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1965 Championship Team

Class AA State Champions

Select or scroll down to view: Season Highlights  |  Special Recognition  |  Player Accomplishments

1965 Wyandotte High School Basketball State Champions team photo.

Kneeling, L- R > Manager Larry Martindale, Manager David Porter, Tom Preston, Keith Lindsey, Don Nelson, Kenny Carter, Manager Dennis Svetlich  ---  Standing, L- R > Assistant Coach Don Upson, Willie Smith, Pierre Russell, Frank Lovich, Pete Mirkovich, Head Coach Walt Shublom, Gerald Arbogast, Lucius Allen, John Arrowsmith, Tom French, Assistant Coach John Trainor.

Season Highlights

Regular Season

  • The 1964-65 Wyandotte Bulldogs marched through the regular season unbeaten.
     

  • It was their 7th perfect Sunflower League season in 10 years with their average margin of victory being over 22 points per game.
     

  • The Bulldogs’ regular season featured only 3 games that were decided by under 10 points.

    • Lucius Allen’s 28 points and 12 rebounds led the Bulldogs to a 74-67 win over the Shawnee Mission East Lancers at the Bulldogs’ gym.

    • The Bulldogs defeated the Wichita East Blue Aces 71-62 at the Bulldogs’ gym behind 26 points and 7 rebounds from Lucius Allen and Keith Lindsey’s 15 points.

    • In the championship game of the McPherson Invitational Tournament, before an overflow crowd of over 4,000 fans, Wyandotte outpointed the host McPherson Bullpups 73-67.

      • The Bulldogs were led by 28 points from Lucius Allen and a 9-9 long-range field goal shooting performance from Keith Lindsey.

      • The Tournament was contested at McPherson’s Roundhouse gym that had opened prior to the 1963-64 season.

 

Regional Tournament @ Wyandotte High School

  • In the semifinals, the Bulldogs ousted the Leavenworth Pioneers 65-45 behind 26 points from Lucius Allen.
     

  • In front of a sellout crowd of 2,700 fans, Wyandotte defeated the #2 Class AA team in the state, the Sumner (now Sumner Academy of Arts and Science) Spartans, 63-54 in the regional final.

    • Lucius Allen led the Bulldog effort with 31 points including 13 in the first quarter.

    • The victory was Wyandotte’s 13th consecutive regional championship.

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State Tournament @ Allen Fieldhouse at the University of Kansas in Lawrence

  • Playing before a crowd of 6,570 in the quarterfinals, Lucius Allen tallied 28 points to lead the Bulldogs over the Shawnee Mission West Vikings by a score of 77-59.
     

  • In the semifinals before a crowd of 7,560, 19 points from Lucius Allen and 11 points from John Arrowsmith led the Bulldogs to a 49-36 victory over the Wichita East Blue Aces.
     

  • In the title game, playing before a state record crowd of over 11,000 fans, the Bulldogs outpointed McPherson 48-44 behind 19 points and 12 rebounds from Lucius Allen and 16 points from Keith Lindsey. 

    • The championship game was a rematch of the title game of the McPherson Tournament played in January.
       

  • The title was Wyandotte’s 2nd consecutive championship and 8th in 11 years.
     

  • The championship game marked the Bulldogs’ 13th consecutive appearance in the state championship game.
     

  • The 1964-1965 Wyandotte squad was the 3rd unbeaten state championship team in Kansas history.

Special Recognition

Lucius Allen (Senior, Class of 1965)

 

College Career

  • 1965-66 season

    • Due to the then NCAA freshman eligibility rules, Allen and fellow freshman Lew Alcindor played for the UCLA freshman team.

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  • 1966-67 season

    • Averaged 15.5 points per game to help lead UCLA to the 1967 NCAA National Championship.

      • UCLA capped a 30-0 season by defeating the Dayton Flyers 79-64 in the National Championship game at the Final Four at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.

      • Allen was named to the All-Tournament team for both the West Regional and Final Four.

Lucius Allen, 42, playing at UCLA, former Wyandotte HS, KCKS, Basketball star.

Lucius Allen, #42, playing for UCLA against the Houston Cougars
in the Houston Astrodome on January, 20, 1968.

  • 1967-68 season

    • Averaged 15.1 points per game to help lead UCLA to the 1968 NCAA National Championship.

      • UCLA capped a 29-1 season by defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels 78-55 in the National Championship game at the Final Four at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California.

      • UCLA’s only loss was a 71-69 defeat by the Houston Cougars (featuring Elvin Hayes & Don Chaney) at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas on January 20, 1968.   

      • Popularly known as the “Game of the Century”, the Houston-UCLA match-up was the first ever “prime time” nationally televised college basketball game. It drew a crowd of 52,693 and a national television audience of over 20 million viewers. The loss ended UCLA’s 47-game winning streak.

      • Avenging the January loss in the “Game of the Century”, UCLA defeated Houston 101-69 in the National Semifinals.  The win was the 2nd consecutive year UCLA defeated Houston in the Final Four.

      • Allen was named 2nd Team All-American & to the Final Four All-Tournament team.

Professional Career

  • Drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder) as the 3rd overall pick in the 1st round of the 1969 NBA Draft.
     

  • Played 10 years in the NBA for 4 teams (Seattle SuperSonics, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Kansas City (now Sacramento) Kings.

    • Was an NBA Champion with the Bucks (with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a teammate) in the 1970-71 season.

    • Was the 3rd leading scorer in 1973-74 for the Bucks team that lost in the NBA finals in a 7-games series to the Boston Celtics.
       

  • Was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000 & the Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor in 2013.
     

For Allen's Early Life & High School Career info, see the “1964 State Champions” page.

Player Accomplishments

Reference Team Photo - Kneeling, from left to right

  • Larry Martindale and David Porter, Managers
     

  • Tom Preston (Sophomore, Class of 1967)

  • Keith Lindsey (Senior, Class of 1965)

    • Also contributed as a guard on the 1964 State Championship team.

    • Earned 1965 1st team All-Area from the Kansas City Kansan & Honorable Mention Class AA All-Tournament.

    • Played college basketball at Pittsburg State University & Hardin-Simmons University.

    • Inducted into Kansas City Kansas Community College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.
       

  • Don Nelson (Senior, Class of 1965)

    • Earned 1st team Class AA State All-Tournament.

    • Earned Honorable Mention All-Area from the Kansas City Kansan.
       

  • Kenny Carter (Junior, Class of 1966)

    • Played college basketball for the KCK Junior College Blue Devils (now KCK Community College).
       

  • Dennis Svetlich, Manager

 

Reference Team Photo - Standing, from left to right

  • Don Upson, Assistant Coach

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  • Willie Smith (Senior, Class of 1965)

    • Earned 1st team All-State football defensive end in 1964.

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  • Frank Lovich (Junior, Class of 1966)

    • Played college basketball for the Ft. Hays State University Tigers.

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  • Pete Mirkovich (Junior, Class of 1966)

    • Contributed as a center.

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  • Walt Shublom, Head Coach

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  • Gerald Arbogast (Senior, Class of 1965)

    • Earned 2nd team Class AA State All-Tournament.

    • Earned Honorable Mention All-Area from the Kansas City Kansan.

    • Played college basketball for the KCK Junior College Blue Devils (now KCK Community College).

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  • John Arrowsmith (Senior, Class of 1965)

    • Earned Honorable Mention Class AA State All-Tournament.

    • Earned Honorable Mention All-Area from the Kansas City Kansan.

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  • Tom French (Senior, Class of 1965)

    • Contributed as a forward.

    • Also competed on the Bulldog football squad.

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  • John Trainor, Assistant Coach

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