27, 1967 cover of SI.
(Sports Illustrated)
Is it really a debate? Many scribes and Ivy observers say no. The greatest Ivy team of all time? Easy.
It’s either the 1964-65 Princeton Tigers with the greatest Ivy player ever, Bill Bradley, or the 1970-71 Penn Quakers with their gaudy 28-1 record, which included a perfect 26-0 in the regular season.
Those Tigers never rose higher than No. 20 in the polls, and that Penn team had the bewildering 90-47 loss to a Villanova team which it had beaten during the regular season.
But wait a minute. How about the long forgotten 1966-67 Princeton team, coached by Butch van Breda Kolff? They did a few things which no other Ivy has done.
The Tigers that season went 25-3 and 13-1 in Ivy play, beating No. 2 UNC at fabled Carmichael Arena. They blew out the second-best Rutgers team ever, led by All-American Bob Lloyd and Jim Valvano, on the road and came within a hair of beating Carolina again, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, losing 78-70 in overtime, after beating West Virginia in the first round. They came back to blast a very strong St. John’s team in the Regional consolation game, rising as high as No. 3 in the polls and finished No. 5.
Who better to ask than Gary Walters, the star sophomore point guard on the ’64-’65 team and the all-everything on the ’66-’67 team? There is no question in his mind that the latter Tiger team was superior. It didn’t boast the best player in the land in Bradley but nevertheless enjoyed incredibly balanced scoring and rebounding and probably was the only team in the country capable of giving the Lew Alcindor-led UCLA national championship team a run for its money.
Two Princeton players adorned the cover of Sports Illustrated on Feb. 27, 1967, whose title read, “Princeton Builds a Basketball Dynasty.” That was probably prophetic, as from 1964 to 1979, Princeton was easily one of the top 20 programs in the country. The ’66-67 Tigers’ two top players were Walters and sophomore center Chris Thomforde from Long Island. Thomforde had a tremendous high school career and chose Princeton over the likes of Northwestern, Duke and Dean Smith’s UNC. Frosh were not eligible to play varsity when Thomforde entered, and his frosh team was undistinguished.
Thomforde had to beat out talented Robinson Brown for the coveted center spot on the varsity and did so quickly. Brown was classy about losing his spot and at times, both players played simultaneously. Thomforde and Walters developed a quick chemistry and played like veterans together. Thomforde cites the road Rutgers blowout win and the win at UNC as season highlights and firmly believes that the ’67 team could have competed with UCLA for the national championship if it had not entered the NCAA tourney so injured. Thomforde had played competitively against Alcindor in high school. But Walters had injured his hamstring against Rutgers, John Haarlow had a high ankle sprain and Ed Hummer had a bad hip.
Thomforde got to know Bradley in his junior season, when Bradley returned from his two-year Rhodes Scholarship stint. They have maintained a lifelong friendship. Bradley credits Thomforde for playing on the second-best Princeton team of all-time. Thomforde felt that he knew better but never engaged the former New Jersey senator and presidential candidate in a debate on the topic. He respected Bradley far too much.
In the Ivies, the ’66-67 Tigers did lose narrowly on the road to an excellent Cornell team which had beaten Kentucky on the road. John Sponheimer, a member of that Cornell team, recalls that that Princeton was a much better team than Kentucky. Towards the end of the season, rival Penn held the ball because it feared the prolific Princeton offense. Princeton won 25-16, before the shot clock was instituted.
The best Ivy team ever? Maybe. A team capable of playing with UCLA? Perhaps. A team better than the ’65 Tigers? Most say yes. But we will never know. And it is sure fun to debate.
Richard and I had a brief debate about this, and I contend that the 1970-71 Penn team was the best Ivy team ever. Having played against them 2 times that season, I don’t think there was ever a better Ivy League team. 26-0 regular season, 28-1 overall. Non-conference victories over South Carolina (#6), Ohio State (#10), Duquesne (#15), Villanova (#18). Also beat LaSalle (with All American Ken Durrett), Temple, St. Joe’s, Rutgers, and outstanding Princeton and Harvard teams (twice each). 3 NBA players on the team – Corky Calhoun, Dave Wohl, and Phil Hankinsion. And Bob Morse, perhaps the best player on the team, never played in the NBA for some reason. Their inexplicable thrashing by Villanova in the NCAA tournament, after having beaten them in the regular season, is just that – inexplicable. And it doesn’t detract from their success any more than Princeton’s loss to North Carolina. ’66 – 67 Princeton team was great, but Penn’s ’70 – 71 team would have beaten them, and almost anyone else in the country, handily. The debate continues.
We’ll never know. But to add to the discussion of the Princeton ’66-’67 season, Dartmouth also tried to “ice” the ball in their rematch against Princeton (after losing to the Tigers in Hanover 116-42(!)). But, the patient Tigers still prevailed 30-16. Penn improved slightly on Dartmouth’s performance. But, both realized that the only Ivy team that could challenge Princeton that year was Cornell.
Tiger69,
You should check results for that season. Yale lost at Princeton 77-75 and at home 81-80 that season. The Tigers also had a number of other close games in league play. I believe they only be Brown by three points in one contest. Now check Penn’s average margin of victory in Ivy play. I think you’ll be impressed.
I am somewhat embarrassed not to have commented on this posting for two reasons: 1. I was an undergrad in 1966 and, 2. I have had the honor to be the Princeton correspondent here for several seasons. Purely in terms of ability to compete nationally in their respective eras the Tigers and Quakers were the best ever. I am obviously biased in favor of the Walters-Thomforde Tigers. In my opinion the Carmody teams of the late 90’s (28-0 in the League over two seasons) and last years’ Tigers could have competed against the 66-67 Tigers, especially if the three point and shot clock rules were employed. The Cornell teams of Ryan Wittmann and a couple of Amaker’s teams deserve consideration, as well. Great post, Mr. Kent.
How come U Penn’s final four team of 78/79 is not talked about?