Herb Wilkinson
Encyclopedia
Herbert Leroy "Herb" Wilkinson (born January 9, 1923) was an American college basketball player who won the 1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
as a freshman
while playing for Utah
, then transferred to Iowa
as a sophomore
and became a three-time All-American
.
and raised as a Mormon
. He grew up playing basketball but his home also had a high jump
pit, and consequently Wilkinson became an excellent high jumper (he got so good, in fact, that he placed fourth at the NCAA Division I track and field championships in 1945.) He attended East High School
in Salt Lake City, and when Wilkinson was a sophomore he only stood . By the time he enrolled in college, however, he had grown to , which more suited his ability to play basketball at the next level.
in the fall of 1943. He had stopped growing at but still possessed the dribbling and shooting abilities he had honed as a smaller high school player. As a very tall guard for that era, he helped lead the Utes
to the NCAA tournament
.
The Arkansas Razorbacks
men's basketball team, who had originally qualified for the NCAA tournament, was victimized by an auto accident. Prior to the tournament, two of Arkansas' starters were injured when their station wagon
broke down after returning from a scrimmage in Fort Smith, Arkansas
. While attempting to fix a flat tire, Deno Nichols and Ben Jones were injured when another car rammed into the back of the station wagon. Both players were injured and the severity of the accident caused Arkansas to withdraw from the upcoming NCAA tournament. In need of a replacement, the NCAA committee turned to Utah, despite the fact that the Utes had four losses and had just lost their first round game in the NIT tournament
. Utah had one player, Lyman Condie, a medical student, who quit the team to midway through the season to pursue medical school. Additionally, all of Utah's players were raised within 30 miles of the Utah campus. These players included Arnie Ferrin
, Fred Sheffield
, and Wat Misaka who was of Japan
ese decent.
Utah defeated Missouri
in the opening round, 45–35, and then defeated Iowa State
, 40–31, in the Final Four (back then, only eight teams qualified for the tournament). In the NCAA Championship game, Utah and Dartmouth played one another evenly. The game went into overtime
, and Utah prevailed 42–40 for the school's first (and still only) men's national basketball championship. Wilkinson scored seven points in the game, including the game's winning basket in the extra period with five seconds remaining. Standing at the top of the key, he received a pass from Bob Lewis and then shot. The ball bounced off the front of the rim and dropped into the net, securing Utah the national championship.
after one season at Utah. He wanted to be a dentist
, but Utah did not have a dental school. Clay, his older brother, was discovered playing basketball at a Cedar Rapids
YMCA by Iowa coach "Pops" Harrison and told Harrison that he would play for Iowa if he could bring his younger brother to play. The next day, Harrison saw Herb's picture on the front page of the newspaper with his teammates lifting him on their shoulders for having made the championship-winning shot. He called Clay and asked, "Is that your little brother?" When Clay said yes, Harrison responded, "Hell, bring him along."
The Wilkinson brothers' first season at Iowa was in 1944–45. They joined incoming freshman star Murray Wier
and three solid sophomores—Dick Ives
, Jack Spencer and Dave Danner—in what would be a Big Ten Conference
-winning season. The Hawkeyes finished 17–1 overall (11–1 in conference play) and their only loss came to Illinois
by one point. Herb averaged 9.6 points per game (ppg) while Clay, a junior, averaged 11.5 ppg as the team's starting center
. Despite Clay's slightly better numbers, Herb was honored as a consensus Second Team All-American
along with fellow sophomore teammate Ives. It was Herb's ball-handling, leadership, and ability to score long-range shots that would deflate opponents' morale that played a large part in his selection. That year's team was also the first in school history to win an outright Big Ten championship.
Over the next two seasons, Wilkinson's junior
and senior
seasons, the Hawkeyes finished with 14–4 (8–4) and 12–7 (5–7) records, respectively. Herb said, "We were good enough to win the Big Ten title all three years. It's kind of sickening that we didn't. But Clay had to have an operation—he'd fallen on his tailbone one year—and Danner had some back problems. Still, we were good enough to win the championship more than just that first year." He averaged 8.3 ppg and 9.3 ppg those years, and although he was not a consensus selection, Wilkinson earned his second and third consecutive Helms Foundation
All-American honors.
When Herb Wilkinson's college basketball career ended after the 1946–47 season, he had become Iowa's only three-time First Team All-Big Ten and three-time All-American honoree in addition to having won a national championship as a freshman while at Utah. He finished his Iowa career with 489 points in 53 games. He scored a career-high 22 points against Indiana
on February 22, 1947. Wilkinson would later be named to the University of Iowa All-Century Team.
(BAA) made him such a good offer that he decided to give it a shot. Being a very religious and devout Mormon
, he agreed to play on the condition that he had Sundays off. Wilkinson said:
"One Sunday I wasn't there and the owner asked where I was. The coach said he doesn't play on Sundays, and the owner sent me a note saying I had to play on Sundays or he would release me. I'm not sure he was serious, but I quit basketball and went off on a mission for two years."
After his mission, Wilkinson finished his schooling and became a dentist instead. Wilkinson chalked up his personal success in life to his national championship season with Utah as a freshman. "Anything like that gives you more confidence to do other things in life," he says. "You think, Gee, if we won the NCAAs and weren't expected to, we could probably do a lot of other things we didn't think we could do."
1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
-External links:* on Shrp Sports * , source for much of the information on this page....
as a freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
while playing for Utah
Utah Utes men's basketball
The University of Utah Utes have consistently been one of the most successful basketball programs in the NCAA. They are currently an NCAA Division I program that plays in the Pacific-12 Conference. The school has made the NCAA Tournament 26 times, which ranks 16th in NCAA history and 3rd behind...
, then transferred to Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represents the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, as a member of the Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. They currently play in 15,500-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena, along with the school's women's basketball, wrestling, and...
as a sophomore
Sophomore
Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
and became a three-time All-American
NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The NCAA Men's Basketball All-American teams are honorary teams made up of those NCAA basketball players voted the best in the country by a variety of organizations.-History:...
.
Early life
Wilkinson was born in Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
and raised as a Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
. He grew up playing basketball but his home also had a high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
pit, and consequently Wilkinson became an excellent high jumper (he got so good, in fact, that he placed fourth at the NCAA Division I track and field championships in 1945.) He attended East High School
East High School (Salt Lake City)
East High School is a public high school in the Salt Lake City School District in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. and serves grades nine through twelve. It also accepts and cares for mentally and physically disabled children. East High School was founded in 1914 and currently has an enrolled student...
in Salt Lake City, and when Wilkinson was a sophomore he only stood . By the time he enrolled in college, however, he had grown to , which more suited his ability to play basketball at the next level.
Utah (1943–44)
Wilkinson matriculated at the University of UtahUniversity of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
in the fall of 1943. He had stopped growing at but still possessed the dribbling and shooting abilities he had honed as a smaller high school player. As a very tall guard for that era, he helped lead the Utes
Utah Utes
The Utah Utes are the athletics teams of the University of Utah. They are named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the "Runnin' Utes"; the women's basketball team, formerly known as the "Lady Utes," now prefers to be referred to as the "Utes"; and the...
to the NCAA tournament
1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
-External links:* on Shrp Sports * , source for much of the information on this page....
.
The Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball
The Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team represents the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The school's team currently competes in the Southeastern Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2008...
men's basketball team, who had originally qualified for the NCAA tournament, was victimized by an auto accident. Prior to the tournament, two of Arkansas' starters were injured when their station wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
broke down after returning from a scrimmage in Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
. While attempting to fix a flat tire, Deno Nichols and Ben Jones were injured when another car rammed into the back of the station wagon. Both players were injured and the severity of the accident caused Arkansas to withdraw from the upcoming NCAA tournament. In need of a replacement, the NCAA committee turned to Utah, despite the fact that the Utes had four losses and had just lost their first round game in the NIT tournament
1944 National Invitation Tournament
The 1944 National Invitation Tournament was the 1944 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.-Selected teams:Below is a list of the 8 teams selected for the tournament.-Brackets/Results:Below is the tournament bracket....
. Utah had one player, Lyman Condie, a medical student, who quit the team to midway through the season to pursue medical school. Additionally, all of Utah's players were raised within 30 miles of the Utah campus. These players included Arnie Ferrin
Arnie Ferrin
C. Arnold Ferrin Jr. is a retired American basketball player in college and the BAA and NBA.Ferrin attended high school in Ogden, Utah. In college with the University of Utah, he won the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player award in 1944 when they won the championship over Dartmouth...
, Fred Sheffield
Fred Sheffield
Frederick Jolley Sheffield was an American basketball player. He won an NCAA championship with the University of Utah in 1944 and played one season for the Philadelphia Warriors in the Basketball Association of America .Sheffield, a 6'2 forward and center, played for Utah and, as a sophomore, was...
, and Wat Misaka who was of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese decent.
Utah defeated Missouri
Missouri Tigers men's basketball
The Missouri Tigers men's basketball team represents the University of Missouri in the Big 12 Conference. The Tigers are located in Columbia, Missouri. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2011. The Missouri Tigers men's basketball team plays its home games at...
in the opening round, 45–35, and then defeated Iowa State
Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball
The Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represents Iowa State University and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I.-Johnny Orr era :...
, 40–31, in the Final Four (back then, only eight teams qualified for the tournament). In the NCAA Championship game, Utah and Dartmouth played one another evenly. The game went into overtime
Overtime (sports)
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...
, and Utah prevailed 42–40 for the school's first (and still only) men's national basketball championship. Wilkinson scored seven points in the game, including the game's winning basket in the extra period with five seconds remaining. Standing at the top of the key, he received a pass from Bob Lewis and then shot. The ball bounced off the front of the rim and dropped into the net, securing Utah the national championship.
Iowa (1944–47)
Herb Wilkinson transferred to the University of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
after one season at Utah. He wanted to be a dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
, but Utah did not have a dental school. Clay, his older brother, was discovered playing basketball at a Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
YMCA by Iowa coach "Pops" Harrison and told Harrison that he would play for Iowa if he could bring his younger brother to play. The next day, Harrison saw Herb's picture on the front page of the newspaper with his teammates lifting him on their shoulders for having made the championship-winning shot. He called Clay and asked, "Is that your little brother?" When Clay said yes, Harrison responded, "Hell, bring him along."
The Wilkinson brothers' first season at Iowa was in 1944–45. They joined incoming freshman star Murray Wier
Murray Wier
Murray Neal Wier , nicknamed "Rampaging Redhead" and "Wizard Wier," is an American former professional basketball player for the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and the Waterloo Hawks...
and three solid sophomores—Dick Ives
Dick Ives
Richard C. "Dick" Ives was an American basketball player for the University of Iowa from 1943–44 to 1946–47. A native of Diagonal, Iowa, Ives passed up the opportunity to play college basketball at Drake University on a full athletic scholarship so that he could play at Iowa under coach "Pops"...
, Jack Spencer and Dave Danner—in what would be a Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
-winning season. The Hawkeyes finished 17–1 overall (11–1 in conference play) and their only loss came to Illinois
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at Assembly Hall, located on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's campus in Champaign....
by one point. Herb averaged 9.6 points per game (ppg) while Clay, a junior, averaged 11.5 ppg as the team's starting center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
. Despite Clay's slightly better numbers, Herb was honored as a consensus Second Team All-American
1945 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The Consensus 1945 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Helms Athletic Foundation, Converse, The Sporting News, and Argosy...
along with fellow sophomore teammate Ives. It was Herb's ball-handling, leadership, and ability to score long-range shots that would deflate opponents' morale that played a large part in his selection. That year's team was also the first in school history to win an outright Big Ten championship.
Over the next two seasons, Wilkinson's junior
Junior (education)
"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...
and senior
Senior (education)
Senior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...
seasons, the Hawkeyes finished with 14–4 (8–4) and 12–7 (5–7) records, respectively. Herb said, "We were good enough to win the Big Ten title all three years. It's kind of sickening that we didn't. But Clay had to have an operation—he'd fallen on his tailbone one year—and Danner had some back problems. Still, we were good enough to win the championship more than just that first year." He averaged 8.3 ppg and 9.3 ppg those years, and although he was not a consensus selection, Wilkinson earned his second and third consecutive Helms Foundation
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...
All-American honors.
When Herb Wilkinson's college basketball career ended after the 1946–47 season, he had become Iowa's only three-time First Team All-Big Ten and three-time All-American honoree in addition to having won a national championship as a freshman while at Utah. He finished his Iowa career with 489 points in 53 games. He scored a career-high 22 points against Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Indiana University . The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the NCAA. The Hoosiers play on Branch McCracken Court at the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana on the IU...
on February 22, 1947. Wilkinson would later be named to the University of Iowa All-Century Team.
Later life
For the first year after graduation, Wilkinson was studying in an anesthesiology program, deciding to forgo a professional basketball career. Then, the Minneapolis Lakers of the Basketball Association of AmericaBasketball Association of America
The Basketball Association of America was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. The league merged with the National Basketball League in 1949, forming the National Basketball Association ...
(BAA) made him such a good offer that he decided to give it a shot. Being a very religious and devout Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
, he agreed to play on the condition that he had Sundays off. Wilkinson said:
"One Sunday I wasn't there and the owner asked where I was. The coach said he doesn't play on Sundays, and the owner sent me a note saying I had to play on Sundays or he would release me. I'm not sure he was serious, but I quit basketball and went off on a mission for two years."
After his mission, Wilkinson finished his schooling and became a dentist instead. Wilkinson chalked up his personal success in life to his national championship season with Utah as a freshman. "Anything like that gives you more confidence to do other things in life," he says. "You think, Gee, if we won the NCAAs and weren't expected to, we could probably do a lot of other things we didn't think we could do."