S.F. Opens its Gates to College Hoops Once More
The city of San Francisco is known for its breathtaking views, prime real estate and world-class cuisine (in addition to being my hometown). The City is not known, however, for being any sort of haven for college basketball – a sad truth hoops fans here have realized for many, many years.
But for forty brilliant minutes Saturday night, the City by the Bay was back on the basketball map, thanks to a historic showing by the University of San Francisco Dons. The Dons and their small, 5,000-seat arena played host to Big 12 power Texas Tech and legendary coach Bob Knight. And though San Francisco is a great place to visit, the stay was less than Stellar for Knight & Co. as the Dons sent the Red Raiders back to Lubbock, Texas on the wrong end of a 90-72 dismantling at USF’s War Memorial Gym.
Granted, the Dons’ (2-4) surprise win over Tech (5-3) doesn’t exactly provoke memories of Chaminade’s colossal upset over Virginia in 1982, or Villanova over Georgetown in the 1985 title game. But the victory by USF was a bright light for a program that’s been in the dark for the better part of the last half-century, and gave San Francisco basketball fans – both young and old – a taste of what life is like in towns like Durham, Storrs or East Lansing after a big win.
As wonderful and diverse a place as San Francisco is, the topic of our college basketball culture is about as popular here as a Karl Rove book-signing in Union Square. It’s not that we wine-and-cheese heads aren’t fans of the game. Quite the contrary; we can tell you all sorts of things about Cal, Stanford and the rest of the CBB world. It’s just that the city of San Francisco has only one Division I program – the Dons – and they haven’t been ranked and/or competitive on the national scale since… since… well, for a very long time.
This wasn’t always the case, mind you. Fifty years ago San Francisco was home to the best college basketball program in the United States. Led by All-Americans Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, USF won 55 consecutive games over two undefeated seasons, posting back-to-back national championships in 1954-’55 and ’55-’56. Those Russell- and Jones-led teams were without question some of the greatest squads to ever lace up a high-top and would have given any team in any era a run for its money.
After losing Russell and Jones to the NBA, it was anticipated the University of San Francisco’s basketball program would tail off somewhat. But no one expected the Dons to fall completely off the map. Following that unforgettable 1955-’56 season, USF and its fans would be forced to wait 26 grueling years for a return to the NCAA Tournament. The 1982 Dons team finally broke the string, and it wasn’t until 1998 that another USF team would qualify for The Dance.
Just two NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 49 years, not to mention the massive interest in neighboring Cal and Stanford along with our professional franchises (the 49ers and Giants, as well as the Warriors and A’s in Oakland and Sharks in San Jose), are the biggest reasons why San Franciscans appear dissociated from the college basketball scene south of the Golden Gate. Will this detachment change anytime soon? Probably not, though the 49ers may soon force us to look to the Dons for some strength in these lean, athletic times.
But all is not lost forever, San Fran fans, as evidenced by the Dons’ convincing win over the General and his gang this weekend. For one beautiful Bay Area night in a gym no larger than a sourdough bread box, San Francisco and college basketball shared the same heart beat once more.
