1948–49 record 24–8 (8–0 IIC) | Head coach John Longfellow | |
Conference Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Home arena Indiana State Teacher's College Gymnasium | ||
In the 1948-49 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball season, the Sycamores were led by coach John Longfellow, NAIB All-American Duane Klueh and future NBA players, John Hazen and Bob Royer. They lost to Regis (CO) in 2OT in the NAIA National Semi-finals. The Sycamores finished as the National 4th place team with record of 24–8. This season represented Indiana State's 3rd NAIA Final Four.
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Regular season
During the 1948–49 season, Indiana State finished the regular season to finish 21–6, 7–0 in the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference; they won by an average of 16 points per game, scoring over 2,000 points. They finished the season at 24-8; the second highest win total in school history (at that time).
Coach John Longfellow's first team raced out of the gate, winning 9 of their first 12 games; including the mid-season Mid-Western Tournament over Oklahoma City Univ, Delta State (Miss) and Northeast Missouri. They won their 3rd consecutive Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title, qualifying for the NAIA Tournament.
Reserved seats were $1.20 per game for adults; ($11.75 in 2013 prices). Children were admitted for 60 cents! In 2013-14, many reserved seats for Indiana State games are available for $10.00.
Post-season
In 1949, Longfellow's first basketball team won the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title and received an invitation to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) National Tournament in Kansas City. Playing for his third season was Clarence Walker, an African-American from East Chicago, Indiana., who integrated the NAIA tournament the season prior under John Wooden. That year, Walker became the first African-American to play in any post-season intercollegiate basketball tournament, as the NIT and NCAA tournaments did not integrate until after 1950.
In Kansas City they won their first three games, winning their third game on a long Lenny Rzeszewski field goal with 3 seconds remaining in the game. but dropped a stunning double-overtime game to Regis, the surprise team of the tourney. The next day, in a re-match, following a December game, Beloit (WI) beat an exhausted Indiana State team to claim National 3rd place honors. Lenny Rzeszewski was named to the NAIB All-American and All-Tournament teams, joining him on both teams was Bob Royer, who was made his 3rd All-Tournament team.
Roster
The Sycamores were led by All-American Lenny Rzeszewski, Duane Klueh averaged 15.6 ppg, Don McDonald had a 10.5 average and Bob Royer posted an 11.5 ppg average. The starting lineup featured four future 1,000 career point scorers; Klueh, Don McDonald, the 1950 Chuck Taylor Award-winner Lenny Rzeszewski, and Bob Royer. The roster also included future Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer, Jim Powers, who became high school coach to actor Michael Warren.
SENIORS
JUNIORS
SOPHOMORES
COACHES
NAIA basketball tournament
Awards and honors
Len Rzeszewski – All-American (NAIB); All-NAIB Tourney Bob Royer – All-American (NAIB); All-NAIB Tourney