Courtesy of WKU Athletics
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball will recognize its 1970-71 Final Four
team for its induction in the inaugural class of WKU Athletics Hall of Fame teams
during halftime of Saturday’s game against North Texas.
In 2020, the WKU Alumni W-Club expanded the Athletic Hall of Fame to include great
teams, not just individuals. Sixteen athletic teams make up the multi-year inaugural
class of teams, including the 1971 men’s basketball squad.
The team featured SOKY athletes Jim McDaniels (Allen County), Rex Bailey (Glasgow), Clarence Glover (Caverna) and Jerry Dunn (Glasgow).
Several student-athletes and staff from the team are expected to attend, while
others will be represented posthumously by their loved ones.
The 1970-71 team went 24-6 on its way to a third-place finish in the NCAA
Tournament, claiming the Ohio Valley Conference championship and ranking as high as
fifth in the nation.
Led by consensus All-American and WKU All-Century team member Jim McDaniels with
29.3 points and 15.1 rebounds per game, the Hilltoppers defeated No. 9 Jacksonville,
No. 8 Kentucky and No. 10 Ohio State on their way to the Final Four before falling
to No. 19 Villanova in double-overtime in Houston, Texas. WKU went on to beat No. 4
Kansas by two in the third-place game.
The Hilltoppers were 6-2 in action against nationally ranked teams that season,
adding an earlier victory over No. 4 Jacksonville, a win over No. 19 St. John’s and
a narrow two-point setback at the hands of No. 2 South Carolina in the championship
game of the ECAC Holiday Classic in Madison Square Garden.
Student-athletes on the 1971 Final Four team included Jim McDaniels, Jim Rose,
Clarence Glover, Rex Bailey, Jerry Dunn, Gary Sundmacker, Chuck Witt, Danny Johnson,
Steve Eaton, Terry Davis, Ray Kleykamp, Dennis Fox, Jeff Eckel, Don Waldron, Jerome
Perry and Tony Duke.
The team was coached by the late John Oldham, a former All-American guard, coach and
administrator for whom the court in E.A. Diddle Arena is named. Oldham retired as
head coach after the 1971 season with the highest winning percentage for a coach in
program history. His assistant coaches were Jim Richards and Wallace “Buck” Sydnor.
As part of the celebration, WKU will be giving away retro “shirseys” to the first
500 fans. The shirsey is designed to look like the Hilltoppers’ jerseys from the
Final Four season, including McDaniels’ iconic No. 44.
