THE ’70-’71 FINALIST TEAM
(Kneeling left to right): Chris Ford, Howard Porter, John Fox, Clarence Smith, Hank Siemiotkowski. (Back row left to right): Asst. Coach Dan Dougherty, Mike Daly, Bob Gohl, Joe McDowell, Tom Ingelsby, Coach Jack Kraft
In April 1971, John Wooden’s UCLA team outlasted an inspired Villanova squad, 68-62 in the NCAA finals. Click on the Sports Illustrated link for coverage of that historic game and the video celebrating its 25th anniversary in 1996. SI wrote, “Villanova had shocked everyone by murdering strong Penn by 43 points in the East Regional. After the Wildcats beat Western Kentucky, a group of Villanova students marched about 11 miles to the Penn campus to crow some more. The season already was a huge success, but Villanova did not intend to stop playing basketball just yet.”The whole East Coast will go up in flames if we win,” said Siemiontkowski. “The school would be unbelievable. They’d burn it.” In the second half, Wooden was certain his team could score on Villanova’s seldom seen man-to-man. He was wrong. Villanova played man-to-man as if it had just discovered a new toy and the game turned into a battle to the end. When UCLA called a time out with 4:53 remaining, the Wildcats were only four points behind. Their man-to-man had held the Bruins to just three field goals—all layups. And the fans who could see at all were being treated to a superb show, a duel between All-America Wicks and All-America Howard Porter.” It was later determined that Howard Porter had signed a professional contract with the ABA’s Pittsburgh Condors. The 1971 Villanova Wildcats forfeited all their tournament wins and all the money that came with them. Howard Porter was stripped of his Most Outstanding Player award.
