1953–54 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team

1953-54 La Salle Explorers men's basketball
Conference Independent
Ranking
Coaches No. 1
AP No. 2
1953-54 record 26-4
Head coach Ken Loeffler
1953–54 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#3 Holy Cross –   –     26 – 2   .929
#17 Seattle –   –     26 – 2   .929
#5 Duquesne –   –     26 – 3   .897
#6 Notre Dame –   –     22 – 3   .880
#2 La Salle –   –     26 – 4   .867
Dayton –   –     25 – 7   .781
Louisville –   –     22 – 7   .759
#9 Penn State –   –     18 – 6   .750
Oklahoma City –   –     18 – 7   .720
Navy –   –     18 – 8   .692
Army –   –     15 – 7   .682
Villanova –   –     20 – 11   .645
Lafayette –   –     17 – 10   .630
Saint Joseph's –   –     14 – 9   .609
Xavier –   –     18 – 12   .600
#7 Bradley –   –     19 – 13   .594
John Carroll –   –     15 – 11   .577
Seton Hall –   –     13 – 10   .565
Temple –   –     15 – 12   .556
Muhlenberg –   –     12 – 10   .545
Washington University –   –     12 – 10   .545
Syracuse –   –     10 – 9   .526
Cincinnati –   –     11 – 10   .524
DePaul –   –     11 – 10   .524
Iona –   –     11 – 10   .524
Butler –   –     13 – 12   .520
Boston College –   –     11 – 11   .500
Loyola Marymount –   –     14 – 16   .467
Rutgers –   –     11 – 13   .458
Creighton –   –     14 – 17   .452
Gonzaga –   –     12 – 15   .444
Valparaiso –   –     10 – 13   .435
Marquette –   –     11 – 15   .423
Lehigh –   –     8 – 12   .400
Pittsburgh –   –     9 – 14   .391
Georgetown –   –     11 – 18   .379
Siena –   –     7 – 14   .333
Portland –   –     9 – 19   .321
Loyola (IL) –   –     7 – 15   .318
Drake –   –     7 – 16   .304
Colgate –   –     5 – 12   .294
Bucknell –   –     4 – 16   .200
Rankings from AP Poll

Season summary

Some basketball historians have called La Salle star Tom Gola the Magic Johnson of his day because, at 6-7, he could play all five positions. But not even Magic piled up the kind of numbers Gola did in leading the Explorers to the 1954 national championship - 21.7 points and 23 rebounds per game. Guard Frank O’Hara was Gola’s capable running mate along with five sophomores who played complementary roles.

Sophomore Robert Ames, later a CIA official killed in the 1983 bombing of the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, averaged two points and one rebound in 14 games for the Explorers.[1]

NCAA tournament

[2]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round Pick Player NBA Club
11 93 Frank O'HaraPhiladelphia Warriors

[4]

References

  1. ↑ "NCAA champ became CIA legend. Historic La Salle team produced unsung hero - Philly.com". Articles.philly.com. 2004-01-23. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  2. ↑ http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1954
  3. ↑ "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  4. ↑ http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1954&lg=N
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