1948–49 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball team

Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball
1948–49 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference champions
NAIA Men's Division I Tournament, Semi-Finalist
Conference	Indiana Intercollegiate Conference
1948–49 record	24–8 (8–0 IIC)
Head coach	John Longfellow
Home arena	Indiana State Teacher's College Gymnasium
	Seasons ← 1947–48 1949–50 →

Last updated March 02, 2019

In the 1948-49 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball season, the Sycamores were led by coach John Longfellow, NAIB All-American Duane Klueh and future NBA players, John Hazen and Bob Royer. They lost to Regis (CO) in 2OT in the NAIA National Semi-finals. The Sycamores finished as the National 4th place team with record of 24–8. This season represented Indiana State's 3rd NAIA Final Four.

John Landis Longfellow was an American basketball coach and player. He is best known as National Title winning-head men's basketball coach at Indiana State University as well as leading the US to a Gold Medal in the 1951 Pan-Am Games.

Duane M. Klueh is a retired American basketball player and coach. Born in Bottineau, North Dakota, he was raised in Terre Haute, Indiana and still lives there today; he was the head men's basketball coach at Indiana State University for 12 seasons (1955–1967). As a Head Coach, he remains the leader in wins. Klueh played professionally in the NBA from 1949 to 1951.

John William Hazen was an American professional basketball player. A 6'2" guard from Indiana State University, Hazen played one season (1948–1949) in the Basketball Association of America as a member of the Boston Celtics. The Celtics coach was future Hall of Famer Doggie Julian He averaged 3.0 points per game and 0.5 assists per game.

Regular season

During the 1948–49 season, Indiana State finished the regular season to finish 21–6, 7–0 in the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference; they won by an average of 16 points per game, scoring over 2,000 points. They finished the season at 24-8; the second highest win total in school history (at that time).

The Indiana Intercollegiate Conference (IIC) was a college athletic conference in the United States from 1922 to 1950. It consisted of schools in Indiana.

Coach John Longfellow's first team raced out of the gate, winning 9 of their first 12 games; including the mid-season Mid-Western Tournament over Oklahoma City Univ, Delta State (Miss) and Northeast Missouri. They won their 3rd consecutive Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title, qualifying for the NAIA Tournament.

The 1949 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 12th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game featured Hamline University defeating Regis College 57 to 46. Hamline's championship win would make them the first team to win 2 non-consecutive tournaments. Regis University in their first tournament appearance would finish as the National Runner-Up, but it would be the highest finish Regis would ever see of the 5 tournament appearances. Regis would make it back to the NAIA Semifinals in 1951, only to finish in 4th place.

Reserved seats were $1.20 per game for adults; ($11.75 in 2013 prices). Children were admitted for 60 cents! In 2013-14, many reserved seats for Indiana State games are available for $10.00.

Post-season

In 1949, Longfellow's first basketball team won the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title and received an invitation to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) National Tournament in Kansas City. Playing for his third season was Clarence Walker, an African-American from East Chicago, Indiana.,^[1] who integrated the NAIA tournament the season prior under John Wooden. That year, Walker became the first African-American to play in any post-season intercollegiate basketball tournament, as the NIT and NCAA tournaments did not integrate until after 1950.^[2]

John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and head coach at the University of California, Los Angeles. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood," he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period as head coach at UCLA, including a record seven in a row. No other team has won more than four in a row in Division 1 college men's or women's basketball. Within this period, his teams won an NCAA men's basketball record 88 consecutive games. Wooden won the prestigious Henry Iba Award as national coach of the year a record seven times and won the AP award five times. He also won a Helms national championship at Purdue as a player 1931–1932 for a total of 10 NCAA Titles and 1 Helms Championships

In Kansas City they won their first three games, winning their third game on a long Lenny Rzeszewski field goal with 3 seconds remaining in the game.^[3] but dropped a stunning double-overtime game to Regis, the surprise team of the tourney. The next day, in a re-match, following a December game, Beloit (WI) beat an exhausted Indiana State team to claim National 3rd place honors. Lenny Rzeszewski was named to the NAIB All-American and All-Tournament teams, joining him on both teams was Bob Royer, who was made his 3rd All-Tournament team.

Clemens L. "Lenny" Rzeszewski was an American college basketball player and, later, a successful high school coach.He also coached Baseball at South Bend LaSalle and in 1984 they were rated number 1 going into sectional play

Roster

The Sycamores were led by All-American Lenny Rzeszewski, Duane Klueh averaged 15.6 ppg, Don McDonald had a 10.5 average and Bob Royer posted an 11.5 ppg average. The starting lineup featured four future 1,000 career point scorers; Klueh, Don McDonald, the 1950 Chuck Taylor Award-winner Lenny Rzeszewski, and Bob Royer. The roster also included future Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer, Jim Powers, who became high school coach to actor Michael Warren.

The Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player Award was created to honor the most outstanding player for the NAIA Men's Division I National Championship Tournament. Established in 1939, it has been awarded every year with the exception of 1944.

Robert D. Royer was an American professional basketball player. Royer was selected in the eighth round in the 1949 BAA Draft by the Providence Steamrollers. He played for the Denver Nuggets in 1949–50 before ending his NBA career after one season.

Lloyd Michael "Mike" Warren is an American TV actor and former college basketball player, best known for playing Officer Bobby Hill on the NBC television series Hill Street Blues.

SENIORS

#72 Bob Brady - Forward (South Bend, Indiana)
#54 Duane Klueh - Guard (Terre Haute, Indiana)
#7_ Dave Pressler -
#34 Bob Royer - Guard (Bowling Green, Indiana)
#73 Max Woolsey - Guard (Linton, Indiana)

JUNIORS

#77 Jim Berger - Guard (Jasper, Indiana)
#57 Dan Dimich – Forward/Center (South Bend, Indiana)
#45 Gene Edmonds - Center
#52 John Hazen - Forward
#92 Buren Hooper - (Bruceville, Indiana)
#33 Bill Jagodzinski - (South Bend, Indiana)
#75 Jerry Kunkel – Guard (Jasper, Indiana)
#58 Len Rzeszewski – Guard (South Bend, Indiana)
#56 Don McDonald – Center (Fontanet, Indiana)
#55 Jim Powers – Forward (South Bend, Indiana)
#32 Clarence Walker – Guard (East Chicago, Indiana)

SOPHOMORES

#59 Floyd Foster -

COACHES

Head Coach John Longfellow - Future NAIA Champion and Hall of Fame Coach

NAIA basketball tournament

Kansas City Nationals
- Indiana State 60, Eastern New Mexico 42
- Indiana State 78, Loyola (MD) 58
Elite Eight
- Indiana State 67, Emporia State (KS) 66
- Indiana State 45, Regis (CO) 48 (2OT)
3rd Place Game
- Indiana State 59 Beloit (WI) 67

Awards and honors

Len Rzeszewski – All-American (NAIB); All-NAIB Tourney
Bob Royer – All-American (NAIB); All-NAIB Tourney

Related Research Articles

The Indiana State Sycamores basketball is the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. They currently compete in the Missouri Valley Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2011.

The 1947 National Association for Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) National Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 10th annual men's basketball tournament of what is now the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. It would be the first time since 1945 the NAIA Semifinalist would feature four new teams. Becoming the 3rd tournament to do so, and a feat that would not be repeated until 1965.

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The Indiana State Sycamores are the NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic teams of Indiana State University. Since the 1977–78 academic year, Indiana State has been a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The Indiana State football team has competed in the second-tier Division I FCS since the 1982 season, and has been a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) since it was spun off from the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (Gateway) when the latter league merged into the MVC in 1992. Past conference memberships include the Indiana College Athletic League (1895–1922), the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference (1922–1950), the Indiana Collegiate Conference (1950–1968) and the Midwestern Conference (1970–1972). The women's teams were Gateway members from the league's 1982 founding until its absorption by the MVC. In 1986, a year after the Gateway took on football as its only men's sport, the Sycamores football team joined that conference.

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In 1947–48 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball season, the Sycamores were led by coach John Wooden, NAIB All-American Duane Klueh and future NBA players, John Hazen and Bob Royer. The Sycamores finished as the National Runner-Up with a record of 27–7; they lost to Louisville by 82-70 in the title game. This season represented Indiana State's 2nd NAIA Final Four, its 2nd National Title game and its 2nd National Runner-Up finish.

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References

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[1] ttp://www.indstate.edu/news/news.php?newsid=346

[2] ttp://www.indstate.edu/news/news.php?newsid=346

[3] ttps://www.newspapers.com/newspage/22574848/

v t e Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball
Venues	North Hall (1895–1923) William H. Wiley High School Gymnasium (1923–1928) ISU Gymnasium (1928–1962) College Arena (1962–1973) Hulman Center (1973–present)
Culture & lore	"Cheer for the Blue and White" "March On! (You Fighting Sycamores)"
People	Head coaches All-Century Team
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NAIA national championship in bold; NCAA Division I Final Four appearance in italics