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Dunbar 1970-71: The best team that destiny forgot
DAYTON — George Galloway has an idea of what was needed to help Dunbar win the 1971 boys state basketball championship: Another coach.
Galloway landed the Wolverines position after Ben Waterman left to join Ohio State University as an assistant coach.
A longtime Waterman assistant, Galloway insists that had Waterman stayed and coached the group that he had groomed the previous two seasons that Dunbar would be celebrating a 40-year anniversary title team.
“He didn’t get to coach them their senior year,” said Galloway, 80.
“If he had been their coach instead of me — I can say this now — that would have made the difference. He knew them better than I did.”
That’s not provable. But it shouldn’t prevent us from labeling that 1971 Dunbar team as the best area boys high school basketball team not to have won a state title.
Those Wolverines are in great company. Weighing in as my No. 2 all-time best team not to win it all is Alter in 1974-75. No. 3 is Roth of 1969-70.
Chaminade had gone unbeaten to win the Class AA (big school) state title in 1970.
The next season Class AAA was added, and Dunbar was ready.
Its stacked lineup featured guards “Wild” Bill Higgins (Ashland University) and Ricky Gates (Kent State).
The Cash brothers, Cornelius (Bowling Green) and Lorenzo, were the forwards. At center was Skip Howard (Bowling Green).
The Wolverines didn’t just win; they walloped.
But Dunbar needed two overtimes to get past Beavercreek in a tension-filled district final at UD Arena.
It was only three years removed from the 1968 Creek upset of Dunbar at UD Fieldhouse.
Afterward, rioting claimed three stab victims, including a referee and Beavercreek player, and a spectator died as a result from heart failure.
Dunbar blew through the two-game regional then met its match in a state semifinal vs. Cleveland East Tech at OSU’s St. John Arena.
Columbus Walnut Ridge defeated Akron Central Hower in the other semi.
“That semifinal was a bugger-bear,” said Gates, the superintendent of Jefferson Twp. Local Schools.
“I don’t know if we spent everything, but … I just wish Walnut Ridge could have played East Tech in the semifinal.”
Cornelius Cash and Howard, so effective in a 76-69 defeat of East Tech, were neutralized in foul trouble against Ridge, which defeated Dunbar 76-63 in the final to finish off a 25-0 season. Dunbar ended 24-2.
“It was like, this team is so great, there’s no way in the world that we can’t win a state championship,” Galloway said.
“We went bam-bam-bam and made it to the finals. But it was like we ran out of gas.”
That was the deepest into the postseason that Dunbar had ever ventured until then, despite fielding several other state-worthy teams.
Dunbar placed second again in 1984 and won its first title three years later. The Wolverines have won three of the last six Division II state titles.
“It was a bittersweet moment,” Gates said of his part in the rich history of Dayton basketball.
And of being the best area team never to win it all?
“That’s not a bad title. We’ll take that.”
Dunbar (1970-71)
Lineup: G “Wild” Bill Higgins (Ashland); G Ricky Gates (Kent State); F Cornelius Cash (Bowling Green); F Lorenzo Cash; C Skip Howard (Bowling Green).
Coach: George Galloway.
Record: 24-2; second in state.
Notable: Higgins was an All-American at Ashland and an ABA All-Star.
Alter (1974-75)
Lineup: G Jack Zimmerman (UD); G Doug Harris (UD); F Jim Paxson (UD); F Bob Schaefer (WSU); C Mark Laravie.
Coach: Joe Petrocelli
Record: 24-1; lost to eventual champ Columbus Linden McKinley in Class AAA state semifinals, 59-57.
Notable: Alter seemed poised to win its first state title after beating Middletown and Butch Carter in a memorable regional final in which both teams were unbeaten. McKinley finished 18-8.
Roth (1969-70)
Lineup: G Donald Smith (UD); G Phil Lumpkin (Miami); F J.D. Grigsby (UD); F Henry McBeth; C Larry Hamrick.
Coach: Paul Palumbo
Notable: The Falcons featured an NBA backcourt and couldn’t even get out of the district final. That’s because Chaminade defeated Roth 64-62 on its way to an unbeaten state title. That was the first high school game ever at sold-out UD Arena (Feb. 15, 1970). Dan Gerhard’s 15-footer with four seconds left was the winner. Smith scored 24 points. Both Smith and Lumpkin are deceased.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Boys basketball
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By Spoon
March 28, 2011 1:44 PM | Link to this
Great article but some facts about the Roth team were inaccurate. JD Grigsby graduated in 1969 with my class so he wasnt on the 69-70 team and the game at UD arena was a blowout by Chaminade and Lumpkin had a good game but Smitty didnt that was the game that drew a sellout. The 64-62 game I believe was at the fieldhouse. I know because I was at both those games as Chaminade won the state in 70 after getting blown out by Canton Mckinley the previous year.
By crunchy kev
March 28, 2011 3:33 PM | Link to this
A side note: all five starters from Chaminade’s 1970 state championship team, and sixth man Mike Eifert, received Division One college athletic scholarships: Dan Gerhard (Ohio State), Terry Tyler (Michigan), Ted Wuebben (Creighton) for basketball; Paul Kurpiel (Ohio State) and Mike Eifert (Kent State) for baseball; and Stan Pfander (Indiana) for football.
By Boatman
April 2, 2011 7:07 PM | Link to this
Spoon wasn’t at that game or he would know it was at UD Arena, where I sat in the front row taking in the all-time classic (I was a h.s. soph). Gerhard nails a jumper with seconds to go for the original Chaminade “Shot Heard ‘Round The World” (Eric Wills bested it in a game with even bigger stakes in the ‘91 Sectional— a 4-OT classic vs. Alter at the Arena. Wills drills a triple from the top of the key with a couple of ticks left and the Eagles down by two. That tiny CJ team with Darnell Hoskins, Chris McGuire, Mark Holton, and Mike Camacho went on to the state finals vs. Lexington. That hustling Eagle team lost by a mere basket to mighty Lexington, with their 6-8 center Jamie Feick, a future Michigan State Spartan and San Antonio Spur. Do your homework, Marc. Back to 1970 at the sold-out Arena— 13,450 for a high school game. Smitty was phenomenal in the game decided by Gerhard’s jumper. (Spoony—It was later at the tourney rematch where he was off, and Philip Lumpkin picked up the slack with 35— Chaminade won by a big, unexpexcted margin). Re Dunbar ‘71… yes, very well could be the best Dayton team that didn’t win it all. There are a lot of teams that could contest that opinion (you didn’t mention CJ in ‘89 featuring Al Sicard, the Ohio Co-Player of the Year with Jimmy Jackson, either— get with it, PenMan!) but I witnessed Spot and the gang several times at Dunbar. That announcer at Wolverine home games was terrific… had nicknames for all of them— “Wicked Ricky”, “Wild Bill”, “Overshoes”, etc.) I was there at the Fieldhouse in perhaps the best game of shootout ever in Dayton-vs. Roth in ‘70. Mick Donoher comes out before the tip and sits in the top row of the folded up floor bleachers right before tipoff to watch his future All-American, Donald). Smitty goes nuts for 46 and Spot Cash matches him bucket for bucket, (finished with 42) in a game played at breakneck speed. If you blinked, you missed something. Dan Gerhard would later tell me that Ben Waterman was the best coach he had at Ohio State. As one great 25-year h.s. coach in Dayton said, “1970-71 was the Golden Age of high school basketball in Dayton.” The aforementioned greats, plus Miamisburgs’s Jeff Montgomery— all D-I players.
By Gretzky
April 3, 2011 11:14 AM | Link to this
There was at least one other D-I college player from that era— Stevie Greene led Fairborn to the Regional final where they gave Chaminade a tough game. Greene went on to play at SW Louisiana with Columbus’ Bo Pete Lamar.
By Bill
April 5, 2011 9:34 AM | Link to this
The ‘69-‘70 Chaminade team was terrific. They beat Beavercreek twice that season, both times by 7 points - the second game at UD Arena in the District Semi-final. ‘Creek, led by Doug Ashworth, Randy Scott, Mike Snyder & Ed Zink had more field goals and rebounds than Chaminade, but the Eagles won it at the free throw line. The refs were whistle happy or ‘Creek would have won. I was at that game - a heartbreak for us ‘Creek folks.