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Show BASKETBALLThe beginning of the 1964 -1965 Basketball season was a new experience for Coach Jack Gardner as he began his 12th season for the Utes. With 11 new faces, the squad had less experience than any Gardner had coached. Only two regulars returned from last year's team. Gardner felt he would have trouble picking a starting five, yet the first ten games ended in victory for the Utes. The Running Redskins ran over New Mexico, Loyola University of Los Angeles, Butler, St. Mary's of California, San Jose State, University of California, University of Santa Clara, U.S. Military Academy, and Michigan State in the Los Angeles Classic. Utah's first loss was to UCLA in the second round of the Los Angeles Classic. The next loss was a heartbreaker to Utah State that was decided in the last few minutes of play. The Utes were victorious over the Idaho Vandals at Salt Lake and then traveled to Tempe to defeat the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Utes saw defeat as they journeyed to Tuscon to fight the University of Arizona Wildcats in a closely contested defensive match followed by a Brigham Young University win at Provo. Revenge was sought and found by the Redskins as they defeated Utah State on their own court. This victory was followed by wins over Montana University and the University of Denver Pioneers. The Utes' WAG hopes were shattered after losses to New Mexico, University of Wyoming, Brig-ham Young University, and Arizona State. The Utes again took revenge as they defeated Arizona. The Utes then saw victory over New Mexico before falling to the University of Wyoming Cowboys.As the basketball season came to a close Coach Gardner announced the 1964-65 honors and awards. Chosen as team captain was senior guard Skip Kroeger. Kroeger also gained the award as the team's most inspirational player. He averaged 13.7 points per game and had more steals than any other member of the squad. Jerry Chambers gained awards as the most improved player and the best rebounder. He was the team's leading scorer with a 19.5 average, and he pulled down 277 rebounds for a 10.6 average. The final award went to Granny Lash as the best free thrower. He led the WAC in free throw percentage for the 1964-65 campaign. |
