MONROE,
La. -- ULM men's basketball head coach Keith Richard will welcome back former
players, coaches and staff members from the 1981-82 Warhawk NCAA Tournament
team this weekend as part of a 30th anniversary reunion.
The
weekend includes a reception at Dr. Bruno's home on Friday evening and
continues Saturday through the basketball doubleheader with South Alabama. The
doubleheader kicks off with the women's game at noon followed by the men's game
at 2 p.m. All members of the 1981-82 team in attendance will be recognized at
halftime of the men's game.
"It's going
to be a great weekend," Richard said. "Right now we have 13 members off that
team returning. They certainly are deserving of being recognized again after 30
years."
Richard
was a senior point guard on the 1981-82 Warhawks, which finished with a 19-11
record and lost 70-63 against Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in
Pullman, Wash. The NCAA Tournament game was great exposure for the ULM
basketball program as the team played well against the heavily favored Hawkeyes
in its first ever nationally televised game.
ULM was
led that season by senior forward Donald Wilson (16.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and
sophomore forward Terry Martin (14.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg). The two big men led a
high-powered offense that shot 47.7 percent from the field and averaged 76.2
points per game. The team featured four 1,000-point scorers including Martin
(1,523), Wilson (1,459), Gerald Morris (1,264) and Bruce Williams (1,016).
1981-82
was the first season for legendary head coach Mike Vining. It would be the
first of seven NCAA Tournament teams for Vining. He is ULM's all-time
winningest coach with 402 career victories.
In honor
of the 1981-82 ULM team, here is a look back at ULM's run to the NCAA
Tournament.
ULM Steamrolls through TAAC Tournament to
Earn NCAA Bid
After
finishing the regular season with a 16-10 record, ULM rolled through the TAAC
Tournament with wins over Houston Baptist (54-46) and Northwestern State
(81-64) before defeating Centenary 98-85 in the championship game inside
Fant-Ewing Coliseum. 7,095 fans saw ULM storm out to a 47-28 lead at the break
against Centenary and never look back. Terry Martin had 28 points, Gerald
Morris added 24 points and Donald Wilson chipped in 19 points as ULM advanced
to its first ever NCAA Tournament. Wilson was named the Tournament's MVP for
his performance.
Warhawks Put Scare into Iowa in NCAA First
Round
ULM was
a heavy underdog against the mighty Iowa Hawkeyes from the Big Ten, but the
Warhawks hung tough with the No. 16 team in the country for 35 minutes before
Iowa pulled away for a 70-63 victory. ULM scored the first eight points of the
game and held a 29-28 lead at halftime. However, Iowa opened the second half on
a 9-0 run and never trailed the rest of the way. ULM did tie the score at 51
and 53, but Iowa put the game away with a 15-2 run. Donald Wilson closed out
his career with a team-best 18 points for ULM, while Terry Martin added 16,
Gerald Morris 15 and Vernon Butler 10.
