1957–58 Seattle Chieftains men's basketball team

1957–58 Seattle Chieftains men's basketball
NCAA tournament, runner-up
National Championship Game, L 72-84 vs. Kentucky
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 18
Record	24–7
Head coach	John Castellani (2nd season)

The 1957–58 Seattle Chieftains men's basketball team (now known as Redhawks) represented Seattle University during the 1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. Led by future top draft pick Elgin Baylor, Seattle was the runner-up in the NCAA tournament, falling to Kentucky in the finals in Louisville, Kentucky.[1][2]

Roster

1957–58 Seattle Chieftains men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F/C 22 Elgin Baylor 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Washington, D.C. F 24 Don Ogorek 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So G Don Piasecki 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — So	Head coach John Castellani (Notre Dame) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Dec 20, 1957*	No. 12	vs. No. 7 San Francisco Bluegrass Festival	L 51–60	3–2	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 21, 1957*	No. 12	vs. Army Bluegrass Festival	W 80–51	4–2	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 26, 1957*	No. 15	vs. Connecticut ECAC Holiday Festival	W 87–83	5–2	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Dec 28, 1957*	No. 15	vs. Temple ECAC Holiday Festival	L 73–91	5–3	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Dec 30, 1957*	No. 15	vs. Dayton ECAC Holiday Festival	L 75–81	5–4	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1958*	No. 18	vs. No. 4 San Francisco West Regional semifinal	W 69–67	19–4	Cow Palace (16,382) Daly City, California
Mar 15, 1958*	No. 18	vs. California West Regional final	W 66–62 ^OT	20–4	Cow Palace  Daly City, California
Mar 21, 1958*	No. 18	vs. No. 3 Kansas State National semifinal – Final Four	W 73–51	21–4	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 22, 1958*	No. 18	vs. No. 9 Kentucky National Championship Game	L 72–84	21–5	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Pacific Time.

NCAA tournament

Main article: 1958 NCAA University Division basketball tournament

• West
  • Seattle 69, San Francisco 67
  • Seattle 66, California 62
• Final Four
  • Seattle 73, Kansas State 51
  • Kentucky 84, Seattle 72

Source:[3]

NCAA Championship

The NCAA Final Four was played at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.[1] Seattle had an integrated team, and played in front of an all-white crowd of 18,803.[4] Elgin Baylor was the nation's second-best scorer (32.5) behind Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson.[4] The Chieftains led Kentucky by 11 points in the first half, and were leading 60–58, with seven minutes in the game. Seattle lost the game 84–72,[2] for a 23–6 season.[4]

After the championship game, Baylor hinted that he might return for his senior season. Castellani had two recruits with him from the South Bend area, forwards Don Piasecki and Don Ogorek. The Chieftains also added a transfer from Indiana, guard Charlie Brown.[4] The feeling was that the team would have a bright future.

Rankings

Main article: 1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

[5][6]

Awards and honors

• Elgin Baylor – NCAA Men's MOP Award,[7] Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year, Consensus First-team All-American

Team players drafted into the NBA

Main article: 1958 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	1	Elgin Baylor	Minneapolis Lakers

Source:[8]

References

1. "Seattle gains NCAA finals; to battle Kentucky tonight". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 22, 1958. p. 8.
2. ""Nothing wrong with 2d;" Seattle is beaten in finals". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 24, 1958. p. 18.
3. "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
4. Raley, Dan (March 27, 2007). "Where Are They Now? John Castellani, Seattle U basketball coach". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
5. *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 661–662. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
6. "1957-58 College Basketball Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
7. "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
8. "1958 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.

External links

• Sports Press Northwest – Wayback Machine – Seattle U.'s 1958 Final 4 run