Posted by John Antonik on Wednesday, April 8, 2009
(11:49 a.m.)
One of the more memorable victories in WVU history took place in Charleston Jan. 29, 1964, when Davidson All-America center Fred Hetzel was called for goaltending on Marty Lentz’s last-second half-court heave.
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Tom Lowry, pictured in 2007 at the West Virginia University Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo
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The score was tied at 73 with two seconds remaining when Hetzel tipped away Lentz’s prayer. Davidson coach Lefty Driesell was beside himself. He first chased down official Red Mihalik, and then Otis Allmond, who made the call.
“If I am going to get beat on a shot from 50 feet I would accept it more easily than I do on goaltending,” Driesell said afterward.
Davidson, ranked third in the country, had a lot riding on this game. The Wildcats were enjoying one of the nation’s longest winning streaks at 15 games, and had a commanding lead in the Southern Conference standings.
Driesell built Davidson’s powerhouse program around Hetzel, a 6-foot-8 center from Bethesda, Md., who wound up spending seven years in the NBA with San Francisco, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
West Virginia old-timers can certainly recall what a great player Hetzel was because he absolutely wore out the Mountaineers. In seven career games against West Virginia, Hetzel averaged 25.4 points and 14 rebounds per game.
Only once did Hetzel fail to score at least 20 points against the Mountaineers and it was the goaltending game in Charleston. And the man responsible for holding Hetzel down was Tom Lowry.
Lost in the hoopla surrounding the controversial ending was Lowry’s magnificent all-around performance against Hetzel. West Virginia’s 6-foot-8 center matched Hetzel’s 19 points, while also grabbing a game-high 19 rebounds.
“I thought Lowry was terrific, especially with those short jump shots late in the game,” remarked West Virginia coach George King afterward.
Lowry had a very fine career at WVU, scoring 1,104 points and grabbing 914 rebounds in three varsity seasons. He averaged a double-double for his career and earned first-team all-Southern Conference honors as a senior in 1964.
After earning a master’s degree in business administration from WVU in 1965, Lowry went on to become a super-successful businessman who spent his later years between Michigan and Charlotte, N.C. He was also an avid sailor, serving membership in several yacht clubs.
Two years ago, Lowry was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.
Last Friday, cancer claimed Tom Lowry at age 67. Our heart-felt condolences go out to his family and friends.
Here is another testament to Jerry West’s greatness. Our Tim Goodenow sent me a graphic produced by ESPN yesterday listing the college players that had 30 or more double-doubles (points and rebounds) in season.
West did it at West Virginia in 1960.
Only three other players in college basketball history have duplicated West’s feat: Xavier McDaniel, David Robinson and Blake Griffin.
What is so amazing about West’s accomplishment is that it took more than 20 years for another college player to do it.
Now that is greatness.
The early-bird basketball predictions are already starting to come out for next year and some pretty knowledgeable people think that Bob Huggins’s Mountaineers may be a handful in 2010. Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune has West Virginia ranked sixth. Wrote Ryan: “This will be one stacked team. Joe Mazzulla, a veteran of the 2007-08 Sweet 16 run, will return from shoulder injury. Da’Sean Butler is now a high-scoring star.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-07-2009-ncaa-top10apr07,0,2817934.story
SI’s Luke Winn is also sold on the Mountaineers, placing WVU ninth. Wrote Winn: “This should be Bob Huggins’ best team yet in Morgantown, in part because matchup nightmare Devin Ebanks will take the Big East by storm as a sophomore. The Mountaineers lose only gunner Alex Ruoff, but forward Da’Sean Butler, one of the nation’s best under-the-radar scorers, can pick up the slack.”
http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/tourney/posts/60921-michigan-state-tops-2009-preseason-rankings?bcnn=yes
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Pat White |
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Sometimes we live in a bubble. Consider this one: Which Big East football program has the most Top 50 NFL prospects in this year’s draft?
Big East champ Cincinnati? Runner-up Pitt? West Virginia? Rutgers? South Florida?
Well how about Connecticut with three Top 50 players according to NFLDraftScout.com, including the Big East’s No. 1 pro prospect in cornerback Darius Butler.
Butler, running back Donald Brown and offensive tackle William Beatty should each go before round two is finished.
Other Big East players that should go in the first two rounds include Rutgers wide receiver Kenny Britt, Cincinnati outside linebacker Connor Barwin, Pitt running back LeSean McCoy and Louisville center Eric Wood.
West Virginia’s Pat White is rated the 76th-best player in the draft.
My guess is whoever drafts McCoy and White, wherever they get them, will be mighty happy come August.
Here are the ratings of some of West Virginia’s other draft-eligible players: Pat McAfee (261), Greg Isdaner (271), Ryan Stanchek (291), Mortty Ivy (335) and Ellis Lankster (366).
Associate Sports Information Director Phil Caskey is teaching an online sports information class this summer through the School of Journalism. It is the first time a sports information class has ever been offered at West Virginia University.
Students who sign up for Caskey’s sports information course will earn three credit hours.
West Virginia had a couple of interested visitors at Tuesday’s 6 a.m. practice, and Bill Stewart said it is possible that at least one of those visitors could find his way onto the field next fall.
Two-time Baltimore player of the year Tavon Austin got up at 3:30 in the morning to drive over and watch his future teammates work out. Austin is one of 25 players to sign with the Mountaineers in this year’s signing class.
“There are some spots that we think we can put some guys in there. A return man is one,” said Stewart. “I really think we have a guy or two that can catch punts and kickoffs as well as anyone we’ve had. Now, with that being said, it all goes back to potential. Potential means that it’s something they haven’t done yet so we’re looking at performance.
“When they get here in camp we’ll find out how good they really are and see if they can handle the load.”
Having watched Austin’s high school highlights, he looks very much like Willie Drewery to me. If you recall, “Willie D” was one of the most electrifying returners in WVU history.
I would take another Willie D in a heartbeat.
Enjoy your week!
