for the forwards who had graduated, the high-scoring Jerry Mullen and the hustling Stan Buchanan?

Phil Woolpert had some tough decisions to make. Remember that these were the days before college coaches had a cadre of assistant coaches. Over the years, Phil and the Dons were fortunate to have the services of Ross Giudice, one of the stars of the 1949 NIT championship team. Ross was a great assistant coach and a wonderful teacher of the fundamentals of basketball, but Woolpert's lone assistant was also responsible for coaching the freshman team.

By far the biggest decision Phil Woolpert had to make was where to play multi-talented sophomore Eugene Brown. At 6'3", Gene was somewhat small for forward, but he was no smaller than Stan Buchanan the previous year, and, would Woolpert consider starting a fourth African-American player?

We'll never know what Woolpert would have done had K.C. been eligible for the whole season, but the needs of the team and K.C.'s late season ineligibility led Woolpert to follow a different direction. Mike Farmer, a future NBA performer, had been groomed for one of the forward spots on the Dons' freshmen team the year before. Carl Boldt, a new arrival who had developed a very impressive outside shot while playing army ball with former USF All-America Don Lofgran, quickly zeroed in from the other spot. With Boldt and Farmer at the forward spots, opponents who sagged off the forwards to double team Bill Russell would pay dearly. That left Gene Brown, who was an outstanding guard, as the third perimeter player USF needed to keep the pressure on opposing teams throughout the regular season. He would then become the starting guard the team needed in the post-season when K.C. Jones had to sit out.

In addition, Phil Woolpert's decision to play Eugene Brown at guard gave USF incredible depth at both positions. Two senior guards, quick Warren Baxter and tenacious Bill Bush, were great situation players, and burly Bill Mallen and agile Mike Preaseau were solid backup forwards

Still another decision Woolpert had to make pertained to the style USF would play. USF teams, from the time of legendary coaches Jimmy Needles and Pete Newell, had been known for a ball-control offense and a tough man-for-man defense. Even with good offensive talent, the '54-'55 team, for one reason or another, had been involved in many low-scoring games, notably the single loss during this two-year period, to UCLA 47-40, and the squeaker over Oregon State in the final of the Western Regional, 57-56. Often during the '54-'55 season USF had effectively used a 2-2-1 fullcourt zone press to unsettle opponents and increase the tempo. A total commitment to this style involved some risk, as a lead in an up-tempo game is not as secure as it would be in a ball-control game. But this team had the weapons, and Phil Woolpert unleashed them. Woolpert's decision to use a game-long fullcourt press as an offensive tactic was a milestone in the history of basketball, paving the way for the UCLA teams of the 1960s and the Arkansas and Kentucky teams of more recent times. The full-court press led, in the era before the shot-clock and three-point shot, to USF's averaging 71 points per game while holding the opposition to 52.

In regard to basketball history, one other important matter dominated the regular season. The all-time intercollegiate record for consecutive wins was 39, held jointly by Long Island University (1935-37) and Seton Hall (1939-41). The Dons had ended the previous season with 26 straight victories. Consequently, as USF steamrolled through its first ten pre-season games, winning both the Chicago Invitational and the New York City Holiday Festival and defeating such national powerhouses as Marquette, DePaul, La Salle, Holy Cross, and UCLA, establishing a new all-time major college consecutive win streak was a distinct possibility. Opening the league season with three more wins, USF tied the record, but to break it the Dons would need to defeat former USF coach Pete Newell's University of California Bears-at Cal. Seldom has the Bay Area been so excited about a basketball game, and it turned out to be one of the most bizarre games ever played.

The non-conference game at Harmon Gym on January 28, 1956, found 7500 fans in the 7200 seat gym. Cal fans made up most of the crowd, as the Cal athletic office had decided that each school would receive enough tickets for one-third of its student body, meaning USF would get only 400 tickets. With no reserved seating, the crowd packed in early for the preliminary game to see the Cal freshman team, with Joe Kapp, edge Ross Giudice's club, 59-55. No one realized it at the time, but the 114 points scored in this preliminary game would double the points scored in the main event. With two future Hall of Fame coaches matching strategy, USF set the new record at 40 wins with a 33-24 victory. It wasn't the low score that made the game so remarkable; it was what happened in the second half. Four minutes into the second half, with Cal trailing by five points, Pete Newell directed his center, Joe Hagler, to stand still near halfcourt and hold the ball. This tactic worked to settle the Bears, and after a minute and a half, they broke through the USF defense and scored. USF quickly answered with a basket, and then Cal's Hagler again stood still at halfcourt, holding the ball. This time, though, with USF leading 26-21, Cal made no attempt to score. The Bears hoped Russell would leave the key and guard Hagler, but just as Newell ordered Hagler to remain outside, Woolpert directed Russell to hold his spot inside. After all, USF was ahead. The Dons stayed back, and this stalemate went on . . . and on . . . and on . . . for eight minutes with Hagler standing by himself clutching the ball while the referees, Frank McIntyre and Ed Curcio, scrutinized his footwork to make sure he didn't change his pivot foot. With just six minutes remaining in the game, Cal finally called a time-out. Newell had decided he would spot this great USF team no more than five points, perhaps even three points, and play a six-minute game in which anything could happen. The Bears missed their first attempt after the time-out, and the Dons responded with clutch baskets and free throws in the frenetic final minutes. Newell's strategy had backfired, and Phil Woolpert and the Dons had the new record, one USF would eventually extend to 60 games.

K.C. Jones once again proved his mettle in a big game. Just as he had led the Dons in scoring in the NCAA championship game against LaSalle with 24 points, K.C. was the high scorer in this record-setting game with 15. His clutch play again raised the question: How could the Dons repeat as NCAA Champions without K.C. Jones?

Through the remainder of the league schedule USF dispatched one opponent after another in the dominating, yet artful style that their fans had become accustomed to seeing. Bill Russell would often soar from one side of the new twelve-foot key to the other to block a shot; K.C. Jones, Hal Perry, or Gene Brown would cleanly steal a dribble or a pass from harried opponents to trigger the fast break. Such tactics contributed to an 80-44 smashing of Santa Clara at Kezar and an 82-49 thrashing of St. Mary's at the Cow Palace before 15,732, the largest crowd ever to see a basketball game in the Bay Area. The fans came to see Bill Russell, Hal Perry, Warren Baxter, and Bill Bush's final collegiate game in the area, and K.C. Jones' last collegiate game, giving him a standing ovation when he left the game with nine minutes to play. The fans' support propelled USF on to the Far West Regional, once again in Corvallis, Oregon, where they would join UCLA, Utah and Seattle.

Media attention shifted to the Pacific Northwest, as reporters sensed the drama building in USF's quest for a second straight NCAA Championship. "Can you do it without K.C. Jones?" Bob Brachman of the Examiner asked Bill Russell. Russell wasn't daunted: "We'll merely be changing spokes," he responded, "but the wheel will keep right on rolling."

Russell's words were prophetic. Against a John Wooden-coached UCLA team, ranked # 9 in the country, that had won seventeen straight after losing to USF in December, the Dons trailed only once, at 4-2, the result of a basket by Willie Naulls and two free throws by Maurice Taft. During the following eight minutes, USF's great defenders limited the Bruins, who had established a PCC scoring record of 83 points per game, to zero field goals. The Dons moved ahead 15-8, built the lead up to 39-21 at the half, and coasted to a 72-61 win. Eugene Brown , described by Don McLeod , the Sports Editor of the Portland Oregonian as a "a veritable jumping jack," led the Dons with 23 points, but Russell was right behind him with 21, and Mike Farmer and Hal Perry were also double figure scorers with 15 and 10 respectively. In the other semi-final game, Utah, with five players in double figures, topped Seattle 81-72.

Against Jack Gardner's Utah team the following night, it was the Dons who would have the five double-figure scorers. Bill Russell tallied 27 and Gene Brown 18, but Mike Farmer with 14, Carl Boldt with 13, and Mike Preaseau with 14 off the bench also made huge contributions in a game that was closer than the 92-77 score would indicate. McLeod of the Oregonian stated: "The Utes, fired to fever pitch, gave Phil Woolpert's national hoop kings the sternest challenge they have faced since that unforgettable 57-56 verdict over Oregon State in this same pavilion just a year ago." The Dons led by only three points at the half, 44-41, by only one, 56-55, in the second half, and Bill Russell, who had three fouls at the half, picked up a fourth foul with ten minutes left. Phil Woolpert left him in the game. Bill, playing cautiously, rewarded Woolpert's faith in him, and the Dons built up their lead and rolled on to their 53rd consecutive win. Bill Russell was named MVP and Gene Brown joined him on the all-tournament team. It was on to the Final Four at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

In the first game, against Southern Methodist University, USF jumped out to a 40-19 lead in the first half only to see the Mustangs cut the lead to six points in the second half. At that point the Dons rallied and rolled to an 86-68 semifinal win. Mike Farmer was the leading scorer with 26 points, and Warren Baxter, as he had done in the semifinal against Colorado the previous year, made his presence felt coming off the bench and scoring four quick baskets. Bill Russell added 17 points, Hal Perry 14, and Gene Brown 12. In the other semifinal, Iowa defeated Temple, 83-76. One more victory and USF would have back-to-back national championships.

Big Ten champion Iowa was an outstanding team. The Hawkeyes had been to the Final Four the previous year, losing in the semifinal game to La Salle by three points. This year they had defeated Kentucky 89-77 in the Midwest Regional before disposing of Temple.They had been waiting a long time to face the Dons.

With high-scoring forward Carl "Sugar" Cain leading the way, Iowa was not to be intimidated, and they raced off to an early 15-4 lead. Then two things happened. One, Gene Brown was switched to guard Cain, and he held Cain down the rest of the game, just as K.C. Jones had stymied All-America Tom Gola of La Salle in the 1954-55 final. Next, as he did time and time again throughout his career at USF and later with the Boston Celtics, Bill Russell proved why many consider him the greatest center of all time. During one sequence Russell blocked three straight shots and led the Dons in a resurgence that forged a 38-33 lead at the half. The Dons continued to roll in the second half, as Russell ended with 26 points and an amazing 27 rebounds in the 83-71 victory. Not so surprisingly, the 27 rebounds remains the record for the NCAA Final Four to this day. Bill Russell and Hal Perry made the all-tournament team, although Hal Lear of Temple was named Most Outstanding Player after he scored 48 points in the consolation game More importantly, behind the inspired play of Bill Russell and the rest of the Dons, and the solid decision-making of Phil Woolpert, USF had repeated as NCAA champions and extended the record-setting major-college winning streak to 55 games. Utah coach Jack Gardner finally admitted, and many still believe it today, "This was the greatest college team ever assembled."

Lastly, Jack Gardner and others might be interested to know that this team, much as the previous year's, was assembled primarily from the Bay Area. K.C. Jones and Eugene Brown were from San Francisco, as were Bill Bush, Warren Baxter, Vince Boyle, Steve Balchios, and Bill Mallen. Bill Russell was from Oakland, as was Hal Payne. Tom Nelson was from San Mateo and Jack King from Petaluma. Hal Perry came from Ukiah and Mike Preaseau all the way down from Redding. Carl Boldt, from Southern California, had been in the army at Fort Ord. John Koljian, the one out-of-state player, ironically was from Springfield, Massachusetts, the home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame where Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, and Phil Woolpert are all enshrined.

Bernie Schneider was a student-athlete at the University of San Francisco from 1955-1959 where he had the distinct privilege of witnessing the dominance of the Dons. He is a long-time English teacher and basketball coach at Tamalpais High School, Mill Valley, California.