USA BASKETBALL HISTORY
USA MEN’S OLYMPIC TEAM 1948 RESULTS
LONDON, ENGLAND • JULY 30-AUGUST 13, 1948
An easy United States march to the gold proved in the first post-World War II Olympiad that the U.S. remained the world leader in basketball. The Phillips 66ers, winners of the 1948 national AAU title, met the 1948 NCAA champs, University of Kentucky, in the final game of the Olympic Trials. The 66ers edged Kentucky, 53-49, and Bud Browning of the 66ers was named head coach, and University of Kentucky legend Adolph Rupp was selected as his assistant. During a pre-Olympic tour in Scotland, Browning and Rupp, each believing his own members of the team played best as a unit, concocted a strategy of unit substitution -- one unit of five 66ers and one unit of five Kentucky Wildcats. Relying on the two coaches’ unit plan, Switzerland was beaten 86-21 as Alex Groza led all scorers with 19 points, and several days later, nine Americans scored in a 53-28 win over Czechoslovakia. Still utilizing the unit plan as much as possible against Argentina, the starting 66ers five forged a 14-9 lead. When the second group of Kentucky players were substituted, Argentina rallied and by half led 33-26. The original starting crew returned at the start the second half, but eventually it had to be revised because of foul trouble. With three minutes remaining and the score even, 55-55, Kenneth Rollins sank a free throw, Jack Robinson added a field goal and Gordon Carpenter added one free throw to clinch the USA’s 59-57 victory. Egypt proved no match for the U.S. in a lopsided 66-28 U.S. win, and with Wallace Jones leading the way with 12 points. Then the U.S. crushed Peru 61-33. Kurland scored 19 points as the Americans handed South American champion Uruguay a 63-28 setback, and the U.S. moved within a victory of the Olympic gold after discarding of Mexico, 71-40, as Groza scored 19 points. Facing France in the finals, Browning started his five 66ers. Only leading 9-4, the unit system was abandoned and Browning began substitut- ing one player at a time. At half the U.S. was in command 28-9, and the Americans went on to record an easy 65-21 victory over France. The USA’s scoring was led in the gold medal game by Groza and Raymond Lumpp who tallied 11 points each.
1948 USA MEN’S OLYMPIC TEAM ROSTER
1948 USA RESULTS (8-0)
NAME
POS HGT WGT AGE AFFILIATION (SCHOOL)
HOMETOWN
Switzerland
W, 86-21 W, 53-28 W, 59-57 W, 66-28 W, 61-33 W, 63-28 W, 71-40 W, 65-21
Czechoslovakia
Clifford Barker Don Barksdale Ralph Beard
F C G G G
6-2 6-6
185 200 176 165 190 220 220 205 220 170 200 185 170 180
27 25 20 26 21 21 21 22 23 25 29 30 24 21
University of Kentucky Oakland Bittners (UCLA) University of Kentucky Philips 66ers (Oregon State) Denver Nuggets (Univ. of Denver) Phillips 66ers (Arkansas) University of Kentucky University of Kentucky New York University Phillips 66ers (Arkansas) Phillips 66ers (Oklahoma State) Phillips 66ers (Oklahoma State)
Satsuma, FL
Los Angeles, CA Louisville, KY Pendleton, OR Englewood, CA Lakewood, CA San Diego, CA Lexington, KY Bartlesville, OK East Williston, NY Baton Rouge, LA San Francisco, CA Charleston, NC Fort Worth, TX
Argentina
5-10 6-0
Egypt
Lewis Beck
Peru
Vincent Boryla Gordon Carpenter Wallace Jones Robert Kurland Raymond Lumpp Alex Groza Jesse Renick Kenneth Rollins Jack Robinson R.C. Pitts
6-3 6-7 6-7 6-4 7-0 6-0 6-5 6-2 6-0 6-0
Uruguay Mexico
C/F
C
C/F
France
C G G G G F
FINAL STANDINGS
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
United States (8-0)
University of Kentucky
France (5-2) Brazil (7-1) Mexico (5-2) Uruguay (5-3)
Baylor University
HEAD COACH: Omar Browning, Phillips 66ers (Bartlesville, OK) ASSISTANT COACH: Adolph Rupp, University of Kentucky MANAGER: Louis Wilke, Phillips 66ers (Bartlesville, OK)
Chile (4-4)
Czechoslovakia (4-4)
Korea (3-5) Canada (5-2)
1948 USA MEN’S OLYMPIC TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
9.
10. Peru (4-4) 11. Belgium (5-3) 12. Philippines (4-4) 13. Cuba (4-3) 14. Iran (2-5) 15. Argentina (4-4) 16. Hungary (3-5)
NAME
G
FGM-A
PCT
FTM-A
PCT
PF
PTS
Groza
7 7 6 4 5 6 5 5 7 7 6 5 7 5 8 8
35- 27- 20- 13- 14- 19- 13- 11- 17- 13- 10-
8- 4 11-15 14-19
.571 .733 .737 .833 .800 .556 .750 .600 .714 .636 .800 .417 .500 .333 .648 .566
19 17 16 11 11 3 11 13 6
78/11.1 65/9.3 54/9.0 31/7.8 36/7.2 43/7.2 35/7.0 28/5.6 39/5.6 33/4.7 24/4.0 19/3.8 26/3.7 13/2.6
Kurland Barksdale Lumpp Jones Boryla Renick Carpenter Pitts
5-6
8-10
5-9
9-12 6-10 7-11 4-5 5-12 6-12 5-7
17. Italy (4-4) 18. China (5-3) 19. Egypt (2-6)
Beck
3 5 7 6
Rollins Barker Beard
20. Great Britain (0-7) 21. Switzerland (2-6) 22. Iran (0-7) 23. Ireland (0-6)
7-
13
10-
Robinson
6-
1-3
USA OPP.
215-
94-145 94-166
141 132
524/65.5 256/32.0
81-
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