Post by Commissioner on Aug 15, 2023 8:21:49 GMT -5
Here were Dick Vitale's recruiting classes during his short stint as Titan coach:
1973:
Vitale was named head coach on March 31, 1973. He'd been a New Jersey HS coach, and then recruiting for Rutgers, so it was natural his first class was heavily oriented toward the East. He made a serious last minute push for the top-ranked recruit in Michigan, Tom LaGarde, which showed some real audacity, but LaGarde headed off to UNC.
Ron Bostick: Bostick was a New Yorker who moved to Romulus to complete high school, making him was a natural to join Vitale at UD. A 6-9 C/PF, Bostick was a role player for three years and then a starter on the 1977 Sweet 16 team after Kevin Kaseta went down with injury early in the year. He averaged 7.1 points and 5.4 rebounds that year. He was actually drafted in 1977, back when the NBA had long drafts--he was the 134th pick overall, going to Milwaukee in the 7th round, but never made the big show.
Dennis Boyd: Boyd averaged 27 ppg as a senior at Roosevelt HS in the Bronx. A three-year Titan starter, Boyd is #4 on the Titans all time assist list, #3 in Assist per game. His 7.6 apg in 1977 is second all-time for the Titans. Boyd hit the winning shot in the Titans' early win over #8 Arizona, and again in the Titans' last second victory over Marquette in 1977, clinching an NCAA bid and capping off the Titans' 21-game winning streak. Boyd eventually got a cup of coffee in the NBA, playing in 5 games in the 1978-79 season. A couple years ago I placed Boyd 25th on a list of best Titans in the modern (post WW-II) era.
Wilbur Ross: Ross came to Detroit from Weequahic HS in Newark, where he led his team to the state championship and was the #1 ranked prospect in the state per Street & Smith. Ross never fulfilled that potential at UD, but he played in 99 of 107 games for the Titans over 4 years, and was a valuable role player.
Walter Smith: Smith, a 6-7 power forward, averaged 22 rebounds per game as a senior at Columbus HS in the Bronx. In the days when recruiting was a bit slower and few players signed before spring, he was a late signee, committing to Detroit in June. Like Boyd, he was a first team All-State selection in New York. Smith averaged 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds as a freshman, but never equaled those numbers again, though he remained an important back-up and sometime starter. After playing in 78 of 79 Titan games from the 1974-76 seasons, Smith did not play his senior year--maybe someone here recalls, as I do not, if it was injury, grades, or something else.
1974:
This was Vitale's first full year of recruiting for Detroit and working the local scene. It was a super year for talent in Michigan, and Vitale took advantage, nabbing what is almost certainly the Titans' best class ever under any coach--a sort of "Fab 5 on Livernois" in Long, Tyler, Anderson, Kaseta, and Grauzer.
Turono Anderson: A member of Michigan's All-State "Dream Team" at Detroit Kettering, many if not most people thought Anderson, not Long or Tyler, was the best one in this class. Turono's career as a Titan was hampered by a lot of little injuries, not serious but often slowing him down, especially as a freshman, when he was passed by Long and Tyler. And for all his ability, Turono didn't have an obvious position--he wasn't a pure point guard like Boyd, a pure shooter like Long or Terry Duerod, a big man like Earl Cureton. Turono averaged between 6 and 6.5 points all 4 years at UD.
Dave Grauzer: A 4th team All-State selection from St. Clair Shores, Grauzer, a point guard, played sparingly as a freshman and then transferred to Central Michigan. He became a two-time All-MAC player for CMU.
Kevin Kaseta: Kaseta was a Class A first team all-stater at Livonia Franklin. He suffered a season-ending injury early in the 5th game of the 1977 season, and some think the Titans, who finished the year ranked 12th nationally, would have been a top 5 team with Kaseta. A solid D-1 starter who supported the stars with consistent if unglamorous play.
John Long: A second "dream team" member, Long was an Honorable Mention All-American in 1978, and then played 14 seasons in the NBA. He is all over the Titan record books, including 3rd all-time for scoring.
Terry Tyler: The third "dream teamer" to sign with Vitale and UofD. Tyler joined Long as an All-American Honorable Mention (3rd Team Helms) in 1978, and played 11 seasons in the NBA. I rated Long and Tyler 3rd and 4th in my list of all-time Titans.
1975
Given the 1973 and '74 classes, there wasn't a lot of room in 1975. Still, it was a good if small class, featuring a future All-American.
Terry Duerod: Yet another Dream Team player to join Vitale at UD, Duerod became an Honorable Mention All-American in 1979, and his 4-year NBA career was enough to pick up a championship ring.
Mike Gutter: A small forward out of Milwaukee, Gutter averaged 3.2 points and 2.9 rebounds as a freshman, but then transferred Wisconsin Whitewater, where he was a two-time D-3 All American.
Jeff Whitlow: Whitlow, another small forward, came to Detroit from Columbus, Georgia. He was solid roll player who started 17 games for the 1979 NCAA team.
1976
The Titan recruiting machine was really clicking by the spring of 1976--like clockwork, the Titans' pulled in two more Michigan Dream Team recruits. If you're counting, that six dream team players in 3 years, plus a first team and a 4th team all-stater.
Keith Jackson: I believe Jackson was Vitale's first juco recruit. The 6-9 Jackson was--and still is--the all-time leading scorer at Alpena Community College. He was a valuable bench player in two seasons at Detroit, averaging 6.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and a hefty 1.8 blocks as a senior.
Wilbert McCormick: Dream Team point guard out of Detroit Northeastern. He is the Titans' all-time leader in total assists and assists per game. I put McCormick #26 on my all-time Titan list.
Dave Niles: A 6-4 guard from Garden City and yet another Dream Team player to sign with Detroit. Niles would be a very good if unspectacular player at Detroit, peaking at 11.7 points and 4.4 assists as a senior in 1980. #94 on my all-time Titan list.
1977
Vitale's last class--he would resign as coach just before the opening of the 1977-78 season. It looked like maybe his best ever, but given those expectations, would be something of a disappointment even if it did yield transfer Earl Cureton.
Arthur Bright: Bright, a 6-5 forward from Chicago, was the #49 ranked recruit in the country. But he played in just 16 games as a freshman, averaging 3.1 points, and then left the program.
Earl Cureton: Eventual Titan HoFer Cureton transferred from Robert Morris and sat out the 1977-78 season.
Kevin Smith: Another Michigan HS Dream Teamer, Smith was the #31 ranked recruit. He averaged 8 points and 5 assists as a freshman despite playing behind the guard tandem of Duerod and McCormick. But he signed specifically to play for Vitale, so when Vitale resigned for health reasons, Smith transferred to Michigan State. As a senior he became a 1st team All Big-10 selection.
Ah, the days when not one, but TWO top 50 HS recruits would sign with Detroit.
The Smokey Gaines Continuance: 1978
Smokey had been Vitale's top recruiter and was appointed head coach after Vitale's sudden resignation. 1978 was his only class as Titan HC, since he resigned after the 1979 season. This was another small but excellent class.
Jerry Davis: Many considered Davis the greatest player in Texas high school history when he signed with the Titans. Known in high school as "the Dr. J. of Coastal Bend," (for you youngin's out there, Dr. J. was Julius Erving, the most exciting NBA player of the 1970s), the three-time first-team All-State selection averaged 30 points per game as a junior and 34.9 as a senior, and was the #18-ranked recruit in the country per Basketball Weekly. At Detroit he had a very good career, though it did not live to the hype. After averaging 19 points as a junior, an off-season injury slowed him down and while he didn't miss time, he dropped to just 13.6 ppg as a senior, with declines in most every other stat category as well. Still, a four-year starter whom I put as #29 on the all-time Titan list.
Joe Kopicki: A first team Class A All-State selection from Warren Fitzgerald, Joe matured more slowly than fellow forward Davis, but ultimately became the better player. He was a second team All-MCC selection as a junior and first team as a senior, and then played a few years in the NBA. I put him at #15 on my Titan all-time list, which was probably a bit high.
Swan Song: 1979
Smokey left for San Diego State at the end of the 1979 season, but we can say that the Class of '79 owed at much to his efforts. While not as good as any of the preceding classes, it was quite solid, yielding 4 eventual starters, two of whom I put on my Top 100 all-time list. Notice, too, its national flavor.
Albert Blakey: 6-5 guard from Tennessee. Blakey played 4 seasons at UofD, averaging 11.3 points as a senior.
Doug Chappell: 6-6 forward out of west Michigan, Chappell was red-shirted in 1979-80. He averaged 17.6 ppg and 8.1 rpg as a junior, when he was 1st-team All-MCC, and 14.4 and 7.2 as a senior. I placed him at #40 on that all-time Titan list.
Tony Core: Few will recall Tony Core, but many thought Core, a 6-8 juco from Chicago, would be the best of the class. He wasn't, averaging 2.2 points and 2 rebounds in 15 games. I believe academics forced him off the team before his senior year.
Jeff McCotter: A third-team Class A all-stater from Battle Creek, injuries kept the 6-4 McCotter from achieving at UD. He played in 10 games as a freshman but that would be all.
Clarence McNatt: A 6-8 wide body from Staten Island, McNatt played 4 seasons, averaging 11.9 ppg as a senior.
Roy Simms: A West Virginia all-state selection in football, basketball, baseball, and track, Sleepy Roy Simms twice led the Titans in assists and is #11 in career assist on the Titans all-time list. I ranked him #88.
---
Anyway, as we wait for the season to begin, I thought some would enjoy. It was fun to be a Titan fan in the 1970s. Hopefully, at some point we'll again be able to compete for top recruits.
1973:
Vitale was named head coach on March 31, 1973. He'd been a New Jersey HS coach, and then recruiting for Rutgers, so it was natural his first class was heavily oriented toward the East. He made a serious last minute push for the top-ranked recruit in Michigan, Tom LaGarde, which showed some real audacity, but LaGarde headed off to UNC.
Ron Bostick: Bostick was a New Yorker who moved to Romulus to complete high school, making him was a natural to join Vitale at UD. A 6-9 C/PF, Bostick was a role player for three years and then a starter on the 1977 Sweet 16 team after Kevin Kaseta went down with injury early in the year. He averaged 7.1 points and 5.4 rebounds that year. He was actually drafted in 1977, back when the NBA had long drafts--he was the 134th pick overall, going to Milwaukee in the 7th round, but never made the big show.
Dennis Boyd: Boyd averaged 27 ppg as a senior at Roosevelt HS in the Bronx. A three-year Titan starter, Boyd is #4 on the Titans all time assist list, #3 in Assist per game. His 7.6 apg in 1977 is second all-time for the Titans. Boyd hit the winning shot in the Titans' early win over #8 Arizona, and again in the Titans' last second victory over Marquette in 1977, clinching an NCAA bid and capping off the Titans' 21-game winning streak. Boyd eventually got a cup of coffee in the NBA, playing in 5 games in the 1978-79 season. A couple years ago I placed Boyd 25th on a list of best Titans in the modern (post WW-II) era.
Wilbur Ross: Ross came to Detroit from Weequahic HS in Newark, where he led his team to the state championship and was the #1 ranked prospect in the state per Street & Smith. Ross never fulfilled that potential at UD, but he played in 99 of 107 games for the Titans over 4 years, and was a valuable role player.
Walter Smith: Smith, a 6-7 power forward, averaged 22 rebounds per game as a senior at Columbus HS in the Bronx. In the days when recruiting was a bit slower and few players signed before spring, he was a late signee, committing to Detroit in June. Like Boyd, he was a first team All-State selection in New York. Smith averaged 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds as a freshman, but never equaled those numbers again, though he remained an important back-up and sometime starter. After playing in 78 of 79 Titan games from the 1974-76 seasons, Smith did not play his senior year--maybe someone here recalls, as I do not, if it was injury, grades, or something else.
1974:
This was Vitale's first full year of recruiting for Detroit and working the local scene. It was a super year for talent in Michigan, and Vitale took advantage, nabbing what is almost certainly the Titans' best class ever under any coach--a sort of "Fab 5 on Livernois" in Long, Tyler, Anderson, Kaseta, and Grauzer.
Turono Anderson: A member of Michigan's All-State "Dream Team" at Detroit Kettering, many if not most people thought Anderson, not Long or Tyler, was the best one in this class. Turono's career as a Titan was hampered by a lot of little injuries, not serious but often slowing him down, especially as a freshman, when he was passed by Long and Tyler. And for all his ability, Turono didn't have an obvious position--he wasn't a pure point guard like Boyd, a pure shooter like Long or Terry Duerod, a big man like Earl Cureton. Turono averaged between 6 and 6.5 points all 4 years at UD.
Dave Grauzer: A 4th team All-State selection from St. Clair Shores, Grauzer, a point guard, played sparingly as a freshman and then transferred to Central Michigan. He became a two-time All-MAC player for CMU.
Kevin Kaseta: Kaseta was a Class A first team all-stater at Livonia Franklin. He suffered a season-ending injury early in the 5th game of the 1977 season, and some think the Titans, who finished the year ranked 12th nationally, would have been a top 5 team with Kaseta. A solid D-1 starter who supported the stars with consistent if unglamorous play.
John Long: A second "dream team" member, Long was an Honorable Mention All-American in 1978, and then played 14 seasons in the NBA. He is all over the Titan record books, including 3rd all-time for scoring.
Terry Tyler: The third "dream teamer" to sign with Vitale and UofD. Tyler joined Long as an All-American Honorable Mention (3rd Team Helms) in 1978, and played 11 seasons in the NBA. I rated Long and Tyler 3rd and 4th in my list of all-time Titans.
1975
Given the 1973 and '74 classes, there wasn't a lot of room in 1975. Still, it was a good if small class, featuring a future All-American.
Terry Duerod: Yet another Dream Team player to join Vitale at UD, Duerod became an Honorable Mention All-American in 1979, and his 4-year NBA career was enough to pick up a championship ring.
Mike Gutter: A small forward out of Milwaukee, Gutter averaged 3.2 points and 2.9 rebounds as a freshman, but then transferred Wisconsin Whitewater, where he was a two-time D-3 All American.
Jeff Whitlow: Whitlow, another small forward, came to Detroit from Columbus, Georgia. He was solid roll player who started 17 games for the 1979 NCAA team.
1976
The Titan recruiting machine was really clicking by the spring of 1976--like clockwork, the Titans' pulled in two more Michigan Dream Team recruits. If you're counting, that six dream team players in 3 years, plus a first team and a 4th team all-stater.
Keith Jackson: I believe Jackson was Vitale's first juco recruit. The 6-9 Jackson was--and still is--the all-time leading scorer at Alpena Community College. He was a valuable bench player in two seasons at Detroit, averaging 6.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and a hefty 1.8 blocks as a senior.
Wilbert McCormick: Dream Team point guard out of Detroit Northeastern. He is the Titans' all-time leader in total assists and assists per game. I put McCormick #26 on my all-time Titan list.
Dave Niles: A 6-4 guard from Garden City and yet another Dream Team player to sign with Detroit. Niles would be a very good if unspectacular player at Detroit, peaking at 11.7 points and 4.4 assists as a senior in 1980. #94 on my all-time Titan list.
1977
Vitale's last class--he would resign as coach just before the opening of the 1977-78 season. It looked like maybe his best ever, but given those expectations, would be something of a disappointment even if it did yield transfer Earl Cureton.
Arthur Bright: Bright, a 6-5 forward from Chicago, was the #49 ranked recruit in the country. But he played in just 16 games as a freshman, averaging 3.1 points, and then left the program.
Earl Cureton: Eventual Titan HoFer Cureton transferred from Robert Morris and sat out the 1977-78 season.
Kevin Smith: Another Michigan HS Dream Teamer, Smith was the #31 ranked recruit. He averaged 8 points and 5 assists as a freshman despite playing behind the guard tandem of Duerod and McCormick. But he signed specifically to play for Vitale, so when Vitale resigned for health reasons, Smith transferred to Michigan State. As a senior he became a 1st team All Big-10 selection.
Ah, the days when not one, but TWO top 50 HS recruits would sign with Detroit.
The Smokey Gaines Continuance: 1978
Smokey had been Vitale's top recruiter and was appointed head coach after Vitale's sudden resignation. 1978 was his only class as Titan HC, since he resigned after the 1979 season. This was another small but excellent class.
Jerry Davis: Many considered Davis the greatest player in Texas high school history when he signed with the Titans. Known in high school as "the Dr. J. of Coastal Bend," (for you youngin's out there, Dr. J. was Julius Erving, the most exciting NBA player of the 1970s), the three-time first-team All-State selection averaged 30 points per game as a junior and 34.9 as a senior, and was the #18-ranked recruit in the country per Basketball Weekly. At Detroit he had a very good career, though it did not live to the hype. After averaging 19 points as a junior, an off-season injury slowed him down and while he didn't miss time, he dropped to just 13.6 ppg as a senior, with declines in most every other stat category as well. Still, a four-year starter whom I put as #29 on the all-time Titan list.
Joe Kopicki: A first team Class A All-State selection from Warren Fitzgerald, Joe matured more slowly than fellow forward Davis, but ultimately became the better player. He was a second team All-MCC selection as a junior and first team as a senior, and then played a few years in the NBA. I put him at #15 on my Titan all-time list, which was probably a bit high.
Swan Song: 1979
Smokey left for San Diego State at the end of the 1979 season, but we can say that the Class of '79 owed at much to his efforts. While not as good as any of the preceding classes, it was quite solid, yielding 4 eventual starters, two of whom I put on my Top 100 all-time list. Notice, too, its national flavor.
Albert Blakey: 6-5 guard from Tennessee. Blakey played 4 seasons at UofD, averaging 11.3 points as a senior.
Doug Chappell: 6-6 forward out of west Michigan, Chappell was red-shirted in 1979-80. He averaged 17.6 ppg and 8.1 rpg as a junior, when he was 1st-team All-MCC, and 14.4 and 7.2 as a senior. I placed him at #40 on that all-time Titan list.
Tony Core: Few will recall Tony Core, but many thought Core, a 6-8 juco from Chicago, would be the best of the class. He wasn't, averaging 2.2 points and 2 rebounds in 15 games. I believe academics forced him off the team before his senior year.
Jeff McCotter: A third-team Class A all-stater from Battle Creek, injuries kept the 6-4 McCotter from achieving at UD. He played in 10 games as a freshman but that would be all.
Clarence McNatt: A 6-8 wide body from Staten Island, McNatt played 4 seasons, averaging 11.9 ppg as a senior.
Roy Simms: A West Virginia all-state selection in football, basketball, baseball, and track, Sleepy Roy Simms twice led the Titans in assists and is #11 in career assist on the Titans all-time list. I ranked him #88.
---
Anyway, as we wait for the season to begin, I thought some would enjoy. It was fun to be a Titan fan in the 1970s. Hopefully, at some point we'll again be able to compete for top recruits.