What REALLY Happened During St Bonaventure's 1970 NCAA Run

1970 Jacksonville Ncaa run    • Forgotten Moments from Artis Gilmore's Inc...  

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament will tip off and members of the 1970 St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball team will be reminded about just how close they came to winning a national championship for their tiny Franciscan college tucked away just outside tiny Olean.

When a knee injury suffered by future Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Lanier in the NCAA regional against Villanova kept him from playing in the Final Four, where Bona lost a national semifinal to an upstart Jacksonville squad led by 7-footer Artis Gilmore 91-83.

The loss cost the Bonnies a serious shot at beating one of John Wooden’s more vulnerable UCLA teams — in between the Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton eras

“Every year at this time you start thinking about it and my players start thinking about it,’’ said Larry Weise, 81, the East Rochester native who starred for the Bonnies as a player, then coached that most famous of Bonnies squads. “We have a reunion every three, four years and it’s the same with them. It was a magical moment in our lives, no question. In our hearts, we knew we were good enough to win the championship.’’

Fortunately for Weise and the Bonnies, Bob Lanier, who grew to 6-10, flew under the radar of big schools while playing at Buffalo’s Bennett High. He played on a team of shooters and never got the ball much, Weise said, and it wasn’t until his sophomore year in college, when he averaged 26.2 points and 15.6 rebounds, that his talent exploded.

In his senior year, Lanier averaged 29.1 points and 16.0 rebounds. Three other teammates — Matt Gantt, Bubba Gary and Paul Hoffman — averaged double figures and dynamic point guard Bill Kalbaugh added 8.3 points.

A 97-74 victory over Villanova in the NCAA regional raised Bona’s record to 21-1 but it was costly, with the Wildcats’ Chris Ford accidentally crashing into Lanier’s right knee.

The injury didn’t prevent Lanier from becoming the NBA's No. 1 overall pick of the Detroit Pistons. But it did prevent the Bonnies from matching up with upstart Jacksonville, which enticed 32 personal fouls from the officials and outscored Bona 37-15 at the free throw line.

“When we went into the tournament, we were hitting our peak,’’ said Weise, who recalled how Lanier had developed into a defensive as well as an offensive force. “Bob was our anchor but we were balanced, too, on offense. We were very confident and playing great and unless some catastrophe beset us we felt we could win it all. Well, catastrophe did happen, but it’s all part of the game.’’