Indiana University Athletics
McGinnis' Time at IU Should Be Remembered Fondly
9/8/2017 5:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - George McGinnis was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Sept. 8. As the seventh former member of the Indiana University basketball program to be inducted at Springfield, the Mr. Basketball for unbeaten 1969 state champion Indianapolis Washington High School had just one season at IU -- before Assembly Hall, before the 3-point shot, before internet and intense national recruiting interest, before the blanket TV coverage that are all part of today's college basketball landscape.
That one George McGinnis year at IU puts him among the school's all-time greats.
Those who saw him play for the Hoosiers attest that his 1970-71 season when he averaged an IU record and Big Ten-best 29.9 points and 14.7 rebounds is among the most memorable seasons ever by anyone who wore the Cream and Crimson.
McGinnis was a remarkable athlete who in high school excelled not only in basketball but also at an All-America level in football. He and future IU Hall of Famer Steve Downing led Bill Green's Washington program to a 31-0 record and a 79-76 win over Gary Tolleston in the State Championship game. He had 35 points in the game, an all-time record of 148 points in the final four games of the Continentals' tournament drive.
He would later go on to lead the 1969 Indiana All-Stars to their first series sweep of their matchup with the Kentucky All Stars since 1958 with the series' historic gem: a 53-point, 30-rebound performance which was spurred on by a member of the Kentucky team calling "Big George" overrated in an article earlier that week in the Louisville Courier Journal. Needless to say, that player apologized to George during the game and later would tell him that he took everything he said all back.
"He played the greatest game I have ever seen from anyone at any level," said for Bloomington Herald Times Sports Editor and IU Hall of Famer Bob Hammel. "53 points, which was staggering enough, but also 30 rebounds – on a night when that under-basket area had such other rebound seekers as 7-foot Tom Payne, Kentucky's first African American player; 6-5 Ron King, the best player on Florida State's NCAA runnerup team; Voskuhl, and George's lifelong pal and teammate Steve Downing, a Big Ten MVP."
McGinnis, along with his close friend Downing, would make the move to Bloomington in the fall of 1969. Freshmen were not eligible at that time, but before he ever played a college game, he was selected to the U.S. team for the World University Games at Turin, Italy, and he was the team's leading scorer.
He came into college basketball with a heavy heart. His father, Burnie, was killed in a construction accident the year before, and George shared that grief with his mother, Willie, and his sister, Bonnie.
McGinnis received plenty of recruiting interest from colleges across the country with the interest coming from as many football coaches as basketball coaches. He chose Indiana to remain closer to home and because of coach Lou Watson, whom he liked him as a man and as a coach. His coach at Washington for his first three varsity years, Jerry Oliver, also was on Watson's staff at the time. Both Watson and Oliver, like McGinnis and Downing, are in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame at New Castle.
The 1970-71 season was the brief "George McGinnis Era" at IU.
"He was one of those athletes that all eyes are on," noted Hammel. "He was almost unstoppable inside, but he also was a very strong outside shooter. Iowa had a guard who became an outstanding NBA player: 'Downtown Freddy' Brown … there was no three point shot but at Iowa those two got in a kind of duel – George had 34, Freddy 23, and IU won 86-84, both firing in 25-foot shots. He could play that kind of game or he could play on the post, or he could pull off a defensive rebound and lead a fast break straight up the court."
His impact was immediate. In just his third game, he had 38 points and 20 rebounds in a close loss to Kentucky. He scored 30 points or more 13 times, with a high of 45. He was the first sophomore to lead the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding. Just twice has any Big Ten player averaged more points or rebounds per game since in league play.
He was named a first team All-American by Converse and Sport Magazine.
"In my mind, no player like George – that strong, that physical, that muscular, that athletic – came along in basketball till LeBron James," added Hammel. "Lebron is even a little bigger and a little better, but to me he's the first McGinnis type – 30 years later."
Thanks to the 1971 "hardship" lawsuit by Spencer Haywood vs. the NBA, players no longer had to wait until their class graduated from college to play professionally. After his one college season, McGinnis was drafted by both the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA and the Pacers in the ABA. He decided to begin his professional career with his hometown Pacers, and he is one of just four players in that franchise to have their jersey retired. An ABA MVP, he also has the Pacers' scoring record with a 29.8 season average, almost identical to his IU record. As a free agent, he became the target of the 76ers, after their record 9-73 bottoming-out in 1973. With a townwide promotion "Let George Do It," the 76ers almost tripled their victory total his first year and three years later, with Julius Erving alongside, the team made it to the NBA finals. He would play for the Denver Nuggets from 1978-80 and ended his career with the Pacers in 1982.
"In George's case, the hardship part of his situation was legitimate," added Hammel. "He was a phenomenal player with a captivating flair. He wasn't a hard guy to get along with at all."
Isiah Thomas (1981), Kirk Haston (2001) and Jared Jeffries (2002) would be the only other IU players over the next 30 years to forgo their college eligibility at IU and be taken in the first round of the NBA Draft. Since 2008, Eric Gordon (2008), D.J. White (2008), Cody Zeller (2013), Noah Vonleh (2014), Victor Oladipo (2015) and OG Anunoby (2017) would leave school early and be picked in the first round of the NBA Draft showing just how the landscape has changed in the sport. Thomas Bryant (2017) was picked in the 2nd round, and Troy Williams (2016) and James Blackmon, Jr. (2017) will begin this season on NBA rosters after leaving early and being undrafted.
Aas McGinnis accepts his Hall of Fame accolades that are long overdue, he should be recognized by Hoosiers fans as the former IHoosier with the highest scoring average as a professional basketball player in the United States – 20.2 points per game. He also has the second-highest pro rebounding average (11.0, behind fellow Hall of Famer Walter Bellamy) and is a surprising third in assists (behind Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas and all-time IU great Quinn Buckner).
That one George McGinnis year at IU puts him among the school's all-time greats.
Those who saw him play for the Hoosiers attest that his 1970-71 season when he averaged an IU record and Big Ten-best 29.9 points and 14.7 rebounds is among the most memorable seasons ever by anyone who wore the Cream and Crimson.
McGinnis was a remarkable athlete who in high school excelled not only in basketball but also at an All-America level in football. He and future IU Hall of Famer Steve Downing led Bill Green's Washington program to a 31-0 record and a 79-76 win over Gary Tolleston in the State Championship game. He had 35 points in the game, an all-time record of 148 points in the final four games of the Continentals' tournament drive.
He would later go on to lead the 1969 Indiana All-Stars to their first series sweep of their matchup with the Kentucky All Stars since 1958 with the series' historic gem: a 53-point, 30-rebound performance which was spurred on by a member of the Kentucky team calling "Big George" overrated in an article earlier that week in the Louisville Courier Journal. Needless to say, that player apologized to George during the game and later would tell him that he took everything he said all back.
"He played the greatest game I have ever seen from anyone at any level," said for Bloomington Herald Times Sports Editor and IU Hall of Famer Bob Hammel. "53 points, which was staggering enough, but also 30 rebounds – on a night when that under-basket area had such other rebound seekers as 7-foot Tom Payne, Kentucky's first African American player; 6-5 Ron King, the best player on Florida State's NCAA runnerup team; Voskuhl, and George's lifelong pal and teammate Steve Downing, a Big Ten MVP."
McGinnis, along with his close friend Downing, would make the move to Bloomington in the fall of 1969. Freshmen were not eligible at that time, but before he ever played a college game, he was selected to the U.S. team for the World University Games at Turin, Italy, and he was the team's leading scorer.
He came into college basketball with a heavy heart. His father, Burnie, was killed in a construction accident the year before, and George shared that grief with his mother, Willie, and his sister, Bonnie.
McGinnis received plenty of recruiting interest from colleges across the country with the interest coming from as many football coaches as basketball coaches. He chose Indiana to remain closer to home and because of coach Lou Watson, whom he liked him as a man and as a coach. His coach at Washington for his first three varsity years, Jerry Oliver, also was on Watson's staff at the time. Both Watson and Oliver, like McGinnis and Downing, are in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame at New Castle.
The 1970-71 season was the brief "George McGinnis Era" at IU.
"He was one of those athletes that all eyes are on," noted Hammel. "He was almost unstoppable inside, but he also was a very strong outside shooter. Iowa had a guard who became an outstanding NBA player: 'Downtown Freddy' Brown … there was no three point shot but at Iowa those two got in a kind of duel – George had 34, Freddy 23, and IU won 86-84, both firing in 25-foot shots. He could play that kind of game or he could play on the post, or he could pull off a defensive rebound and lead a fast break straight up the court."
His impact was immediate. In just his third game, he had 38 points and 20 rebounds in a close loss to Kentucky. He scored 30 points or more 13 times, with a high of 45. He was the first sophomore to lead the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding. Just twice has any Big Ten player averaged more points or rebounds per game since in league play.
He was named a first team All-American by Converse and Sport Magazine.
"In my mind, no player like George – that strong, that physical, that muscular, that athletic – came along in basketball till LeBron James," added Hammel. "Lebron is even a little bigger and a little better, but to me he's the first McGinnis type – 30 years later."
Thanks to the 1971 "hardship" lawsuit by Spencer Haywood vs. the NBA, players no longer had to wait until their class graduated from college to play professionally. After his one college season, McGinnis was drafted by both the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA and the Pacers in the ABA. He decided to begin his professional career with his hometown Pacers, and he is one of just four players in that franchise to have their jersey retired. An ABA MVP, he also has the Pacers' scoring record with a 29.8 season average, almost identical to his IU record. As a free agent, he became the target of the 76ers, after their record 9-73 bottoming-out in 1973. With a townwide promotion "Let George Do It," the 76ers almost tripled their victory total his first year and three years later, with Julius Erving alongside, the team made it to the NBA finals. He would play for the Denver Nuggets from 1978-80 and ended his career with the Pacers in 1982.
"In George's case, the hardship part of his situation was legitimate," added Hammel. "He was a phenomenal player with a captivating flair. He wasn't a hard guy to get along with at all."
Isiah Thomas (1981), Kirk Haston (2001) and Jared Jeffries (2002) would be the only other IU players over the next 30 years to forgo their college eligibility at IU and be taken in the first round of the NBA Draft. Since 2008, Eric Gordon (2008), D.J. White (2008), Cody Zeller (2013), Noah Vonleh (2014), Victor Oladipo (2015) and OG Anunoby (2017) would leave school early and be picked in the first round of the NBA Draft showing just how the landscape has changed in the sport. Thomas Bryant (2017) was picked in the 2nd round, and Troy Williams (2016) and James Blackmon, Jr. (2017) will begin this season on NBA rosters after leaving early and being undrafted.
Aas McGinnis accepts his Hall of Fame accolades that are long overdue, he should be recognized by Hoosiers fans as the former IHoosier with the highest scoring average as a professional basketball player in the United States – 20.2 points per game. He also has the second-highest pro rebounding average (11.0, behind fellow Hall of Famer Walter Bellamy) and is a surprising third in assists (behind Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas and all-time IU great Quinn Buckner).
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