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Since we are waiting for coaching news, Part 3:
In addition to the sudden death of Barry being incredibly tragic, the timing of it for the basketball programs could hardly have been worse. Barry died on September 23rd, just nine weeks before SC's first game of the 50-51 basketball season on December 1st. The obvious choice for the job would have been future hall of fame coach Jack Gardner, a former player from Redlands who three years before took Kansas State to the Final Four. Nine weeks before your first game however, is a bad time to do a national coaching search, and USC had a solid choice in house, Forrest Twogood, so the opportunity to bring in a coach who ended up going to four Final Fours slipped by.
Twogood played for Barry at Iowa, and then was signed by Branch Ricky to pitch for the Cardinals. During his baseball off seasons he would come out and help Barry with the basketball team. He then became the head basketball coach at Idaho and San Francisco. He had one 24 win season at Idaho, and then after the war he rejoined Barry's staff, so under the circumstances a very solid choice to step in on such short notice.
Twogood did have some significant success at SC. His first team, led by second year player Bob Boyd, won 21 games, were ranked as high as 12th, and finished tied with UCLA is the Southern Division (lost the one game playoff). SC won 16 and 17 games the next two years, but in 53-54 was a Cinderella Story. Led by Jr Roy Irvin, SC was 8 and 9 when they went on a four game winning streak to close the season, including the last two games of the season on consecutive nights at #19 UCLA's Men's Gym. Those two wins gave USC the Southern Conference by one game over UCLA, and SC then won the best of three playoff against Oregon State, splitting the two games in Corvallis, to win the PCC and sending USC to its second NCAA tournament.
SC played in the West Region, ironically in Corvallis, and won its first game handily over Idaho State, then won a two overtime thriller over Santa Clara by one point, 66-65. On to the Final Four, which was again at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, the same location of SC's first Final Four in 1940. The result was near the same as well, with SC losing to Bradley by two points. SC would finish the season ranked 11 in the AP poll.
Over the next six seasons SC was a little above .500, including in 59-60 when they were 16-11, finished third in the new Athletic Association of Western Universities conference, but went to the NCAA tournament because UCLA was still on probation due to a football player payment scheme. This was a big deal, which SC was also tied up in, and killed the old Pacific Coast Conference. This was also the year the Sports Arena opened. SC would lose in the first round against Utah, coached by former SC player and future hall of famer Jack Gardner.
60-61 would be a hallmark year for SC basketball, resulting in the schools most recent outright regular season Conference Championship. SC finished tied with UCLA in conference, but beat the Bruins 2 out of 3 that year, all played at the Sports Arena to win the tie breaker. After this experience Wooden began the push for an on campus arena as it was proven the Sports Arena was "SC's arena". This team was led by one of SC's greatest players, John Rudometkin, who in his second year at SC averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds per game, which still rank 3rd and 5th respectively in school history. Chick Hearn, who called SC basketball at the time, called him "The Reckless Russian". SC beat Oregon in the first round, then lost to ASU by 15 in the second round. SC finished 7th in the AP poll, and was ranked 4th at the beginning of 61-62, Rudo's last year, but finished 14-11. In 62-63 SC was 20-9, but finished a game behind UCLA and Stanford in conference.
The story of SC hoops in the 50's and early 60's isn't what happened, but what could have been. There was a seismic shift in the demographics of California during this time, and USC ignored it. The California economy was booming after the World War 2, and there was a large migration of African Americans to CA in order to take advantage of economic opportunities and escape the oppression of the Jim Crow South. These people brought their kids, and their kids would pick up the sport of basketball. There is no way around this….. USC would not bring in a meaningful black recruit to play basketball until Bob Boyd brought in Junior College player Bill Hewitt in 1967. To give that some perspective, UTEP won the NCAA tournament with an all black starting line up the year BEFORE Hewitt first played at SC. It is pretty obvious this was a conscious decision, most likely at multiple levels of USC's leadership at the time. The most notable players at the time who USC ignored, and to be fair many, many other schools did as well, were Oakland resident Bill Russell and SF resident KC Jones, who would team up at San Francisco, Twogood's last HC job before SC, in the mid 50's to win two Natties, with one undefeated season.
Closer to home, John Wooden did not have this issue. He had recruited and championed black players back at Indiana State, so SC surrendered in recruiting some of the best basketball players in CA to a guy who didn't need any help. In 1952 Willie Naulls was the third ever Mr California in basketball, and the first African American. At that time SC and UCLA were peers in basketball, with SC maybe a step ahead. SC ignored Naulls, and he became a cornerstone of Wooden's program build as well as an announcement to the world that UCLA was open to all players. Jack Gardner, the former USC player and now the coach at Utah, also didn't have a problem recruiting black players. He brought in the third black California Mr Basketball, Billy McGill from Jefferson High, who would lead Utah over SC and Rudometkin in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1960, and lead Utah to the Final Four the next year. Not fixing the facilities issue until the Galen Center was a big problem for SC basketball, but the refusal to recruit black players at the same time John Wooden was building the greatest dynasty in the history of sports is the cardinal sin.
Ironically, the most consequential single recruit in Southern California basketball history was a short, skinny white kid who desperately wanted to go to USC. Gail Goodrich's father, Gail Sr, lettered three years at SC for Sam Barry in the late 30s, and when Gail Jr was in high school SC had been to two Final Fours, and UCLA zero, so he really wanted to go to SC. Twogood however, according to an interview Goodrich did with the Times in 2006, ignored him because he was too small. Wooden did not ignore him, recognizing his hoops IQ when scouting him his Junior year. Goodrich hit a growth spurt as a Senior, and became the third CA Mr Basketball to go to UCLA vs USC's zero.
The rest, as they say, is history. In 1963 SC went 1-2 against UCLA, winning the last meeting of the year on March 1st, 62-60. In 1964, UCLA sent out two black starters along with Goodrich, and would become the third college team to go undefeated, with a record of 30-0. The Bruins would go on to win 9 NCAA championships in the next 11 years, including 7 in a row with three more undefeated season. USC would not win a game again against UCLA until 1970. Goodrich would go onto a hall of fame career in the NBA. USC had a couple of great players during this time, John Block and Allen Young, but say they were overshadowed would be an understatement.
I have often wondered what the conversations were in SC's halls of powers as UCLA started on its run. My dad, who was 17 when Barry went to the Final Four in 1940, would get very agitated when asked about it. "SC blew it!" he would say. Twogood would go onto coach two more sub .500 seasons, and then move into an Athletic Department position.
Next Time, Bob Boyd attempts the impossible, and almost succeeds, Lute Olson and Stan Morrison
In addition to the sudden death of Barry being incredibly tragic, the timing of it for the basketball programs could hardly have been worse. Barry died on September 23rd, just nine weeks before SC's first game of the 50-51 basketball season on December 1st. The obvious choice for the job would have been future hall of fame coach Jack Gardner, a former player from Redlands who three years before took Kansas State to the Final Four. Nine weeks before your first game however, is a bad time to do a national coaching search, and USC had a solid choice in house, Forrest Twogood, so the opportunity to bring in a coach who ended up going to four Final Fours slipped by.
Twogood played for Barry at Iowa, and then was signed by Branch Ricky to pitch for the Cardinals. During his baseball off seasons he would come out and help Barry with the basketball team. He then became the head basketball coach at Idaho and San Francisco. He had one 24 win season at Idaho, and then after the war he rejoined Barry's staff, so under the circumstances a very solid choice to step in on such short notice.
Twogood did have some significant success at SC. His first team, led by second year player Bob Boyd, won 21 games, were ranked as high as 12th, and finished tied with UCLA is the Southern Division (lost the one game playoff). SC won 16 and 17 games the next two years, but in 53-54 was a Cinderella Story. Led by Jr Roy Irvin, SC was 8 and 9 when they went on a four game winning streak to close the season, including the last two games of the season on consecutive nights at #19 UCLA's Men's Gym. Those two wins gave USC the Southern Conference by one game over UCLA, and SC then won the best of three playoff against Oregon State, splitting the two games in Corvallis, to win the PCC and sending USC to its second NCAA tournament.
SC played in the West Region, ironically in Corvallis, and won its first game handily over Idaho State, then won a two overtime thriller over Santa Clara by one point, 66-65. On to the Final Four, which was again at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, the same location of SC's first Final Four in 1940. The result was near the same as well, with SC losing to Bradley by two points. SC would finish the season ranked 11 in the AP poll.
Over the next six seasons SC was a little above .500, including in 59-60 when they were 16-11, finished third in the new Athletic Association of Western Universities conference, but went to the NCAA tournament because UCLA was still on probation due to a football player payment scheme. This was a big deal, which SC was also tied up in, and killed the old Pacific Coast Conference. This was also the year the Sports Arena opened. SC would lose in the first round against Utah, coached by former SC player and future hall of famer Jack Gardner.
60-61 would be a hallmark year for SC basketball, resulting in the schools most recent outright regular season Conference Championship. SC finished tied with UCLA in conference, but beat the Bruins 2 out of 3 that year, all played at the Sports Arena to win the tie breaker. After this experience Wooden began the push for an on campus arena as it was proven the Sports Arena was "SC's arena". This team was led by one of SC's greatest players, John Rudometkin, who in his second year at SC averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds per game, which still rank 3rd and 5th respectively in school history. Chick Hearn, who called SC basketball at the time, called him "The Reckless Russian". SC beat Oregon in the first round, then lost to ASU by 15 in the second round. SC finished 7th in the AP poll, and was ranked 4th at the beginning of 61-62, Rudo's last year, but finished 14-11. In 62-63 SC was 20-9, but finished a game behind UCLA and Stanford in conference.
The story of SC hoops in the 50's and early 60's isn't what happened, but what could have been. There was a seismic shift in the demographics of California during this time, and USC ignored it. The California economy was booming after the World War 2, and there was a large migration of African Americans to CA in order to take advantage of economic opportunities and escape the oppression of the Jim Crow South. These people brought their kids, and their kids would pick up the sport of basketball. There is no way around this….. USC would not bring in a meaningful black recruit to play basketball until Bob Boyd brought in Junior College player Bill Hewitt in 1967. To give that some perspective, UTEP won the NCAA tournament with an all black starting line up the year BEFORE Hewitt first played at SC. It is pretty obvious this was a conscious decision, most likely at multiple levels of USC's leadership at the time. The most notable players at the time who USC ignored, and to be fair many, many other schools did as well, were Oakland resident Bill Russell and SF resident KC Jones, who would team up at San Francisco, Twogood's last HC job before SC, in the mid 50's to win two Natties, with one undefeated season.
Closer to home, John Wooden did not have this issue. He had recruited and championed black players back at Indiana State, so SC surrendered in recruiting some of the best basketball players in CA to a guy who didn't need any help. In 1952 Willie Naulls was the third ever Mr California in basketball, and the first African American. At that time SC and UCLA were peers in basketball, with SC maybe a step ahead. SC ignored Naulls, and he became a cornerstone of Wooden's program build as well as an announcement to the world that UCLA was open to all players. Jack Gardner, the former USC player and now the coach at Utah, also didn't have a problem recruiting black players. He brought in the third black California Mr Basketball, Billy McGill from Jefferson High, who would lead Utah over SC and Rudometkin in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1960, and lead Utah to the Final Four the next year. Not fixing the facilities issue until the Galen Center was a big problem for SC basketball, but the refusal to recruit black players at the same time John Wooden was building the greatest dynasty in the history of sports is the cardinal sin.
Ironically, the most consequential single recruit in Southern California basketball history was a short, skinny white kid who desperately wanted to go to USC. Gail Goodrich's father, Gail Sr, lettered three years at SC for Sam Barry in the late 30s, and when Gail Jr was in high school SC had been to two Final Fours, and UCLA zero, so he really wanted to go to SC. Twogood however, according to an interview Goodrich did with the Times in 2006, ignored him because he was too small. Wooden did not ignore him, recognizing his hoops IQ when scouting him his Junior year. Goodrich hit a growth spurt as a Senior, and became the third CA Mr Basketball to go to UCLA vs USC's zero.
The rest, as they say, is history. In 1963 SC went 1-2 against UCLA, winning the last meeting of the year on March 1st, 62-60. In 1964, UCLA sent out two black starters along with Goodrich, and would become the third college team to go undefeated, with a record of 30-0. The Bruins would go on to win 9 NCAA championships in the next 11 years, including 7 in a row with three more undefeated season. USC would not win a game again against UCLA until 1970. Goodrich would go onto a hall of fame career in the NBA. USC had a couple of great players during this time, John Block and Allen Young, but say they were overshadowed would be an understatement.
I have often wondered what the conversations were in SC's halls of powers as UCLA started on its run. My dad, who was 17 when Barry went to the Final Four in 1940, would get very agitated when asked about it. "SC blew it!" he would say. Twogood would go onto coach two more sub .500 seasons, and then move into an Athletic Department position.
Next Time, Bob Boyd attempts the impossible, and almost succeeds, Lute Olson and Stan Morrison