1962–63 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team

The 1962–63 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the University of Idaho during the 1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The independent Vandals were led by third-year head coach Joe Cipriano,[1] and played their home games on campus at the Memorial Gymnasium, in Moscow, Idaho.

1962–63 Idaho Vandals men's basketball
ConferenceIndependent
Record20–6 (.769)
Head coach
Assistant coachWayne Anderson
MVPGus Johnson (F/C)
CaptainLyle Parks (G)
Home arenaMemorial Gymnasium

In his only season with the Vandals, forward/center Gus Johnson was a Northwest sensation, and led the team to a 20–6 (.769) record. Under the NCAA rules of the era, junior college transfers that had previously attended a four-year college were not allowed to play in tournaments during their first season at the new (third) school.[2][3] At the Far West Classic in Portland in late December, Idaho lost two of three games without him. With Johnson on the floor, the team was 19–2 (.905) entering the final weekend, but dropped two in Seattle.

Led by leading scorer Chuck White and Johnson,[4] the Vandals were at their best in their main rivalries from the old Pacific Coast Conference: 4–0 versus Oregon, 4–1 versus Palouse neighbor Washington State, and 1–1 against Washington. The primary nemesis was Seattle University, led by guard Eddie Miles, who swept all three games, half of UI's losses. Idaho dropped its only game with Oregon State at the Far West without Johnson, but won all three with Gonzaga, for a 9–3 record against its four former PCC foes and a collective 12–6 against the six Northwest rivals.[5] In the last season before the Big Sky Conference, the Vandals were undefeated in ten games against those teams;[6] this included a sweep of Idaho State for the King Spud Trophy and unofficial state title.[7]

Attendance at the Memorial Gym was consistently over-capacity, with an estimated 3,800 for home games in the cramped facility.[8] A 94–57 rout of WSU on December 20 caused the region to take notice.[9][10][11] The teams met nine days later in Portland without Johnson, and Idaho had to rally from behind to win by a point.[12] Johnson and center Paul Silas of Creighton waged a season-long battle to lead the NCAA in rebounding. Silas claimed this by averaging 20.6 per game, 0.3 more than Johnson.[13][14] In February, a low-profile article in Sports Illustrated introduced the team to the nation.[3]

Despite their record, the Vandals were not invited to the post-season. The NCAA tournament included only 25 teams and Oregon State and Seattle U. were selected from the Northwest. The NIT invited just twelve teams, with none from the Mountain or Pacific time zones. If Idaho had been invited, Johnson was ineligible to participate.[2]

Aftermath

That spring, 24-year-old Johnson was the tenth overall selection in the 1963 NBA draft and went on to a hall of fame career with the Baltimore Bullets. Cipriano also moved on to coach at Nebraska for seventeen seasons,[15] until his death.[16] Without Johnson (and White), the Vandals fell to 7–19 in 1963–64 and were 4–6 in the new Big Sky Conference, fifth place in the six-team league. They had a dismal 3–14 record through January,[17] and lost every game against their Northwest rivals, a collective 0–10 vs UW, WSU, UO, OSU, Seattle U., and Gonzaga.[5]

High scorer White became a hall of fame high school head coach in Anchorage, Alaska;[18][19] but both Cipriano and Johnson died before age fifty, due to cancer.[16][20] Team captain Lyle Parks earned a degree in chemical engineering,[21] and sophomore Chuck Kozak graduated from the UI's law school in 1968.[22]

Roster
1962–63 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 10 Don Sowar 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
—
 SoColdwater HS Coldwater, OH
G 11 Lyle Parks (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
 SrKendrick HS Kendrick, ID
F 13 Jim Schell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
—
 JrWendell HS Wendell, ID
C 14 Wayne Meyer 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
 Jr  Sutter, CA
G 15 Terry Henson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
 SoKent-Meridian HS Kent, WA
G 25 Bill Mattis 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
 JrCoeur d'Alene HS Coeur d'Alene, ID
F 33 Chuck White 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
 SrSkagit JC, LW HS Kirkland, WA
G 35 Fred Crowell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
—
 JrAnacortes HS Anacortes, WA
G 42 Rich Porter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
 SrKellogg HS Kellogg, ID
C 43 Gus Johnson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)220 lb (100 kg) RS JrBoise JC, Akron Akron, OH
F 44 Tom Whitfield 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
—
 JrGarfield HS Seattle, WA
C 45 Tom Moreland 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
 SoCoeur d'Alene HS Coeur d'Alene, ID
F 51 Nelson Levias 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
—
 SoGarfield HS Seattle, WA
F 55 Chuck Kozak 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
 So  Seattle, WA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results
Date
time, TV		 Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Mon, Dec 3
8:00 pm 		Long Beach State W 85–68  1–0
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,800)
Moscow, Idaho
Fri, Dec 7
8:15 pm 		at Gonzaga
Rivalry		 W 63–52  2–0
 Spokane Coliseum (6,644)
Spokane, Washington
Fri, Dec 14
7:00 pm 		at Montana State W 68–61  3–0
 Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (2,000)
Bozeman, Montana
Sat, Dec 15
7:00 pm 		at Montana State W 64–63 OT 4–0
 Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (3,500)
Bozeman, Montana
Thu, Dec 20
8:00 pm 		Washington State
Battle of the Palouse		 W 94–57  5–0
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,800)
Moscow, Idaho
Thu, Dec 27
9:30 pm 		vs. Oregon State
Far West Classic		 L 53–80  5–1
 Memorial Coliseum (12,129)
Portland, Oregon
Fri, Dec 28
4:00 pm 		vs. Seattle
Far West Classic		 L 71–85  5–2
 Memorial Coliseum (2,140)
Portland, Oregon
Sat, Dec 29
2:00 pm 		vs. Washington State
Far West Classic
Battle of the Palouse		 W 64–63  6–2
 Memorial Coliseum (1,500)
Portland, Oregon
Sat, Jan 5
7:00 pm 		at Montana W 75–60  7–2
 Adams Fieldhouse (4,000)
Missoula, Montana
Tue, Jan 8
8:00 pm 		at Washington State
Battle of the Palouse		 W 75–67  8–2
 Bohler Gymnasium (4,000)
Pullman, Washington
Fri, Jan 11
8:00 pm 		at Oregon W 62–61 OT 9–2
 McArthur Court (3,388)
Eugene, Oregon
Sat, Jan 12
8:00 pm 		at Oregon W 81–58  10–2
 McArthur Court (3,549)
Eugene, Oregon
Tue, Jan 15
8:00 pm 		Washington State
Battle of the Palouse		 W 72–65  11–2
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,750)
Moscow, Idaho
Tue, Jan 22
8:00 pm 		Montana W 78–69  12–2
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,700)
Moscow, Idaho
Fri, Feb 1
8:00 pm 		at Washington State
Battle of the Palouse		 L 57–66  12–3
 Bohler Gymnasium (3,500)
Pullman, Washington
Sat, Feb 2
8:00 pm 		Idaho State
King Spud Trophy		 W 90–61  13–3
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,800)
Moscow, Idaho
Fri, Feb 8
8:00 pm 		Oregon W 79–61  14–3
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,800)
Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Feb 9
8:00 pm 		Oregon W 88–78  15–3
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,800)
Moscow, Idaho
Fri, Feb 15
7:30 pm 		at Idaho State
King Spud Trophy		 W 83–76  16–3
 Reed Gymnasium (4,900)
Pocatello, Idaho
Sat, Feb 16
8:00 pm 		vs. Gonzaga
Rivalry		 W 83–76  17–3
  (3,600)
Twin Falls, Idaho
Fri, Feb 22
8:00 pm 		Seattle L 72–77  17–4
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,800)
Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Feb 23
8:00 pm 		Washington W 63–56  18–4
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,800)
Moscow, Idaho
Fri, Mar 1
8:00 pm 		Gonzaga
Rivalry		 W 87–81  19–4
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,800)
Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Mar 2
8:00 pm 		Montana State W 106–79  20–4
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,800)
Moscow, Idaho
Fri, Mar 8
8:00 pm 		at Washington L 50–58  20–5
 Hec Edmundson Pavilion (7,000)
Seattle, Washington
Sat, Mar 9
8:00 pm 		at Seattle L 88–95  20–6
 Seattle Center Coliseum (6,126)
Seattle, Washington
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.
Source:[1]

References
  1. "Vandal cagers set schedule". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). May 30, 1962. p. 2.
  2. "New hope Johnson could play in Far West Classic squelched". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 20, 1962. p. 12.
  3. Brody, Tom C. (February 18, 1963). "Big days in the pea capital". Sports Illustrated. pp. 50–52.
  4. "Led by White, Vandals break 24 records, tie one". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). March 12, 1963. p. 8.
  5. Go Vandals.com – men's basketball – 2011–12 media guide – p.72,74,75,90,98
  6. "Cage standings". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 12, 1963. p. 12.
  7. "Gus paces Vandal win over State". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. February 16, 1963. p. 8.
  8. "Idaho five drops Oregon by 88-78". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 10, 1963. p. 1B.
  9. Carter, Jack (December 21, 1962). "Hot-shooting Vandals whip Cougars 94–57". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 2.
  10. Missildine, Harry (December 21, 1962). "Idaho delights home crowd with 94-57 rout of Cougars". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 12.
  11. "Rousing win by Idaho five starts record speculation". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). December 21, 1962. p. 10.
  12. "Idaho nips WSU in consolation play". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 30, 1962. p. 8.
  13. Pluto, Terry (April 9, 2010). "Stories of former NBA star Gus Johnson are no tall tales". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  14. "Original Old School: Sweet Honey With the Rock". Slam. (magazine). April 6, 2010. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  15. Emerson, Paul (January 7, 1980). "Fighting back: Joe Cipriano". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  16. "Cipriano loses battle with cancer". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). UPI. November 25, 1980. p. 19.
  17. Carter, Jack (January 26, 1964). "Weber rolls past Vandals 86-77 on big second half". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 8.
  18. "Chuck White". Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  19. "Chuck White". Alaska High School Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  20. "Ex-Idaho star Gus Johnson dies at 48". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Knight Ridder. April 30, 1987. p. C1.
  21. "Lyle Parks". University of Idaho. (Academy of Engineers). 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  22. "About us". (Reno, Nevada): Kozak & Associates. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
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