The final day of
2013 brought news of the death of a man who will go down in the annals of
University of Michigan sports history as its most forgotten coach – former
basketball coach Johnny Orr. The man who led the 1975-76 Wolverines to an
improbable NCAA Finals berth (only to losing to perhaps the greatest team in
college basketball history NOT named UCLA) was 88 … and had long since been out
of the hearts and minds of U-M fans.
Which is, and was,
a tragic shame in itself; Orr did much to reverse Michigan hardcourt fortunes,
culminating in that appearance in The Spectrum in Philadelphia and then a
season-long number-one ranking the following year.
Even the news leads
in most of the printed obituaries referred to his time in Ames, Iowa as the
head coach of the Iowa State Cyclones, with Michigan being an afterthought. The
news of Orr’s passing was a “stop the presses” moment in Iowa; TV stations did
on-site reports from Ames about community reaction o the man credited with
putting Cyclone basketball on a legitimate contending footing.
Inside Hilton
Coliseum, there is a statue of Orr and an entire section devoted to his years
(1981-94) at Iowa State; in Ann Arbor, no such honors or remembrances exist.
But Orr made his real
mark within the coaching profession in Ann Arbor, garnering Coach of the Year
honors in 1976, ahead of Indiana’s Bobby Knight, who coached IU to that
undefeated (32-0) NCAA title. When the honor was announced at the NABC banquet
on the Sunday afternoon between the Final Four and the NCAA Finals, Knight was
the first to stand and applaud and lauded the choice.
---
The 1975-76 squad
was a mixture of state of Michigan-produced and imported talent coming together
as an outstanding team, guided by Orr; it would have been even greater if not
for the looming giant that was Indiana.
Initially ranked
16th in the various national polls to start the season, the final ranking was
ninth, which did not matter since all issues, including the national
championship were settled on court.
Michigan was led in
scoring by its point guard, Rickey Green from Chicago, perhaps the fastest and
quickest guard in Wolverine history. He averaged 19.9 points per game and 4.4
assists, and would become a first-round draft pick of Utah.
Out of the
Cleveland area came freshman center Phil Hubbard (another future first-round
NBA selection), who averaged 15.1 points per contest (shooting 54.6 percent
from the floor) and 11 rebounds per game despite playing the center position at
6-7.
Those were the
“stars” of the squad, but the real heart of the team could be seen in the other
three starters.
Sophomore Johnny
Robinson, also from Chicago, was the perfect power forward for Orr’s up-tempo,
fast-break offense, and his ability to run the floor allowed his, at 6-5, the
score 14 points per game and grab 8.2 rebounds.
Steve Grote, the
pride of Cincinnati, played more like the standout linebacker he was in high
school as a guard, and also averaged in double figures for an offense that led
the Big 10 in scoring.
Normally using a
short rotation, Michigan’s top reserves were guard Dave Baxter, a left-handed
outside shooter, and another southpaw, forward Joel Thompson, who possessed
great speed and leaping ability. Both players, however, were best known for
their flamboyant 1970s Afro haircuts, especially Baxter, whose locks flowed
through the air as he ran the court.
And then there was
the senior captain Wayman Britt, out of Flint Northern High School, who was the
team’s defensive specialist at just 6-2. He was forced to guard players far
taller than he stood and much bigger in bulk, since Britt was under 200. Yet he
never backed down from a challenge and normally got the best of his assignment,
night in and night out.
On the stat sheet,
Britt scored at a 10.9 per game average, but his contributions went FAR past
what he did with the basketball. He was a captain – a real leader – for his
team. If anyone deserved to have a number retired, it would be Britt’s “32.”
As a unit, Michigan
outscored its opponents by an 86-77 point margin, shooting more than 50 percent
from the field (setting a school record), and held its own on the boards
despite an overall lack of upfront size. Its 2,753 point total would stand as
the school standard until 1987.
In the 1975-76
season, the Big 10 Conference was loaded with top-flight talent: Greg Kelser
and Terry Furlow at Michigan State, Jerry Sichting, Walter Jordan and Kyle Macy
at Purdue, Flip Saunders, Mychel Thompson and Ray Williams at Minnesota, and
the best starting ever (perhaps in history) at Indiana of Quinn Buckner, Bobby
Wilkerson, Tom Abernathy, Scott May and Kent Benson in the post (plus sixth man
Jim Crews).
Finishing second in
the Big 10, the Wolverines opened tournament play by with narrow 74-73 victory
over Wichita State in the Midwest sub-regionals in Denton, Tex., followed by
another close win, 80-79 over Notre Dame (which sports a roster that included the
likes of Adrian Dantley, Bill Laimbeer, Bruce Flowers and Bernard Rencher) and
then defeating Missouri 95-88 in the Louisville regional finals.
Making its first
Final Four appearance since 1965, U-M met the “local” favorites, undefeated
Rutgers (from neighboring New Jersey) in the first of the two Saturday games on
March. Led by All-American Phil Sellers, Rutgers was more than the odds-on
favorites to challenges IU in what was projected a classic championship game
between two unbeaten teams.
But Michigan was
not the desired guest, whipping Rutgers from the opening tip and manhandling
the Scarlet Knights 86-70 (after leading 46-29 at half) to set up the first
NCAA men’s basketball finals between schools from the same conference. All five
U-M starters scored in double figures (led by Robinson’s 20 points, followed by
Green and Hubbard with 16 apiece) and Sellers was held to just 11 on 5 of 13
shooting while Phil Jordan missed 14 of his 20 shots for just 16 points.
Rutgers, as a team, was smothered to death for less than 40 percent shooting
from the field.
Indiana would do
its part in the second contest, beating UCLA 65-51 (in the Bruins’ first year
after John Wooden retired) in a sloppy affair. Earlier in the season, Michigan
had lost to the Hoosiers 80-74 in Ann Arbor and 72-67 in Bloomington, but this
kind of matchup had never happened before in NCAA tournament history – from the
same conference.
In the championship, Michigan stunned the entire arena by taking a shocking
35-29 lead into the halftime locker room. The team headed into its tunnel and
some of us ran towards to Spectrum restrooms, which already sported long lines
waiting to “take care of business.”
The Michigan fans were filled with bluster and cockiness, having played one
of its greatest halves that season, as engineered by Orr. But we should have all
known better; the real Indiana would eventually appear and through past experiences,
it would be more than Michigan could handle.
Our confidence quickly waned in the opening minutes of the second half as
IU came out and executed its offense to perfection while clamping down on all the
Wolverines offensively, Cinderella’s carriage never appeared as U-M lost 86-68
to camp Indiana’s perfect run.
May and the 6-10 Benson (named the tournament MVP) combined for 51 points
while Buckner added 16. Hubbard had a double-double with 10 point and 11
rebounds and Green scored 16 (when there was no three-point shot), but IU’s
defense forced 19 Michigan turnovers and got to the free throw line 28 times.
Indiana, for the game, shot 52.5 percent from the field, holding Michigan
to 47 percent, outscoring UM 57-33 in the second 20 minutes. The Hoosiers
finally wore Michigan down with its press and sizeable height advantage.
---
I got to know Orr fairly well when I worked
for the Sports Information Department at UM from 1974-76. I played a weekly “tennis”
match with his top assistant Bill Frieder (Orr’s successor) and our antics,
when retold in the basketball office, drew belly laughs from his head man.
If there was artwork in the dictionary, next
to the word, “laidback,” Johnny Orr’s photo would have been attached. On the
court, he often displayed a volcanic nature, when referees called fouls which
Orr thought to be particularly egregious, but away from it, he was as affable
as anyone in the office, regardless of sport.
Two of my favorite memories actually involve
Knight – one on a road trip to Assembly Hall and the other in the week running
up to the Final Four.
It would not be incorrect to say most coaches
and especially Big 10 officials were intimidated by Knight’s bluster and
personality. But not Orr; it seemed as if the two got along well.
Johnny particularly loved telling a story of
a Michigan trip to Bloomington, for a regionally televised contest with the
Hoosiers. It seemed weather problems delayed Michigan’s arrival for a pre-game
shoot-around and left the team with little time for its pre-game prep. All the
while, the Big 10 people are waiting and growing impatient to set up their
equipment and take over control of the telecast.
Under ANY circumstances, that did not sit
well with Knight, who could have cared less what the conference folks wanted or
needed. So when Michigan’s bus finally arrived at Assembly Hall, Orr and
company were greeted by Knight, who walked them to the court and said, clearly
in a volume that could be hard in Indianapolis, “Coach, how long does your team
need to get ready?” Orr answered about 15-20 minutes, or so.
“Naw, Johnny, you guys need MUCH more time,
30 minutes at least! In fact, take as LONG as you need, perhaps an hour would
be good?”
The faces on the Big 10 TV people were
quickly turning red.
“Bob, it’s OK. I know they’ve got to set up
and we can warm up quicker if needed.”
“No, coach! You take as much time for your
kids to get properly warmed up,” Knight answered.
“What about the TV people,” Orr asked.
Knight responded for all to hear. “They don’t
run this place; this is MY gym, and I’ll say when the damn game starts – not THEM!”
When Johnny Orr retold that tale, he included
wild hand gestures and laughed his way through each sentence.
I was “fortunate” to be in Orr’s office on the
Tuesday before heading to Philadelphia for that weekend’s 1976 Final Four;
actually, I was in to see Frieder when Orr called from his area, “Bloom, come
here and sit down. You’ve got to hear this!”
In those days, they conduct teleconference
calls, and a group of national reporters were on the line to speak to Orr and
Knight. Prior to the start, Orr whispered to me, “Listen to this. Bobby has NO
intention of answering their questions. So this should be interesting.”
And for the next 35 minutes, Bobby Knight
gave a textbook example on how to hold court without saying a blasted thing. “Almost
every question direction Knight’s way was met with “Well, Johnny what do you
think?” to which Orr usually responded with “Geez, Bobby! Not quite sure about
that.”
This ping-pong conference went back and
forth, with neither man budging from clichéd answers and secretly rolling their
eyes at some of the more inane questions. The closest thing to an honest response
was answering the supposition of meeting in the NCAA Finals.
“I think it would be good for the conference,”
Knight said. “It would let people know we play good basketball in the Big 10
and teams like Michigan deserve to be there,” never once mentioning his own
squad. Orr could only agree, giving kudos t what Indiana had accomplished up to
that point.
“You’re too kind, Coach,” Knight added.
Finally, when it was done, Orr’s office phone
rang and it was Knight on the other end.
“Think they got the message about bothering
us this week?” Knight queried. And both men laughed loud and heartily.
THAT is how I remember Johnny Orr.
---
For all his accolades, honors and record,
Johnny Orr is NOT in the National Basketball Hall of Fame, which is another
crying shame. In 29 years, he went 466-346 for three schools (Massachusetts,
Michigan and Iowa State), and his teams made 10 NCAA tournaments.
Orr was hired in 1967 from UMass, coming to a
program which was last in the Big 10 just two years removed from an NCAA Finals
appearance. By 1970, Michigan had returned to the NCAAs (when there were far fewer
teams), and in 1974 and 1977, Michigan grabbed Big 10 titles in one of the
toughest leagues in the nation. From Jan. 12, 1976
through Nov. 30, 1977, Michigan won 22 games at home without a loss – another long-standing mark.
But it seemed never to be enough for the
Wolverine fan base and by 1980, Orr left Ann Arbor for the heartland that is
Iowa, again to resurrect a program in dire straits. When Orr left Michigan, he
had become the school’s all-time winningest coach (209 wins), which remains
true to this day.
“The Michigan basketball program is saddened
by the passing of Johnny Orr,” said current Michigan head coach John Beilein. “Johnny was a
tremendous person and basketball coach. We will always value the many positives
he brought to both the University of Michigan and college basketball in
general. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Orr family during this time.”
Under Orr’s tutelage, Michigan had eight All-Americans: forward Rudy Tomjanovich (1970), guard-forward Henry Wilmore (1971-72), forward Campy Russell
(1974), forward C.J. Kupec (1975), Green (1977), Hubbard (1977), forward Mike
McGee (1981) and guard Eric Turner (1983).
Orr spent 14 years with the Cyclones, getting
them to six NCAA Tourney appearances (the first in 46 years’ time) and five
20-win seasons. Again, when he retired in 1994, he was Iowa State’s all-time
winningest coach with 218-200 victories. At the University of
Massachusetts, Orr was 39-33 during his three years.
A proud alumnus of Beloit College, Orr was
twice named an All-American. He also served in the U.S. Navy during World War
II and attended Illinois to play basketball and football for one year. As a
prep star in Taylorville, Orr led all of Illinois in scoring and his team to a
state championship.
Orr is survived by his wife, Romie, and three
daughters; Jennifer, Leslie and Rebecca, five grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his daughter,
Robin, who sadly passed away in 2010.
Johnny Orr is gone but not forgotten among
many of us. The University of Michigan athletic department would do itself
proud if it established a Johnny Orr wing of Crisler Center (Arena, to us old-timers),
dedicated to the accomplishments the old coach created for the Maize and Blue.
I think he more than deserved it.
