The Dandy Dons: Bill Russell, K. C. Jones, Phil Woolpert, and One of College Basketball's Greatest and Most Innovative Teams

8. A Disappointing Season

“We were worse than awful.” —Stan Buchanan At the start of the 1953–54 season the Dons expected to unseat Santa Clara as champions of the cba. The Broncos had made it to the final four in 1952 as well as to the Western Regional finals in 1953, and several players returned from that team in the fall, including powerhouse forward Kenny Sears. usf’s season started off with a formidable opponent—the tenth-ranked California Golden Bears, a team that included AllAmerican Bob McKeen, a six-foot-seven, 225-pound center. The last time the two teams met, Cal had overwhelmed usf 64–33. The prognosis wasn’t good this time, either. A reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle commented, “Some observers have said that Russell, who is six-nine and 200 pounds, will be outwrestled by good pivotmen. This remains to be seen. The long boy from Oakland’s McClymonds High is mostly muscle and bone.” EIGHT A Disappointing Season 62 A Disappointing Season McKeen was backed up by sensational playmaker Bob Matheny, a sophomore who had been northern California’s Player of the Year while at Lowell High School. K. C. Jones was well aware of Matheny’s talents, having played against him when Jones was at Commerce. The Dons had some firepower of their own alongside Russell. K. C. Jones was beginning his second varsity season, and his running mate at guard was senior Rich Mohr. Forwards Frank Evangelho and Jerry Mullin flanked Russell. The game was played before a standing-room-only crowd of sixty-four-hundred fans at dingy Kezar Pavilion, about twenty blocks from the usf campus at 755 Stanyan Street, the “home” court of the Dons. More than two-thousand people were turned away. The pavilion, which was built by the city in 1928, was rocking to see Russell’s first varsity game. “Before that,” Jones recalled, “we wouldn’t have much of a crowd. I guess they anticipated something great . . . or wanted to see Cal.” Said the San Francisco Chronicle, “Those lucky enough to find a seat or a place to stand will not forget the night.” Woolpert was asked why the game drew so many fans, especially when basketball attendance had been down for Bay Area basketball. “Maybe that kid [Russell] started us off. A lot of people were curious to see him, after what he did as a freshman. Russell didn’t disappoint on the varsity. It takes a name. He’s got it. I haven’t seen a better coordinated tall man.” The Dons took the court in their green and gold warm-up suits, which included flaps on the back like a sailor’s uniform with “Dons” printed in big letters. Pompon girls wearing below -the-knee skirts and long-sleeved sweaters greeted them. The Dons wore tight-fitting shorts and jerseys with no t-shirts under them. Nary a tattoo was in sight. Nor a headband. The nervous Woolpert—unable to light up a cigarette—chomped on a piece of gum. A Disappointing Season 63 Watching the game that night was a five-foot-eight guard, Warren Baxter, who played for City College of San Francisco and was a friend of K. C. Jones and Bill Russell. Baxter joined the Dons the following year and provided a strong backup to Jones and Hal Perry in the Dons’ two championship years. As play began Jones tenaciously guarded Matheny—eventually holding him to a single field goal for the game. When Matheny passed to McKeen, he found Russell right there to reject shots. Russell smacked the first shot McKeen took into the third row of seats with his big left hand. In later games, as Russell gained experience, he learned how to steer blocked shots to his teammates , which often lead to a fast break. But in that game, “He blocked three shots into the stands,” McKeen recalled. “And he stayed a foot and a half off me. I’d never run into anybody who could play off you like that and control the game. I never had trouble with any other centers. He was the only guy to block my hook shot.” The Dons had scouted McKeen and discovered that the bulky center could not move well to his right, preferring to spin left and throw up a right-handed hook shot. Russell was waiting for it and, being left-handed, swatted the ball away...