Baylor Bears men’s basketball finds itself in the Final Four this weekend against Houston. If you had to point to a single date for the resurgence of Baylor basketball, you’d probably have to go with November 24, 1978.
Still smarting from a 50-20 thumping by Austin College men’s basketball in 1920, Baylor invited Austin College to open the 1978-79 Bears season at the old Heart O’ Texas Coliseum in Waco. Bob Mason’s pesky little NAIA squad put up all the fight they could, but were no match for a Baylor team that would later notch wins against teams like Eddie Sutton’s Arkansas Razorbacks. That Arkansas team almost made the 1979 Final Four, losing in the regional finals by 2 points to Larry Bird & Indiana State. The 1979 NCAA Championship game between Bird and Magic Johnson (Michigan State) is a tournament classic.
The star of that Baylor team was Vinnie “Microwave” Johnson. By the end of the season, Johnson held the all-time Southwest Conference points-per-game (ppg) record. Vinnie Johnson later helped the Detroit Pistons earn an NBA title in 1990 by hitting a title winning shot against Portland in Game #5 with 00.7 second left. The shot earned Johnson a new nickname (“007”). His #15, worn while playing for the Bears and Pistons, was retired in Detroit.
See photo of Baylor’s Vinnie Johnson shooting over two Roos at the Heart O’ Texas Coliseum on November 24, 1978.
Roo David Robertson was assigned the duties of guarding Vinnie Johnson. According to his former roommate Claude Webb Jr., Robertson jokingly boasts that he held Vinnie Johnson that night to “only 35 points.” Robertson led the 1978-79 team with a 20.5 scoring average and was inducted into the AC Hall of Honor in 2010. He may (or may not) be the partially obscured Roo behind Johnson.
#25 for Austin College is visible, and that is definitely Larry Nickell. Nickell led Bob Mason’s 1978-79 team with 77 assists. After a post-AC career in coaching and administration, Nickell became a dentist. His spouse Mary was an incredible Roo athlete, playing tennis, volleyball, and softball. Mary was inducted into the AC Hall of Honor in 2000. Today, Nickell is an investor in Claude Webb’s beer joint “The Gar Hole.” Sounds like a perfect place to watch Baylor in the Final Four this weekend.
Baylor’s 1978-79 season began with Austin College, but ended with a 1-point SWC tournament loss to the University of Houston. Now the Bears face Houston again for a trip to the National Championship game. Good luck Baylor. Bob Mason’s 1978-79 Kangaroos got you on your way; now finish the job.
Members of the 1978-79 Kangaroos:
Mike Gillum, Albert Hambrick, Wayne Windle, Larry Nickell, Timothy Day, Jim Hartnet, Dave Robertson, Robert Rogers, Mike Bridges, Ronnie Hogue, Todd Williams, Tim Daughtrey, Larry Moser, Bob Russell, David Carneal, Allen Winfield, David Moreno, Steve Clifford, Wes Moffett, Coach Bob Mason.
