The Importance of Being Ambidextrous - Rutgers 80 - Rhode Island 79

Courier News - March 5, 1990

As Christmas holiday tournaments fell out of favor in college basketball, the vacuum was more than filled by conference tournaments, designed not so much to determine the conference champion as to decide which school would earn the automatic NCAA berth.  There is no relationship between the decline of the one and the growth of the other, but it's also true that 50 years or so ago, conference tournaments were rare, the ACC being the most notable exception.  Since at the time only one team per conference qualified for what was not yet known as "the dance," the argument was that a team that finished 11-1 behind a 12-0 regular season champion deserved another chance.  Whether or not that logic made sense, conference tournaments gradually became more commonplace because they gave every team, at least theoretically, something to play for.   As the NCAA field expanded, however, conference tournaments have had less and less to do with determining who makes the "dance." That still leaves, though, the Cinderella scenario where an unsung team gets hot and plays its way into a tournament berth, it otherwise had no chance of earning.

Courier News - March 5, 1990

Rutgers enjoyed just such an experience in the 1988-89 season when Coach Bob Wenzel engineered the biggest turnaround in school history.  Adding only one new player, Wenzel took a team that had won only seven games the year before and led them to a 15-12 regular season record.  That alone made it a memorable season, but the team was not done yet.   One of the problems faced by mid-major and lower conferences was how to attract a large crowd to the championship game.  Unlike the major conferences, fans did not stick around once their team had been eliminated, leaving championship games to be played in half empty (at best) arenas.  The Atlantic Ten's solution was to play the first three rounds at the historic Palestra in Philadelphia with the championship game at the home of the highest remaining seed.  In the 1989 tournament, Rutgers defeated St. Bonaventure and then upset Temple in a dramatic overtime game to earn a place in the final.  Since lower seed Penn State had knocked off West Virginia in the other semi-final, the championship game came to the RAC. Urged on by what was the loudest crowd I can remember in my over 40 years in Section 105, Row F, Rutgers defeated Penn State, earning an NCAA bid before falling to Iowa in the opening round.

Herald News - March 5, 1990

A year later, Rutgers was back at the Palestra for an opening round Atlantic 10 tournament matchup with Rhode Island.  It had been an up and down season for the Scarlet Knights who stood exactly at .500, 15-15.  The first half of the game was, to put it mildly, unusual.  First, guard Earl Duncan, a Syracuse transfer, who was suffering from lingering knee and ankle injuries got hurt again and would play only 22 minutes.  With 16:21 left in the half the guard rotation shrunk even further.  Craig Carter scored, but landed on the foot of a Rhode Island player, dislocating his ankle which left his foot "at a grotesque angle."  "Writhing in pain," the embattled Rutgers player was carried off on a stretcher while waving to the applauding Rutgers fans.  In for Carter was Rick Dadika, a key part of the 1989 team who now had a more limited role off the bench.  Dadika stepped up big time, making five three point shots over the course of the game, tying an Atlantic 10 tournament record in the process.  Four of those came in the first half and, amazingly, Rutgers led 51-41 at the half.  Amazingly not only because of the injuries, but also since 14 of the 17 fouls called in the first half had gone against Rutgers including a technical on the bench.

Asbury Park Press - March 5, 1990

 Although down by 10, Rhode Island was far from finished.  In less than a minute the Rams cut the difference to four and with 15 minutes left, they knotted the contest at 55-55.  From that point the game went back and forth until a dramatic last two minutes.  With Rutgers up 74-73, Eric Leslie of Rhode Island hit two foul shots for a one point Rams lead.  Rutgers countered with a follow up shot by the late Keith Hughes, but Rhode Island's Kenny Green made a layup for a 77-76 Ram lead.  On Rutgers next possession, Donnell Lumpkin was fouled.  Trying to intimidate the freshman, Rhode Island coach Al Skinner called two timeouts to let Lumpkin think about the shots.  Not in any way intimidated, Donnell made both in what Skinner gracefully acknowledged as "a very nice job."  Rhode Island looking to take back the lead, had the ball out of bounds on the baseline in the forecourt.  The Rams ran a play that gave Mike Brown a go-head layup with just 11 seconds left.  With the ball out of bounds under their own basket, Wenzel called a Rutgers timeout not so much to set up a play, but rather a formation with multiple options.

Daily Home News - March 5, 1990

Freshman Mike Jones brought the ball across midcourt where a Rhode Island double team forced him to pass off to Duncan. The Rutgers junior dribbled to the left side of the lane where with four seconds left, his only choices were to shoot or drive.  Duncan opted for the latter, but was cut off by the Rams defense.  Resorting to a spin dribble, Duncan went up with the ball sensing that if he shot with his right hand Kenny Green, Atlantic 10 player of the year, would block it. Shifting the ball to his left hand, Duncan put it up just past Green's outstretched hand. The shot went in as the buzzer sounded giving Rutgers a place in the semi-finals against Temple.  While Duncan had made the winning shot, he got plenty of support from Jones and Dadika off the bench.  Jones was all over the court with 11 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and no turnovers while Dadika scored 19 points.  The next night it seemed like history might repeat itself when upstart UMass, coached by John Calipari, knocked off number two seed Penn State.  A Rutgers win over Temple would have again brought the championship game to the RAC, but alas, it was not to be.  A year later, however, Duncan and Keith Hughes led Rutgers to its only regular season conference championship and the school's last NCAA appearance. 

"Win Over All" - Rutgers 61 Notre Dame 59

Daily Home News - February 10, 1984

Our first two buzzer beaters were part of twenty win seasons that ended in post season play.   However, the nature of buzzer beaters is such that they aren't limited to any one type of season.  A year after Brian Ellerbe's winning shot against Temple, Rutgers was suffering the effects of losing multiple veteran players like Kevin Black, Roy Hinson and Rich Brunson.   On February 9, 1984, the Scarlet Knights were 8-11 at risk of the program's first losing record in 20 years.  Making things even more frustrating, five of the losses were by a total of 13 points.  One positive sign was the end of a five game losing streak thanks to a close win over George Washington due in part to some clutch foul shooting by junior forward Chris Remley.   Next up was a non-conference matchup with Notre Dame at the Continental Air Lines Arena in East Rutherford, the first basketball game ever between the two schools.  Notre Dame under Coach Digger Phelps had won eight of its last nine and sported a 15-6 record on the way, they hoped, to the NCAA tournament.

Asbury Park Press - February 10, 1984

Thanks to 15 points from Tom Sluby, Notre Dame was in charge most of the first half and led 32-24 at the break.  The Fighting Irish extended their lead early in the second half and were ahead 38-26 when Rutgers mounted a comeback.  After a Brian Ellerbe layup, Steve Perry hit a jumper and John Battle contributed a three point play to cut the margin to 38-33.  After that, however, Notre Dame regained control, extending the margin to nine with just 5:36 left in a game played without a shot clock.  Fortunately, the box and one defense, Rutgers employed to contain Sluby was proving effective since Notre Dame had not scored a basket in the last two minutes and would not score again from the field.  Even so Rutgers needed offense and, once again, Brian Ellerbe got things started with a corner jumper.  Steve Perry scored off another rebound (one of his eleven for the game) and then followed that by making three of four free throws to bring Rutgers within two.  Finally the Knights came all the way back to tie the game at 59-59 with 59 seconds left when John Battle hit both ends of a 1-1.

Record - February 10, 1984

Notre Dame was in possession and with no shot clock chose to hold the ball for what they hoped would be a game winning, preferably buzzer beating, shot.  With just 13 seconds left, Digger Phelps called timeout to set up their final possession.  Sluby made the inbounds pass to 6'10" Tim Kempton who tried to pass the ball back to Sluby, but Brian Ellerbe at 6'1" had other ideas.  The Rutgers guard darted in between the two Notre Dame players and deflected the ball towards the sideline.  He then jumped over and around the much taller Kempton without fouling and somehow got the ball to teammate Audra Bell without Kempton getting it first.  It was one of the greatest hustle plays I've seen in over 60 years of watching Rutgers basketball, reminiscent of a similar effort by Darius Griffith against UCLA on the very same floor.  Now it was Rutgers turn to take timeout to plan a game winning shot.  Understandably Coach Tom Young designed the play to go to John Battle who had already scored 23 points.  Equally understandably, Notre Dame had no intention of letting Battle beat them.  

Herald News - February 10, 1984

Record  - February 10, 1984

After inbounding the ball to Perry, Chris Remley got it back in the backcourt and dribbled into the forecourt looking for Battle who was closely guarded by Notre Dame.  Recognizing there wasn't time to pass the ball, the Rutgers junior continued to dribble to a point slightly to the left of the head of the key.  From 22 feet, Chris "just fired" what he called "a pretty good shot."  It was more than "pretty good." The ball swished through the basket with one second left leaving the Irish only a desperation pass that bounced harmlessly away.  In a classy post game comment, Kempton of Notre Dame said Rutgers won because "they outhustled us."  The rebounding figures support that view.  After being pounded on the boards 19-8 in the first half, Rutgers did a complete turnaround in the second half by exactly the same ratio.  Steve Perry led the way with 11 boards in addition to 12 points and John Battle led Rutgers in scoring with 23.  While it was not a league game, the win marked a turning point as the team won six of its next seven, ending the season with a 15-13 mark.  Non-conference or not, the magnitude of the win and especially the shot couldn't be under estimated.  As Chris Remley aptly put it - "That's tradition we beat, not just a team."

Courier News - February 10, 1984

The game winning shot was the second of Chris Remley's career, following one he made in a high school Christmas tournament, interestingly in Piscataway, although not at Rutgers.  Upon graduating from college, Chris was drafted by the Boston Celtics before going overseas to play professional basketball in both Ireland and Australia.  After two years in Australia, Remley returned to the United States and began a long teaching career in the Rahway, New Jersey public schools.  In addition to teaching, Chris has enjoyed an almost 30 year coaching career in multiple sports including tennis, golf, boys and girls soccer and, of course, basketball.  He has the distinction of being the second high school coach in New Jersey sports history to have won a sectional  championship in both boys and girls basketball.  

Lou Goetz - R.I.P.

Rutgers Targum February 1969

 I was greatly saddened to learn of the death on January 19th of  Lou Goetz, a three time Rutgers basketball letter winner and my long time friend.  Lou and I first met when we were freshman at Rutgers in the fall of 1964, he was the first of my many Rutgers basketball friends.  At the time freshman were not eligible to play varsity basketball so he played and I managed on the last Rutgers freshman team coached by Bruce Webster, a unique experience in its own right.  Lou had to sit out the following year due to illness, but he returned for the 1966-67 team and was a valuable reserve on the great Lloyd-Valvano led 1967 NIT team.  Lou started every game over the next two seasons and was an extremely important part of the 1969 NIT team.  For that season, Lou, at 6' 1," moved to forward where he always played at height disadvantage.  In spite of that challenge, his ability to contribute in ways that don't show up in the box score was a major reason why basically the same roster improved from 14-10 to 21-4.  In the process the 1969 team won 16 straight (the second longest winning streak in school history) and finished with the second highest winning percentage in over 100 years of Rutgers basketball (.840). 

 

Lou laying one in against Bucknell in February of 1968

In a February 1969 interview with the Rutgers Targum, Coach Bill Foster explained that even though Lou only averaged about six point per game he was invaluable because "he plays one way - aggressively."  The possible problems caused  by Lou's lack of size at the forward's spot, didn't bother Foster because Goetz "makes up for his lack of height with hustle."  Equally important was the fact that Lou was "one of the most unselfish players I've ever seen."  With those comments, it's no wonder Foster wanted to keep Lou around after his playing days were over.  After graduation, Lou became one of Foster's assistants at Rutgers and followed him to both Utah and Duke.  During the 1978-79 season, Lou and former Rutgers player and coach Bob Wenzel were on the coaching staff of Duke's NCAA runner-up team, a season immortalized in John Feinstein's Forever's Team.  Lou finished his coaching career as the head coach of the University of Richmond.

Lou with his (and my) longtime friend Steve Weinstein at the 50th anniversary of the 1967 NIT team

Lou's death brought back a lot of memories of our times together at Rutgers.  I remember a freshman game at Manhattan College played in a gym so decrepit that there aren't enough adjectives to describe how bad it was.  Suffice to say the scoreboard clock didn't go any higher than 10 minutes probably dating back to the days when college basketball played 10 minute quarters.  As a result the time was kept at the scorer's table for the first ten minutes of each half and then the scoreboard took over.  During a foul shot in the second half, Lou, who was on the court, asked me on the bench, "How much time is left?"  Thinking he didn't know the clock was working, I responded - "The scoreboard's working."  He said, "I know, but I can't read the numbers from here."  It was probably no surprise that not long after he began wearing contact lens.  In fact, it was his success with them, that led to my getting them, so among other things, I owe over 50 years of better eyesight to Lou.  

Lou with the late Dick Stewart (far left) and Jack Penhall

Four years later during a game against Dartmouth, then coached by Dave Gavitt, Rutgers put on one of those second half spurts that causes the other team to call timeout.  Caught up in the excitement, Lou ran from the floor into the huddle, yelling "Let's run them out of the gym."  It was an admirable sentiment, but since the "gym" in question was Madison Square Garden, his word choice was less than memorable.  Needless to say, he heard about that for a few days afterwards.  Later that same season we were playing a Bob Knight coached Army team at West Point.  If there is a worse experience in college basketball, I don't want to know about it.  Down late in the second half, Lou guarded the man bringing up the ball so relentlessly that he forced a 10 second violation.  It would be nice to say that it was the turning point in a Rutgers come from behind victory, but it wasn't.  A day or so later, however, Lou said me the play made him ask himself - "Why can't I do that all the time?"  In some ways that sums up Lou Goetz both as a player and a person.   He worked relentlessly at whatever he did, analyzed what happened and used what he learned to improve.  Lou Goetz was a credit to his team, his university and everything he touched - may he rest in peace.

What Goes Around - Rutgers 70 - Temple 68

A week before Christmas of 1982, the Rutgers men's basketball team was in Lexington, Kentucky to play in the University of Kentucky's annual holiday tournament.  Although out of fashion today, such events were long a staple of college basketball.  Typically four team affairs, these tournaments gave the host team an opportunity to play two additional home games while offering the visitors a trip and, in this case, the opportunity to take on one of college basketball's most storied programs.  Rutgers hopes were high for the 1982-83 season, the prior year Rutgers had won 20 games and made it to the second round of the NIT.  Thus far, nothing had happened to diminish those hopes, Rutgers was 5-0 with a win over archrival Princeton.  Hoping to play Kentucky in the championship game, the Scarlet Knights took on Tulane in the opener.  Down 54-53, freshman Chris Remley hit a shot with 2 seconds left that seemingly gave Rutgers the win and a matchup with the Wildcats.  It was not to be, however, Tulane's Paul Thompson took a full court pass and hit an 8 foot baseline jumper as the buzzer sounded.  Instead of the dream matchup, Rutgers was relegated to the consolation game to play conference rival Duquesne in a game that didn't count in the conference standings.

Daily Home News - January 30, 1983

Recovering quickly from the discouraging loss, Rutgers came back to win six of its next seven before a two game losing streak gave the Knights a 11-4 record.  Next up was a Saturday January 29th afternoon game against Temple at the historic Palestra.  The 1982-83 season marked two college basketball firsts.  It was the year conferences began experimenting with the three point shot and also the legendary John Cheney's first season as coach of the Temple Owls.  Cheney's initial campaign in north Philadelphia had been marred by injuries especially the loss of big man, Granger Hall, leaving the Owls a guard dominated team led by Jim McLaughlin and Terence Stansbury.  As a result Rutgers had a height advantage which the Knights immediately exploited, jumping out to a 11-2 lead in the first five minutes.  However turnover problems (13 in the first half) and the shooting of the Temple's guards quickly cut into the lead.  At the end of 20 minutes, Rutgers led only 35-33 in spite of shooting 50% from the floor and enjoying a 24-10 rebounding advantage.  After the break, the Owls quickly caught up and took the lead with just under 18 minutes left in the second half, an advantage they would hold for the next 12 minutes.

Philadelphia Inquirer - January 30, 1983

Temple led 62-54 with just under 8 minutes left with Rutgers big men Roy Hinson and Clarence Tillman both on the bench with four fouls.  Rutgers was far from done, however, Kevin Black began the comeback with a finger roll and a  foul shot to cut the margin to five.  Back in the game, even with four fouls, Tillman forced a turnover and then hit a three pointer as the shot clock was winding down.  It was now a one possession game and after Temple again came up empty, Black hit two more foul shots to tie the game at 62-62 with 4:30 left.  Temple broke their scoreless streak with a foul shot, but Rick Brunson's jump shot gave Rutgers a one point lead, its first advantage since early in the half.  Temple responded when McLoughlin hit a three pointer of his own and the Owls led 66-64.  With just 1:43 left, Roy Hinson was fouled and made both to again tie the game.  On Temple's next possession, Brian Ellerbe deflected the ball to Brunson who hit another clutch shot to again put Rutgers up by two 68-66.  Down two with just over a minute to play, Temple knotted the game once more on a Kevin Clifton jump shot.

Camden Courier Post - January 30, 1983

Holding the ball for the last shot, Rutgers took timeout with 23 seconds left.  Coach Tom Young drew up a play to go inside to Roy Hinson and exploit the Knights height advantage, but it wasn't there.  With time running down, Brunson passed to Ellerbe who was the second option on the play.  Shooting from a point the Philadelphia Inquirer called near the NBA 23' 9" line, Ellerbe drained a shot which according to the paper "everyone but the officials thought was a three pointer."  In spite of a long protest by Coach Young, the lack of instant replay made it impossible to check whether Rutgers was up three or two.  In the end it didn't matter even though just like the Tulane game, there were two seconds left on the clock.  This time a long pass went out of bounds, Rutgers had a buzzer beating win and Brian Ellerbee had the first winning basket of his career at any level.  

Brian Ellerbe 

The win marked the beginning of a nine game winning streak that put Rutgers in a good position for the post season.  Ironically, in a rematch with Temple in the semi-finals of the Atlantic Ten tournament, the Owls got a revenge victory.  It wasn't enough, however to mar the Knights season which was rewarded with an NCAA bid and an opening round matchup against South Western Louisiana.  Rutgers defeated the Raging Cajuns, the Scarlet Knights last NCAA victory, before falling to St. John's in the second round.  Brian Ellerbe went on to a long college coaching career including being the first African-American coach at Loyola University of Maryland and the University of Michigan.  Brian holds the Rutgers and Madison Square Garden records for assists in a game, 16 against North Carolina State on December 27, 1984.  The 1982-83 team finished the season with a 23-8 record, the 23 victories put them third in total wins behind the 1976 (31) and the 1978 teams (24).  It is a team and a season to be remembered.      

Practice Pays Off - Rutgers 62 - Fordham 61

Although perhaps not equal to the metaphorical one thousand words, the above picture captures basketball's most dramatic moment - the buzzer beating shot attempt.  Time has run out, but since the ball is in the air, the shot's outcome will spell the difference not just between victory and defeat, but also between a moment to be treasured and one that can't be forgotten no matter how hard we try.  Like no-hitters in baseball or goal line stands in football, basketball buzzer beaters are relatively rare. Indeed some college teams go through an entire season or seasons without such moments.  There is probably no logical explanation for how or why they occur, such moments are opportunities that as Shakespeare said "taken at the flood leads on to fortune."  And regardless of how they happen, they deserve to be remembered and celebrated.  To that end, the 2021 version of this blog will focus on 10 such moments in Rutgers basketball history.  For our purposes, a buzzer beating shot is defined as one that either won the game or set up a game winning foul shot.  For the most part the shot ended the game and there is a limit of one buzzer beater per player.   

Bob Greacen laying one in against Delaware - Daily Home News

Rather than trying to rank the ten games, they will appear in chronological order beginning on February 27, 1969, when Rutgers hosted Fordham at the College Avenue Gym.  While known today as "the Barn," at the time, it was simply the Gym, considered outdated in many ways, but a major home court advantage.   Visitors sometimes asked if the court was regulation size.  It was, but didn't always seem that way due to the fans, primarily students, sitting right on top of the action.  Capacity was listed as 2,800, but it was probably more the number who could be squeezed in without unduly upsetting the fire marshal.  The 1969 team was a senior led squad, a number of whom had been a major part of the 1967 team, the first post World War II Rutgers basketball team to gain national attention.  Heading into the Fordham game, the 1969 team was well on its way to a return to the NIT thanks to a 17-3 record and a 12 game winning streak.  At the time, the NIT had far more prestige than today.  Only about 25 teams made the NCAA tournament so there were roughly only 40 post season opportunities available for 300 or so teams.  In addition, all the NIT games were played at Madison Square Garden when it was truly the Mecca of college basketball.  Some teams actually declined an NCAA bid to play in the NIT.

Rutgers Daily Targum - February 28, 1969

Like Rutgers, Fordham, 15-7, was hoping for an NIT bid.  As usual the Gym was packed and the atmosphere became even more intense thanks to 100 or so Fordham students who tried to hassle the ushers. Since the ushers were Rutgers football players that didn't go well for the visitors.  Next the Fordham mascot tried to harass Bob Greacen, Rutgers leading scorer during the pre-game warmups.  Today that probably would have earned Fordham a technical foul, instead it just ratcheted the intensity up even higher if that was possible.  The first half was close throughout, but at the break Rutgers led 36-31.  The lead didn't last long, however, as Fordham went ahead with 14:00 left in the second half and led by six, 59-53, with three minutes left.  Rutgers had struggled to score throughout the second half, making only six baskets, four by Dick Stewart, team captain and second leading scorer.  Fortunately, Greacen got hot at the line and made five of six foul shots to bring Rutgers within one with just over a minute left.  After Fordham failed to score, Greacen was fouled again and made both shots for a 60-59 Rutgers lead.  With 30 seconds left Fordham missed their initial shot and a follow up, but Ken Crucius rebounded his own miss and scored to give Fordham a one point lead.

Daily Home News - February 28, 1969

Ten seconds remained in the game and Coach Bill Foster took a time out to set up a play.  Bob Greacen remembers that in the huddle Foster asked Dick Stewart if he wanted to take the last shot.  In typical selfless fashion, Stewart said "Greek's hot, let him take it."  Stewart inbounded the ball to John McFadden who dribbled across midcourt and passed the ball to Greacen.  With the seconds counting down, "Greek" took one dribble, faked and took a 19 foot jump shot from the right of the key, aiming to bank it in off the backboard. It was, "Greek" remembered, a shot he had practiced a thousand times in his backyard and all the practice proved to be more than worth it.  The ball went off the glass and swished through the net as the buzzer sounded.  Greacen was mobbed, not only by his teammates, but students who stormed on to the court, led by football star and Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame member Bruce Van Ness.  They lifted "Greek" on to their shoulders while the Gym echoed with chants of "NIT, NIT, NIT."  Fordham was understandably heart broken by the result, but in the end they also received an NIT bid.   

Although taken in an earlier game against Columbia, this is basically the shot Greacen took to beat both Fordham and the clock.  

In addition to the last second heroics, it was a remarkable night for Greacen who shot eight of sixteen from the floor and an incredible 15-17 from the line (88%) for 31 points, just over half of Rutgers total.  The win was Rutgers 13th in a row and they added three more for what was then a school record 16 straight.   Although the streak and the season ended with a loss in the opening round of the NIT, the team's 21-4 record is the second highest winning percentage (.840) in Rutgers men's basketball history, topped only by the Final Four team which also had the longest winning streak at 31.  Bob Greacen was the first choice in the second round of the 1969 NBA draft, chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks who took Kareem Abdul Jabbar in the first round.  Greacen played two seasons for the Bucks and was a member of the 1971 NBA championship team.  After playing briefly in the ABA, Bob embarked on a long teaching career in Allentown, Pennsylvania.  He holds the College Avenue Gym record for points in a game (46) and is tied with Eric Riggins for baskets in a game (19). Bob is a member of the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame.