When Giants Ruled the Tournament

From Bob Kurland to Patrick Ewing traditional back-to-the-basket big men have played a pivotal role, towering over the low post—and their often helpless opponents. For years the center was the centerpiece, and no team could harbor championship hopes without a true titan blocking the basket on one end of the floor and scoring at will on the other

WILT CHAMBERLAIN, Kansas
As a sophomore the 7-foot Chamberlain averaged 29.6 points in the regular season and then a tournament-high 30.3. Proclaiming that Chamberlain was "not going to give us the jitters" in the title game, North Carolina guard Tommy Kearns jumped center against Wilt, and the Tar Heels triple-teamed him. He still scored 23 points and had 14 rebounds, but North Carolina prevailed in triple overtime.

BILL WALTON, UCLA
Walton dominated at both ends of the floor as a sophomore in '72 and again in '73, averaging tournament highs of 16.0 and 14.5 rebounds. His defense—along with his two-year Final Four points total (115)—brought the Bruins their eighth and ninth titles in 10 years, and his three-year tournament field goal percentage (68.6) remains a record.

LEW ALCINDOR, UCLA
The only three-time most outstanding player, the 7' 2" Alcindor had the highest tournament scoring average (26.5) in '67, the highest rebounding average (16.0) in '69 and—despite opponents' best efforts to bait him—stayed out of foul trouble in three title games, which the Bruins won by an average of 19.3 points.

BILL RUSSELL, USF
"We can stop him only by keeping the ball away from him," La Salle coach Ken Loeffler said of Russell before facing San Francisco in the '55 finals. Loeffler's plan failed; Russell grabbed 25 rebounds to key USF's 77--63 win. The next season he helped the Dons stretch its winning streak to 55 and repeat as champ.

BOB KURLAND, Oklahoma A&M
The 7-footer LIFE magazine described as "balanced and coordinated in spite of his height" won titles for coach Henry Iba in 1945 and '46 and led the tournament in scoring (21.7 and 24.0 points per game, respectively) both years. Kurland was also one of the first to effectively use what LIFE called the "dunk shot."

BILL SPIVEY, Kentucky
Spivey dominated the game in 1950-51, averaging 16.3 rebounds as the I Wildcats won Adolph Rupp his third championship. Had the 7-footer played as a senior, UK might have repeated. But Spivey was injured and later implicated in a point-shaving scandal.

KENT BENSON, Indiana
A three-time All- America, 6' 11" Big Red anchored the Hoosiers' 32-0 1976 title squad, the last undefeated team in college basketball. He led IU in rebounding in the '76 Final Four and scored 25 points in the championship win over Michigan.

AKEEM OLAJUWON, Houston
Phi Slamma Jamma lost the 1983 and '84 finals, but the Dream averaged tournament highs in rebounds both years and was the top scorer (20 points) in the '83 loss to N.C. State. Olajuwon was the last player from the losing side to be named MOP.

PATRICK EWING, Georgetown
Ewing led the Hoyas to the title game in three of his four seasons. His team came up short in 1982 and '85, but in '84 the Hoya Destroya got the better of fellow 7-footer Olajuwon and Houston, winning the much-hyped matchup of All-America centers 84-75.

JERRY LUCAS, Ohio State
After leading the Buckeyes to the championship—and winning MOP honors—in 1960, the 6' 8" Lucas followed up with sensational junior (24.9 points and 17.4 rebounds) and senior (21.8 and 17.8) seasons that both ended with title-game losses to rival Cincinnati.

FINAL FOUR MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYERS

Until the mid-80's, centers (IN BOLD) had an outsized impact on the Big Dance

YEAR	PLAYER, POSITION, COLLEGE
1939	Jimmy Hull, F, Ohio State
1940	Marvin Huffman, G, Indiana
1941	John Kotz, F, Wisconsin
1942	Howie Dallmar, G, Stanford
1943	Kenny Sailors, F, Wyoming
1944	Arnie Ferrin, G-F, Utah
1945	BOB KURLAND, C, Oklahoma A&M
1946	BOB KURLAND, C, Oklahoma A&M
1947	GEORGE KAFTAN, C, Holy
1948	CROSS ALEX GROZA, C, Kentucky
1949	ALEX GROZA, C, Kentucky
1950	Irwin Dambrot, F, CCNY
1951	BILL SPIVEY, C, Kentucky
1952	CLYDE LOVELLETTE, C, Kansas
1953	B.H. BORN, C, Kansas
1954	Tom Gola, G-F, La Salle
1955	BILL RUSSELL, C, San Francisco
1956	Hal Lear, G, Temple
1957	WILT CHAMBERLAIN, C, Kansas
1958	Elgin Baylor, F, Seattle
1959	Jerry West, G-F, West Virginia
1960	JERRY LUCAS, C, Ohio State
1961	JERRY LUCAS, C, Ohio State
1962	PAUL HOGUE, C, Cincinnati
1963	Art Heyman, G-F, Duke
1964	Walt Hazzard, G, UCLA
1965	Bill Bradley, F, Princeton
1966	Jerry Chambers, F, Utah
1967	LEW ALCINDOR, C, UCLA
1968	LEW ALCINDOR, C, UCLA
1969	LEW ALCINDOR, C, UCLA
1970	Sidney Wicks, F, UCLA
1971	HOWARD PORTER, C, Villanova
1972	BILL WALTON, C, UCLA
1973	BILL WALTON, C, UCLA
1974	David Thompson, G, N.C. State
1975	RICHARD WASHINGTON, C, UCLA
1976	KENT BENSON, C, Indiana
1977	Butch Lee, G, Marquette
1978	Jack Givens, F, Kentucky
1979	Earvin Johnson, G, Michigan State
1980	Darrell Griffith, G, Louisville
1981	Isiah Thomas, G, Indiana
1982	James Worthy, F, North Carolina
1983	AKEEM OLAJUWON, C, Houston
1984	PATRICK EWING, C, Georgetown
1985	Ed Pinckney, F, Villanova
1986	PERVIS ELLISON, C, Louisville
1987	Keith Smart, G, Indiana
1988	Danny Manning, F, Kansas
1989	Glen Rice, F, Michigan
1990	Anderson Hunt, G, UNLV
1991	CHRISTIAN LAETTNER, C, Duke
1992	Bobby Hurley, G, Duke
1993	Donald Williams, G, North Carolina
1994	Corliss Williamson, F, Arkansas
1995	Ed O'Bannon, F, UCLA
1996	Tony Delk, G, Kentucky
1997	Miles Simon, F, Arizona
1998	Jeff Sheppard, G, Kentucky
1999	Richard Hamilton, G, UConn
2000	Mateen Cleaves, G, Michigan State
2001	Shane Battier, F, Duke
2002	Juan Dixon, G, Maryland
2003	Carmelo Anthony, F, Syracuse
2004	EMEKA OKAFOR, C, UConn
2005	SEAN MAY, C, North Carolina
2006	JOAKIM NOAH, C, Florida
2007	Corey Brewer, F, Florida

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SHEEDY & LONG (WALTON)

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RICH CLARKSON/NCAA PHOTOS (ALCINDOR)

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RICH CLARKSON/NCAA PHOTOS (BENSON)

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RICH CLARKSON/NCAA PHOTOS (OLAJUWON)

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RICH CLARKSON/NCAA PHOTOS (LUCAS)

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AP (CHAMBERLAIN)

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AP (RUSSELL)

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HUGH MORTON (KURLAND)

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THE COURIER-JOURNAL (SPIVEY)

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MANNY MILLAN (EWING)

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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (BASKETBALL FLOOR)