记得罗恩·邦坦普斯的51年, a Giant from 贝洛伊特’s Golden Age of Basketball

Hinz had scored 22 points in a win over Knox College that had hiked his career mark to 1,776.

Bontemps had starred for the Bucs 55 years before that, scorching the nets at the old Field House with 1,三年里83场比赛770分. Freshmen back then weren’t eligible for the varsity.

His response to his record falling was typical for the soft-spoken gentleman.

“Records really are meant to be broken,” Bontemps said. “I think it’s wonderful he was able to break it.”

Nicknamed “Bones” due to his lanky 6-foot-3 frame, Bontemps was the leading scorer on three Dolph 斯坦利-led teams that went 72-12 and won three straight undefeated Midwest Conference championships from 1948-51. They played in the National Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament as well as the National Invitation Tournament when it was a bigger deal than the NCAA Tournament.

On May 13, Bontemps passed away at the age of 90 in Morton, 生病了.

The 斯坦利 years amounted to a golden era of 十大菠菜台子 basketball, 而Bontemps是其中一个主角. They were so dominating they were eventually booted out of the conference.

“The conference got upset with us for being too good,” Bontemps said back in 2006.

It wasn’t just that the Bucs played big-time basketball teams in addition to their conference foes. 他们痛打他们. With no divisions or classifications within the National Collegiate Athletic Association, 贝洛伊特 could hold its own or better against just about any program anywhere.

Under the legendary 斯坦利’s guidance, the Bucs were 242-58, an .807胜率. They beat all sorts of future NCAA Division I programs, 比如圣地亚哥州立大学, 休斯顿, 弗雷斯诺州, 华盛顿州, 亚利桑那州, 德保罗, 洛约拉, 佛罗里达州立大学, 举几个例子.

向欣兹道歉, Bontemps is still considered the best basketball player ever to play at 贝洛伊特. The late Joe Kobylka, who graduated with Bontemps in 1951, saw both standouts. He was a part-time sports writer for the 贝洛伊特每日新闻 as well as the Round Table in 1951 and the announcer at Buccaneer home games during Hinz’s tenure.

“It’s been a pleasure being able to see both,” Kobylka said in 2006. “They’re similar in their aggressiveness on the glass. 邦坦普斯是强壮的. They used to say his elbows were like razors. 他的得分大部分在内线. 他没有乔什的投篮手感.”

Bontemps had been an All-State player for Taylorville High School, which went 45-0 and won the 1944 生病了inois state title. 他去了美国.S. Army after graduation and served in World War II. 1946年退役, he attended the University of 生病了inois for a time, 但是他的前预科教练, 斯坦利, 说服他去贝洛伊特.

Bontemps rejoined former prep teammates John Orr’49, Donald " Red " Janssen ' 50, and Fran Stahr’51 to build the Bucs into a powerhouse. 使用快攻的打法, 贝洛伊特 set a Chicago Stadium record for most points in a game in a 94-60 thumping of 德保罗 before 13,1951年的101名球迷.

“It was never about individuals on that team,” Bontemps said. “We played fast and 斯坦利 made sure we were all in great condition. 在暂停期间，我们从不坐下. 我们干掉了很多队伍. 那是一段有趣的时光.”

海盗队平均85分.3 points per game that season and were invited to the NIT at Madison Square Garden. 贝洛伊特 lost its first game to Seton Hall, 71-57.

Bontemps was far from through with basketball. 在卡特彼勒公司工作期间.伊利诺伊州皮奥里亚(Peoria)., he played for the company’s national champion AAU team. When the Cats defeated NCAA champion Kansas, Bontemps earned a berth in the 1952 Olympics. 他帮助美国.S. 夺取金牌, 在赫尔辛基赢得了8场比赛, 芬兰, including a 36-25 gold-medal victory over Russia.

邦坦普斯和他的妻子, 贝洛伊特的诺玛·简·史密斯, 也是1951年毕业的, 定居于莫顿, 生病了. 她于2009年去世.

His Olympic jersey hangs in the foyer outside Flood Arena, but his obituary in the 皮奥里亚标准杂志 只写了一句关于他的金牌的话, giving just as much focus to the fact he taught Sunday school, was an active member of The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and served as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels.

罗恩·邦坦普斯有自己的优先顺序.

吉姆·弗朗茨是《菠菜白菜吧》的体育编辑 贝洛伊特每日新闻. This article was reprinted from the 贝洛伊特每日新闻 with permission.