The Glory Years Part III.

Tay Baker had a tough job in 1965. Cincinnati had gone from 136-13 (90% over five years) to 31-21 (60% over those two years). Recruiting had been a struggle for a few years.

The 1966 Bearcats had good talent, not great. Don Rolfes and Ron Krick were HS All-Americans in 1961 but hadn't shown that level of talent in college. UC faced another strong preseason schedule, including 1966 Final Four team Utah and two-time defending NCAA champion UCLA on the road in Los Angeles. Tough spot for your first coaching gig.

The Cincinnati Bearkittens (the nickname for the freshman team) featured a strong team in 1966 and defeated the Kentucky freshmen but their varsity debut would have to wait a year. Cincinnati had two promising sophomores in point guard Dean Foster and small forward John Howard. Both were plugged right into the starting lineup. Seniors Don Rolfes and Ron Krick anchored the front line. Roland West started at the other guard spot. Mike Rolf and Jerry Cousins were key reserves off the bench. More or less, it was the same team that went 14-12 the previous year except for the two sophomores taking over for three seniors. Few Bearcat fans expected much.

The Bearcats opened strong by winning eight of nine games in December. Included was the huge road win over defending two-time NCAA champion UCLA in Los Angeles ! Another nice win was a romp over Utah (who would make the Final Four that year) at home. The Cats lost a few MVC road games but won two BIG games over Louisville (new to the MVC) and Wes Unseld. Their 10-4 MVC record brought another MVC championship home to UC. The 21-5 and #7 ranked Bearcats were back in the NCAA tournament after a two year absence.

The first opponent would be a school called Texas Western (now known as UTEP). They had to win a play-in game to face UC despite having a 23-1 record and being ranked #3 in the nation behind Kentucky and Duke. UC led most of the way and had a chance to win the game in regulation but Texas Western tied it up late to force overtime. UC again led most of the OT before the Miners eked out a 78-76 win over the Bearcats.

Trivia note - Cincinnati was the only team during the tournament to have a halftime lead over the Miners.

The Cats then lost a meaningless consolation game to Southern Methodist the following night. Texas Western would defeat Kansas in double OT and go on to make history by beating Rupp's Runts of Kentucky for the NCAA title. The Bearcats finished 21-7 but it would turn out to be their last NCAA appearance for a while.

Seniors Rolfes, Krick, and Cousins graduated but three starters returned along with sixth man Mike Rolf in 1967. The talented Bearkittens would send a much needed talent infusion to the varsity. Rick Roberson and Gordon Smith would become starters right away. Cincinnati recruiting in 1966 benefited from the afterglow of the NCAA appearance that year.

The Cats targeted big man Jim Ard from the south suburbs of Chicago as their top recruiting target and landed him. Ard led his team to the Illinois state championship in 1966. Cincinnati also targeted Mike Pratt of Dayton but lost him to Kentucky and Jody Finney of Springfield, losing him to Ohio State.

Local star Ray Kuhlmeier of Aurora IN was thought to be in the Bearcat fold but he opted for Duke at the last minute. Cincinnati landed another local star in Don Ogletree of Batavia and he would prove to be a better player for UC. Although Ogletree was ineligible to play as a freshman, he got his academics in order and played 3 years on the varsity. The Cats also landed 6-8 Jack Ajzner from New Jersey that year. Ajzner was a rarity in those days - a big man with a great outside shot. Local players Bob Schwallie of Elder and Mike Ferone of Withrow filled out the class.

Stay tuned for the last part of The Glory Years - UC Bearcat Basketball In The 1960's.

Tom Gray (aka: Windycat)
Bearcat fan since 1958