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1958–59 California Golden Bears men's basketball team

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1958–59 California Golden Bears men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions
PCC champions
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 11
Record25–4 (14–2 PCC)
Head coach
Assistant coachRene Herrerias
Home arenaMen's Gym
Seasons
1958–59 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 11 California 14 2   .875 25 4   .862
Washington 11 5   .688 18 8   .692
UCLA 10 6   .625 16 9   .640
Stanford 10 6   .625 16 9   .640
USC 8 8   .500 15 11   .577
Oregon State 7 7   .500 13 13   .500
Idaho 6 10   .375 11 15   .423
Oregon 3 13   .188 9 16   .360
Washington State 3 13   .188 10 16   .385
Rankings from AP Poll[1]


The 1958–59 California Golden Bears men's basketball team represented the University of California, Berkeley in NCAA University Division basketball competition. Led by fifth-year head coach Pete Newell, the Golden Bears won their only national championship.

Season summary

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Cal was not a team that thrilled many people beyond its own fans. One writer described the Bears as "just a bunch of guys named Joe."[citation needed] But Cal was coached by one of the greats, Pete Newell, and his team-oriented, defensive style won the national championship as the Bears beat two teams in the Final Four that featured two of the best guards in history, Cincinnati (Oscar Robertson) and West Virginia (Jerry West).

Roster

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1958–59 California Golden Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G Al Buch (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Sr North Hollywood, California
F 34 Bob Dalton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Sr San Leandro, California
Dick Doughty 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Jr Oakland, California
G Denny Fitzpatrick 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Sr Costa Mesa, California
F Tandy Gillis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Jr Long Beach, California
F 33 Jack Grout 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Sr Visalia, California
C 40 Darrall Imhoff 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Jr Alhambra, California
Jim Langley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Salinas, California
Jerry Mann 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
San Francisco, California
F 42 Bill McClintock 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
So Milwaukee, Wisconsin
G Earl Shultz 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
So South Gate, California
Bernie Simpson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Omaha, Nebraska
Head coach

Pete Newell (Loyola Marymount)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 19 April 2018

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
December 3, 1958*
San Jose State W 60–36  1–0
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
December 6, 1958*
San Francisco W 50–43  2–0
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
December 9, 1958*
No. 14 Saint Mary's W 57–55  3–0
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
December 12, 1958*
No. 3 Kansas State L 65–68  3–1
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
December 19, 1958*
No. 15 at Iowa W 71–52  4–1
Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
December 20, 1958*
No. 15 vs. Wisconsin W 68–53  5–1
Iowa Field House[2] 
Iowa City, IA
December 23, 1958*
No. 14 at No. 16 Saint Louis L 43–55  5–2
Kiel Auditorium 
St. Louis, MO
December 27, 1958
No. 14 Arizona W 90–46  6–2
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
January 2, 1959
No. 20 at Washington W 54–43  7–2
(1–0)
Hec Edmundson Pavilion 
Seattle, WA
January 3, 1959
No. 20 at Oregon L 57–59  7–3
(1–1)
McArthur Court 
Eugene, OR
January 9, 1959
Washington W 55–44  8–3
(2–1)
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
January 10, 1959
Idaho W 64–39  9–3
(3–1)
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
January 16, 1959
No. 20 at Stanford L 53–56  9–4
(3–2)
Stanford Pavilion 
Stanford, CA
January 17, 1959
Stanford W 67–46  10–4
(4–2)
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
January 31, 1959*
No. 20 at Santa Clara W 66–55  11–4
San Jose Civic Auditorium 
San Jose, CA
February 6, 1959
No. 19 at UCLA W 60–58  12–4
(5–2)
Pan-Pacific Auditorium[3] 
Los Angeles, CA
February 7, 1959
No. 19 at USC W 82–55  13–4
(6–2)
Pan-Pacific Auditorium 
Los Angeles, CA
February 13, 1959
No. 18 Oregon W 83–55  14–4
(7–2)
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
February 14, 1959
No. 18 UCLA W 64–51  15–4
(8–2)
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
February 20, 1959
No. 15 at Washington State W 61–37  16–4
(9–2)
Bohler Gymnasium 
Pullman, WA
February 21, 1959
No. 15 at Idaho W 65–46  17–4
(10–2)
Memorial Gym 
Moscow
February 23, 1959
No. 15 at Oregon State W 57–40  18–4
(11–2)
Oregon State Coliseum 
Corvallis
February 27, 1959
No. 12 USC W 70–64  19–4
(12–2)
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
February 28, 1959
No. 12 Washington State W 65–45  20–4
(13–2)
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
March 7, 1959
No. 11 Oregon State W 55–52  21–4
(14–2)
Men's Gym 
Berkeley, CA
NCAA Tournament
March 13, 1959*
No. 11 vs. No. 18 Utah
West Regional semifinals
W 71–53  22–4
Cow Palace 
Daly City, CA
March 14, 1959*
No. 11 vs. No. 15 Saint Mary's
West Regional Finals
W 66–46  23–4
Cow Palace 
Daly City
March 20, 1959*
No. 11 vs. No. 5 Cincinnati
National semifinals
W 64–58  24–4
Freedom Hall (18,619)
Louisville, KY
March 21, 1959*
No. 11 vs. No. 10 West Virginia
National Championship
W 71–70  25–4
Freedom Hall (18,498)
Louisville, KY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

[4]

Rankings

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[5][6]

Awards and honors

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NBA draft

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Two Golden Bears were selected in the next two NBA drafts

Year Round Pick Player NBA Club
1959 6 45 Bob Dalton Syracuse Nationals
1960 1 3 Darrall Imhoff New York Knicks
Source:[7]

References

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  1. ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "Cal Throttles Badgers, 68-53; Huskies Win". Los Angeles Times. December 21, 1958. ProQuest 167395777.
  3. ^ Florence, Mal (February 8, 1959). "Idaho Knocks Off Bruins; Bears Easily Defeat Troy: UCLA Upset, 91-87, in Spite of 38-Point Splurge by Torrence". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 167429852.
  4. ^ California History (2003-04 ed.). Cal Athletics. p. 141. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  5. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 670–671. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  6. ^ "1958-59 College Basketball Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  7. ^ "1959 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2009.