Achieving greatness: Villanova’s first championship, part two

It was a magical March in 1985 when Villanova became the lowest-ranked team to win the national championship – and they engineered one of the greatest upsets in history to do it.

After upsetting the first and second seeds to win their regional tournament, the Wildcats were peaking at the right time.

National semi-final

The Wildcats went to Lexington with some familiar faces. Both Georgetown and St. John’s, who finished ahead of Villanova in the regular season, had won the East and West Regions respectively. It was the first, and only, time in history three teams from the same conference were in the Final Four.

The only outsider was number-two ranked Memphis State, who upset the top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners by two in the Midwest Regional Final. They would be Villanova’s opponent in the national semi-final. If the Wildcats won, they would have intimate knowledge of their opponent, whoever it was.

The teams met on March 30, going back and forth, and were tied 23-23 at halftime, before Villanova took control in the second half, going on to a 52-45 victory. Dwayne McClain led the Wildcats with 19 points; Ed Pinckney had 12 points; Gary Mclain had nine points; Harold Jensen had six points; and Harold Pressley and Mark Plansky had three points each.

Meanwhile, Georgetown and St. John’s locked horns, for the fourth time that season, in the other national semi-final. The Hoyas had a 32-28 lead at halftime, but they broke the game open in the second half, outscoring the Redmen by 14 to win the game by a comfortable score of 77-59.

The Wildcats would meet the Hoyas for the national championship in two days time.

Dwayne McClain of the 1985 Villanova Wildcats
jumps on the ball as time runs out and his team wins
the national championship of college basketball.
Source: Associated Press
(may be subject to copyright)

Massimino’s Masterpiece

Villanova Coach Rollie Massimino told his players two things before they took the court at Rupp Arena, according to the Christian Science Monitor. They should play to win, not play to lose. And, in a one-game showdown, anything is possible. They were as good as any team in America.

It did not matter that they had lost twice to the Hoyas already, nor that Georgetown was 32-2 while Villanova had lost 10 games and was never ranked higher than 14^th all year. Or that Georgetown held their opponents to 39 per cent shooting.

He had them believing.

Georgetown was a team not just built on skill and execution. They intimidated their opponents, and set out to to do just that against Villanova. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Reggie Williams gave Wildcat Chuck Everson a forearm shiver, then Hoya Horace Broadnax walloped Pressley where the sun don’t shine. Meanwhile, Pinckney was battling a virus, and threw up just before halftime.

Intimidation looked as if it was working when Reggie Williams got the Hoyas out to a 20-14 lead. Massimino challenged Pressley, the Wildcats’ best defender to get to work. He in turn shut down Williams. Then, Patrick Ewing who may still be the greatest centre in college basketball history, had three straight dunks, which often triggered runs that buried opponents.

Not Villanova.

Instead, Pinckney went straight at Ewing, drawing a foul and completing a vital three-point play to give the ‘cats a 34-30 lead.

Perhaps the most inspiring performance, beyond Pinckney who would be named the most outstanding player, was that of Harold Jensen. He had been a reserve much of the year, playing a large part of it with a broken thumb, and battling his own self-image.

He told Massimino that he felt like he was letting him down. The coach disagreed, and told him to shoot more. Jensen took that to heart. With just under three minutes to play in the game, Jensen tried to get the ball inside to Pinckney.

But instead, with his coach's words ringing in his ears, Jensen found himself open on the right wing and put up a shot. It went in, his fifth straight shot, with 2:36 to play, giving Villanova the lead they would not relinquish. Jensen shot 100 per cent that game, as did Gary Mclain.

The Hoyas fouled to stop the clock, sending Jensen and Dwayne McClain to the foul line for a succession of one-and-one foul shots. They had to make the first one to attempt the second – and they did.

Rollie Massimino, coach of the 1985 Villanova Wildcats celebrates after
his team wins the national championship of college basketball.
Source: Associated Press
(may be subject to copyright)

With time waning, Jensen threw the ball in to McClain who fell to the floor, smothering the ball as time expired, in one of the most iconic moments of that game.

The Wildcats had felled the giant, with a 66-64 win.

Villanova had engineered the upset by playing smart, being patient, and defending very well. They attempted less than 30 shots, shooting 72.2 per cent in the first half, and 90 per cent in the second half, hitting nine of 10 field goals. They went a game total of 22 of 28 from the field and 22 of 27 from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Georgetown had shot 54.7 per cent.

Moreover, the Villanova starting five came to play, relied on heavily by Massimino. In fact, they had scoring from all five starters and no one else, with four hitting double digits. Dwayne McClain had 17 points; Pinckney had 16 points; Jensen had 14 points; Pressley had 11 points; and Gary Mclain had eight points. McClain, Mclain, and Pressley each played all 40 minutes of the game, while Pinckney played 37 minutes and Jensen played 34. They had truly left everything out on the floor.

It quite literally, was a masterpiece.

Interestingly, according to the Christian Science Monitor, Mclain, McClain, and Pinckney had all met in high school at a summer basketball camp. Pinckney said the others kept saying they would all do something special together.

“I believed them,” he said.

No truer words were spoken.

Parting thoughts

When Villanova won their 2016 championship, one thing I kept noticing, was how the announcers kept flashing to Rollie Massimino in the stands. It was amazing to see his reaction when the Wildcats sank the winning shot.

After all, he was the coach who engineered what many consider the greatest upset in college basketball history. In what has been called “The Perfect Game”, Massimino’s Villanova Wildcats shocked the world, and the defending national champion Georgetown Hoyas, to win the title.

It turned out Massimino was dying of cancer in that 2016 championship game. It was awesome that he was able to celebrate with current coach Jay Wright, who had apprenticed under Massimino.

After he died in 2017, his players from that 1985 team shared their experiences. According to ESPN, Pinckney said Massimino was a, “life coach not just a basketball coach.”

Three other players from that team – Everson, Pressley and Brian Harrington – went to see Massimino in the hospital right before his passing. They told him they loved him, and he told them he loved them.

It just illustrated what Massimino had tried to foster throughout his time at Villanova – a sense of family. They were more than just players, they were students and people. He would wake them up before dawn for study hall. He was also proud of the 100 per cent graduation rate his players had.

Dwayne McClain told the Christian Science Monitor the players were family. He described Massimino as a brother, friend, a father, a boss, and a coach.

That was Massimino’s actual masterpiece – making better people, not just better basketball players.

That was the real championship.

*This is from the vault