Paytonlives said:
The 74-75 Griz team is the best I can remember... almost beat UCLA (John Wooden) when they were on a long undefeated streak in the NCAA tourney. UCLA had won 9 of 10 NCAA titles!!
Micheal Ray, Micheal John, Ken McKenzie, Eric Hayes.
But athletically this UM team would run circles around them.
1. 74-75'-THE starting-point that every future legit team should be judged. The Griz damn-near knocked off the greatest dynasty in the history of NCAAA b-ball (UCLA 67- UM 64). Would you believe only 4 Griz scored in that game? And M Ray had only 2 pts (in 35 minutes). McKenzie,Hays and Smedley scored the other 62. The most surprising fact I just discovered: Jud Heathcote didn't go to Michigan State until after the 75-76' season after the Griz went 13-12. How the heck did Michigan State recruit a .500 Big Sky conference coach? Seriously, I'd like to know. That would NEVER happen today.
2. 86-87' (Krysko's sr yr)
3. 91-92'-Fasting,Engelelent,Delvon Anderson, Keith Crawford and Nate Atchison and a young Travis DeCuire. They lost to a star-studded Florida State team in the NCAA tourney that featured 4 future NBA-ers including Charlie Ward, Sam Cassell, Bobby Sura,& Doug Graham. Gary Kane missed a 3-pointer with 4-5 minutes left that could have cut the lead to 2? and it was never in real doubt after that, but I couldn't believe we hung with them that long (I was there). That FSU team was coached by Fat Pat Kennedy,who would later be the worst coaching decision in UM history and bring UM's budget to ground-zero. It's easy to coach 4 future NBA-ers. That was all Pat could do:BS/recruit (and spend money), he was a terrible coach, without future NBA-ers, as we all saw, and some of us are still feeling the affects.
4. 2005-06-Griz beat a supposed NBA first round early-entry Jr Nick Fazekas (Nevada), who was absolutely schooled by Andrew Strait, and Fazekas literally ran off the court after the game without shaking anyone's hands (like a little bitch), and was never a relevant prospect thus-after. (2nd rd pick the next year and only played 26 NBA games). ALL because of Andrew Strait. Strait cost that loser millions of dollars, literally.
5. 90-91' Griz got screwed having to play the #1 team in the country-UNLV (which featured 5! future NBA-eras), which dismantled us (99-65), but it remains the most unjust paring the Big Sky has ever got. No Way were the Griz the worst team in the tourney that year, and UNLV was a unanimous #1.