Men's Basketball: '65 Frosh Team to be Honored
February 21, 2005 03:33 PM | General
February 21, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Members of the 1965 West Virginia University freshman team that integrated basketball in the Southern Conference will be recognized during the Mountaineers’ men’s basketball game Saturday afternoon against Rutgers.
This year represents the 40th anniversary of that pioneering team.
“The ones I’ve talked to are very enthused about coming back,” said Gary McPherson, senior director of athletic development for the Mountaineer Athletic Club. “They all spoke so highly of Fritz Williams and I think that’s one of the main things is to honor his great basketball career and life.”
The late Ron “Fritz” Williams was the key component of that freshman team and later varsity teams of 1966, 1967 and 1968 playing for Coach Bucky Waters. Williams led West Virginia to a Southern Conference title and a trip to the NCAA tournament in 1967. The Mountaineers also earned NIT bids in 1966 and 1968. Williams averaged more than 20 points per game during both his junior and senior seasons and was the ninth overall player selected in the 1968 NBA draft.
The Weirton native played eight NBA seasons with the Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Lakers. Williams died of a heart attack in San Francisco on April 4, 2004.
Among former players from that era that have committed to return Saturday include Jim Lewis, Dick Penrod, Dave Reaser, Ed Harvard, Norman Holmes and Lewis Hale as well as Bill Ryczaj, Bob Hummell, Dennis Peterson and Gary Shaffer.
Lewis, head women’s basketball coach at Fordham University, will make the trip to Morgantown before his team’s game at Duquesne on Sunday.
WVU administrators planning to attend include Dick Polen, Charley Hockenberry, Carl Roberts, Mike Caryl, Al Babcock, Eleanor Lamb and former WVU coach Bucky Waters.
The freshman team in 1965 posted a 20-1 record against arguably the toughest freshman schedule in school history. The Basketball News that year listed the WVU freshmen team as one of the nation’s five-best that year along with Louisville, Houston, Washington State and Kentucky.
The group will meet at the WVU Coliseum Saturday morning to take a tour of the facility before having a luncheon with West Virginia University Director of Athletics Ed Pastilong and members of the WVU athletic staff. Mountaineer coach John Beilein will meet with the group following the luncheon.
The group will be introduced during the first half of Saturday’s game.
“It’s great to have these guys come back to their alma mater after 40 years,” said McPherson. “Personally, I coached against the ’64, ’65, ’66 and ’67 teams when I was at VMI. Some of those ’68 guys were here when I came in 1969 to coach on Sonny Moran’s staff.”
