Some good old college hoops on the (You)Tube
Amidst the social media posts about people’s pets and kids, I’ve noticed a fair number of folks talking about their latest night of binge-watching TV series.
Most of these shows, I’ve never heard of. And people are watching them through some service which is equally puzzling.
(I spent an hour in Best Buy the other day looking for blank VHS tapes, but that’s another column.
Just kidding. Sort of.)
I guess the closest I come to binge watching is when some channel shows a bunch of M*A*S*H episodes in a row. Anything past that, and I fall asleep.
BUT I’LL admit to one guilty pleasure of late — watching old college basketball games on YouTube.
“Now, why would you want to watch a game where you already know who wins?” I get asked a lot.
That’s not why I watch.
I’m more curious how the games were played back then, compared to now. How they were officiated, how they were announced, etc.
This recent fixation started with a search for Oregon State vs. Georgetown, in the 1982 West Regional finals in Provo, Utah. Growing up in Oregon as a Beavers fan, I later enjoyed their excellent passing, Blume-Radford-Johnson led teams in the late 1970s and early 80s that always got knocked off too soon in the NCAA tournament.
In ’82, OSU came within one game of the Final Four, and the Beavers have never been that close before or since. Of course, the Beavers were clobbered by Georgetown and a freshman center named Patrick Ewing, but that wasn’t the point.
Sadly, a YouTube search for that game came up empty.
However, days later, the Idaho-Oregon State regional semifinal from that season popped up, so I clicked on that game and settled in my recliner.
I remembered those Vandal teams, featuring Brian Kellerman and Phil Hopson and Kelvin Smith and Gordie Herbert and Ken Owens, and coached by Don Monson. I’ve even had the pleasure of interviewing a few of them since then. That Sweet 16 visit is also as far as a Vandal team has ever made it in the NCAAs.
Watching that game again years later, Idaho was probably better than Oregon State (the Vandals had pasted the Beavers earlier that season, at the Far West Classic in Portland), but just missed too many shots and got into foul trouble in the rematch.
Remember, that was before the 3-point line, and before the shot clock. So many teams just played a packed-in zone defense, and dared people to shoot over it.
Offensively, teams turned down shots from behind where the 3-point line would eventually be, probing for a closer shot. With no clock, you could understand teams being in no hurry to shoot. But against said zone, teams appeared to take the first available jump shot.
During the OSU-Idaho game, the announcers kept talking about rumors of Monson about to become the head coach at Arizona. I don’t remember that, but I do remember that one year later, he did leave Moscow to take the Oregon job.
Also, the color commentator for the game (Irv Brown) had reffed the earlier matchup that season between Oregon State and Idaho. How often do you think that happens?
WATCHING THAT game led me to UCLA vs. Idaho State, in the semifinals of the 1977 West Regional in Provo (back then, teams from the West actually played in the West Regional. What a concept).
The Bruins were two years removed from John Wooden, but were still a national power, coming off a Final Four appearance in ’76.
But this Idaho State team was good — a reminder that, every now and then, an Idaho State team is good. The Bengals were led by 7-foot center Steve Hayes, pride of Aberdeen, Idaho, and someone UCLA couldn’t stop.
Watching this game again, 40 years later, it wasn’t the upset it was touted to be at the time. Idaho State outplayed UCLA, and deserved to win. It wasn’t a shocker.
That game led me to a couple NCAA title games, Marquette over North Carolina in 1977 and Indiana over Michigan in ’76.
Eventually, I stumbled upon UNLV vs. the University of San Francisco, in a 1977 West Regional first-round game in Tucson, Ariz.
UNLV was just getting started then under Jerry Tarkanian, and USF was in the middle of a run, led by Bill Cartwright, which included a few weeks as the No. 1 team in the nation.
But on this afternoon, it was all UNLV. The Rebels won the opening tip, and shot about 4 seconds later — from the hashmark in front of the bench, about 28 feet from the basket. They kept running and shooting until they had finished off a 121-95 demolition of the Dons.
Obviously, with YouTube, you run the risk that the recording of the game was of poor quality. That turned out to be the case with USF-UNLV, which was too bad, because for entertainment value, that game rivals Loyola-Marymount vs. Michigan in 1991 and Houston vs. Louisville in ’83.
That UNLV team went all the way to the Final Four, losing to North Carolina in a national semifinal. In their previous game, the Rebels held off that Idaho State team that had just upended UCLA.
NEXT UP was UCLA vs. DePaul, in the 1979 West Regional final in Provo. That turned out to be the first and only Final Four trip for DePaul, coached by Ray Meyer and led by freshman Mark Aguirre.
What caught my eye was, many of the guys who played for UCLA in that ’77 game against Idaho State were still around for the ’79 game vs. DePaul (“Starting at center for UCLA, Gig Sims!”). Imagine that many good players sticking around at UCLA — or any big-time program — that long these days.
Among those calling those games were luminaries like and Dick Enberg and Jim Simpson. Doing the analysis with Simpson was Tommy Hawkins, who interviewed Jerry Tarkanian after one of his games. Funny to see Tark with hair back then.
Games weren’t as micromanaged back then, especially at the end of games, and as a result didn’t drag on as much.
Also, kudos to the folks who posted these games to YouTube. Even more kudos to those who edited out the commercials before posting.
Now I just wonder what oldie-but-goodie game I’ll stumble onto next.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.