Men's Basketball Team 1975-76 (1999) - Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame

Men's Basketball Team 1975-76

Induction:
1999

The story of the 1975-76 team has been told and re-told for 20 years. The number of people who claim to have been in the 2,800-seat College Avenue Gym on March 1, 1976, the night RU sealed the perfect season with an 85-80 win over St. Bonaventure, is in the hundreds of thousands. As was the case so many times before, paint chips fell from the ceiling that night, caused by the tremendous, vibrating noise and the heat generated in the building. The names on that team still resonate within the minds of all Rutgers fans; Sellers, Dabney, Copeland, Jordan, Bailey, Anderson, Conlin, Hefele, Scherer, Klienbaum, Palko and Nance. That team pressed and ran opponents right out of the gym on a nightly basis. In an era without the three-point shot, the team broke the 90-point barrier 25 times, the century mark on 11 occasions. The constant defensive pressure applied would often dictate an opponent mistake and an ensuing long pass and, ultimately, an open layup. Sellers to Dabney to Jordan - A blur of uniforms streaking to the hoop. That team won its first 31 games, made an appearance in the NCAA Final Four in Philadelphia, featured a National Coach of the Year and included five of the seven leading scorers in Rutgers history. It was a magical time, a magical season. The achievements of that team have been well-told. They will be told again and again.