Preseason polls were unanimous – ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Weekly - all had Marquette ranked #1 and a prohibitive favorite to make it three-in-a row. Marquette had height, experience and most of all they had Matthew Wilson.
Everything changed before the first game was played. Jim Chones and Doc Rivers declared themselves eligible for the NBA draft. Marquette’s chances for a third consecutive national championship hit rock bottom when Al McGuire abruptly retired. Even Dick Vitale was silent about the odds for a three-peat. Nobody had Marquette in their top ten.
The story of why Jim Chones declared for the draft tells us a lot about Al McGuire. Chones was raised in Racine, just 15 miles south of Milwaukee. Money was tight, but his parents always provided the basics for their six children and provided Chones a stable, loving family environment. 1972 was the second year of the American Basketball Association and the ABA needed star power. Chones was in the right place at the right time. The New York Nets offered Chones a ‘take it now or forget about it’ offer. “You have until Friday to decide.”
“Coach, I’m not ready to turn pro.”
“Jim, they are offering you a five million dollar signing bonus; take it.”
“I’m scared, Coach. I’m not sure I’m ready.”
Al McGuire, the son of an Irish immigrant saloon keeper, grew up in New York’s inner city and never feared anything. He played three years in the NBA for the Knicks and was known as a hard-nosed, defensive player that made the most of his limited abilities. “Jim, you are going to take the offer. The money is too good to turn down and next year the ABA might not be around. Take the money and buy your parents a new house.”
“Don’t you want me to play two more years at Marquette?” Chones was already a second team all American and could have become one of the best college centers of all time.
“Jim, I told your mother when I recruited you that I would look out for you and that’s what I’m doing. You don’t owe me or Marquette anything.” To Al McGuire, his players came first. Jim Chones took the Net’s offer, cashed the check and went on to enjoy a nice ABA and NBA career.
McGuire was replaced by Tom Crean, an assistant coach from Michigan State University. Crean had been a prodigy and heir apparent to succeed Tom Izzo before taking the Marquette job. Izzo-coached teams are known for tough, in your face man-to-man defense. This was how Al McGuire’ teams played defense when he wasn’t messing around with gimmick defenses such as the triangle and two or the box and one. It remained to be seen how Crean would mesh with Matthew Wilson.
Marquette would have to depend heavily upon freshmen and sophomores. There was a lot of talent at the guard level but almost no height. Matthew and Don Kojis, both 6’5”, would be the tallest starters. There were plenty of guards competing for the other three spots, including Tony Smith, a 6’3” point guard out of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, who would go on to have an excellent NBA career.
There was one special player that redshirted his freshman year for academic reasons, but during practice had displayed tremendous potential and the ability to dominate a game. His name was Dwayne Wade and he would go on to be one of the greatest Marquette Warrior basketball players of all time. Wade would also earn the MVP award in the NBA with the Miami Heat.
With successive championships under their belt, the Golden Eagles were still considered dangerous despite the loss of Chones, Berce, Tatum and Rivers. This quickly changed as they were upset by Cleveland State in their second game of the season and lost a home game against the University of Wisconsin. They limped into the Big East conference schedule with two losses and quickly absorbed two more losses as Louisville and Seton Hall beat them handily on their home courts. It appeared that Marquette did not have enough rebounding strength or interior defense to compete with the good teams.
The new half-court system that Tom Crean was trying to install was another problem. It might have worked with Chones in the middle, but the Marquette team was too small to do well in a half court offense. They needed to score quickly. Once they got into the half court game their lack of height and offensive rebounding was a decided disadvantage. To his credit, Crean was smart enough to recognize the problem and changed to an up-tempo style. This better suited his player’s talents and Marquette became a fun team to watch.
The Golden Eagles played a three guard offense with Kojis and Matthew at the forwards and ran at every opportunity. They pressed full court and their defense became instant offense as they led the league in deflections and outright steals. The first two subs off the bench were also guards making it easy to press full court and turn the game into a helter-skelter affair. It was not unusual for one or two guards to foul out each game, but the substitutes who were brought in never missed a beat. Marquette’s backcourt depth proved a deciding factor as opposing teams tired in the final ten minutes. Once more Matthew adjusted his game and concentrated on rebounding and defense, despite giving up six inches to taller opponents. He didn’t complain - they were winning.
Dwayne Wade was a big part of the team’s improvement in the second half of the season. His talent and acrobatic skills were unbelievable as he made fantastic shot after fantastic shot. Matthew Wilson, well he was Matthew Wilson. He was averaging 28 points, far above his 19 and a half point average for his first three years. He was playing the best basketball of his life. The Golden Eagles won 13 of the final 14 Big East games to finish in a tie for second behind the Louisville Cardinals.
Marquette entered the Big East tournament as the number two seed and quickly advanced to the finals for a rematch against Louisville. The winner of this game would almost assuredly be given a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The tournament was held on the Cardinal’s home floor and the partisan crowd erupted in thunderous applause as Louisville scored four points in the final 30 seconds to upset Marquette 77-76. Matthew missed a makeable 22 foot shot at the buzzer. It was one of the few times Matthew missed when the game was on the line. He addressed the players after the game.
“My fault, guys, I blew it – it won’t happen again. I need your help in making this a fourth consecutive championship. Most of you are freshmen and sophomores and have two or three more years of eligibility remaining, but this is my last year. The experts say we are too small and too young, but I know this team is as good as any that I’ve played on. We can win if we all give 100%. Will you help me?”
Some of the younger players were still in awe of Matthew and they appreciated his asking for help. There was no loud chorus of cheers or empty promises, but one by one the players walked up to Matthew and quietly promised their support. Dwayne Wade said it best; “Bro, don’t worry about a thing – I’ve got your back.”
Team morale was high as they entered the NCAA tournament. Their first game was against College of Pacific, a small school with a rich academic and athletic history. It was a marvelous game from a fan point of view; both teams pressing full court the entire game. Marquette prevailed as Dwayne Wade erupted for 32 points and caught the attention of the national media. It was his coming out party and solidified his reputation as an up and coming star.
The second game was against the Oklahoma State Cowboys who played a slow-down, half court game. Big and brawny, they dominated the inside and relied upon offensive rebounds and strength to score points. Surprisingly, Kojis and Matthew Wilson, giving away 3 or 4 inches and 30 pounds to every OSU player, out-rebounded the Cowboys and Marquette advanced to the round of 16, on schedule for another NCAA championship.
The next opponent was the DePaul Blue Demons who featured a 5’9” shooting guard named Howie Karl. Karl had unbelievable range and accuracy with his two handed set shot, a throwback to a shooting style popular in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Karl scored 33 points to keep his team in the game, but it wasn’t enough as Matthew had 28 and Wade 25 to go along with 22 points and 18 rebounds by Kojis. The Golden Eagles prevailed 79-67.
The regional final match-up was against Michigan State of the Big Ten and featured a matchup
of Tom Izzo and former assistant coach Tom Crean – mentor and pupil. The Spartans gave no quarter. They were tall and athletic and featured a 6’8” point guard Earvin “Magic” Johnson who would go on to become one of the greatest players in NBA history. The other guard was Drew Neitzel, a 6’0” sharp shooter that could put up 30 points in a hurry. The Spartans were up by seven points with three minutes to go before Marquette full court press finally wore down the Spartan guards and began generating turnovers. Three steals and eight straight points by Matthew Wilson sealed a tough, 75-72 victory. Magic had 29 points, but got little help from Neitzel who was held to three points on 1-10 shooting. The Golden Eagles advanced to the Final Four for the fourth consecutive year.
Forty thousand cheering fans packed the Houston Astrodome to see if Matthew Wilson and the Marquette Golden Eagles could make it four straight NCAA tournaments and surpass the mighty UCLA Bruins teams as the most dominant in college basketball. It would not be an easy road for the undersized team from Milwaukee. The semi final matchup was against the ‘Fab Five’ from the University of Michigan, all five of whom would go on to play professional basketball. Now seniors, Chris Weber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King had come out of high school as the best recruiting classes in college basketball, promising to bring four NCAA titles to the Wolverines. This was the Fab Five’s 4th and final opportunity and their fans were confident that this was their year.
Jalen Rose, at 6’6”, had several inches height on the talented, but diminutive, Marquette defenders. Chris Weber and Juwan Howard, both 6’11”, could dominate opponents inside. Pundits said Matthew and Kojis were just too small to keep up with these two giants under the board for the entire game, at least that’s what the scouting report said. That’s why they play the game.
Marquette pressed the entire game and the Warrior guards were tremendous. Oliver Lee and Lloyd Walton came off the bench and played aggressive defense, giving the starters a needed breather. Allie McGuire got hot from outside and hit three consecutive three-point shots in the first half. Tony Smith, Marquette’s 4th all time leading scorer, contributed two jump shots of his own and played great defense on Jimmy King. Kojis, Marquette’s all-time leading rebounder, was a brute force underneath the basket. The Warrior chances diminished when Kojis picked up his third foul with five minutes remaining in the first half with the Golden Eagles trailing by five points. Dwayne Wade was having an off night and was only two for 12 in the first half. Marquette entered the second half trailing by nine points and with Kojis on the bench in foul trouble.
It was Matthew Wilson time and he didn’t disappoint. Taking only five shots in the first half and making four, Matthew was 13 out of 14 in the second half and finished with a game high 44 points. Nevertheless, Michigan was ahead 74-73 with 20 seconds to go as Jackson broke the press and got the ball to Weber on the sideline where he was double teamed by Matthew and Wade. Weber turned to the referee and signaled for a time out as his coach covered his face in despair; Michigan was out of timeouts. Weber’s ill-advised timeout would cost the Wolverines the game and live on in NCAA lore as one of the all time bonehead decisions in NCAA history.
Matthew calmly made the technical free throw to tie the score and with five seconds to go drove to the basket and went up for a clinching layup. Howard came over to challenge the shot forcing Matthew to dish off to Wade who laid the ball in as the buzzer sounded. Marquette and Matthew Wilson were in the NCAA finals for the fourth consecutive year. Their opponent was the North Carolina Tar Heels led by senior Sam Perkins, junior James Worthy, and freshman sensation Michael Jordan. Worthy was unstoppable and scored 28 points, but it was Jordan’s clutch jump shot from the corner with 15 seconds remaining on the clock that put the Tar Heels in front 62-61
“Crean called time out to set up the final play. Let’s change things up. They will be expecting Matthew to take the final shot so we are going to use him as a decoy. Matthew, wait until there are five seconds on the clock and then set a screen for Wade at the top of the key. Dwayne; drive to the basket and take the shot if you’re open; if not, look for Lloyd in the corner. Questions?”
Nobody said a word for several seconds, until Wade spoke up. “Coach, Matthew has earned the right to take the final shot,” Wade said quietly.
“But he’ll be double teamed,” Crean argued. “Matthew, do you agree?”
“You’re the coach; I’ll do whatever you decide.”
“Okay, then ….”
“But have I ever let you down?”
Matthew wasn’t double teamed; he was triple teamed, but that didn’t stop him from elevating above his defenders and launching a 25-foot jump shot that swished through the net as time expired.
Reporters asked Matthew if this was the most satisfying win of the four. “Yes, I believe it was, because this team achieved more with less natural talent than some of the others. The teams we played in the last two nights were great teams and it took a great effort from everyone to win this title.”
The Marquette Golden Eagles were three-time NCAA Champions.
Pictures: St. Mary’s of Zion Church, old and new, in the outskirts of Axum, Ethiopia. The church is the purported resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. The new church, built by King Haile Selassie, was built in the 1960s to replace the original church built in AD 372, making it possibly the first Christian church in Africa.
Chapter 8 - Axum - Home of the Ark of the Covenant