The 1985-86 Navy Midshipmen: "The Greatest Service Academy Basketball Team"
by
Justin Kischefsky
Chapter 1 / November 15 – Preseason Thoughts, First Games
Chapter 2 / November 16 – Navy Takes to the Road for Games in the Northeast, Far East and Southeast
Chapter 3 / November 17 – CAA Play Begins
Chapter 4 / November 18 – Mids Start to Roll After Loss
Chapter 5 / November 19 – Star Game Cliffhanger, Redemption vs. Spiders, CAA Tournament Champions
Chapter 6 / November 20 – March Madness, Epilogue
1985-86 Information Page
All this week, NavySports.com will relive the historic 1985-86 Navy men's basketball season that culminated in the team reaching the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Today's fifth edition of the story examines an instant classic Star Game and Navy winning a pair of CAA titles.
February 22 * West Point, N.Y. * Star Game
(AP: 17) Navy 55, Army 52 / OT (click for box score)
Army had incentive galore when it prepared to play host to Navy. The game was to be played at West Point, this was the Star Game, the Cadets had lost six-straight games in the series including their losing in a walkover in Japan two months earlier and Navy entered the game holding a national in-season ranking for the first time in 32 years.
After the rout in Japan, Army tried the tactics in this game of milking every second it could off of the 45-second shot clock and double-teaming David Robinson, "Everywhere he went," said Army player Ron Steptoe to The Washington Post. "And we wanted to control the game, not let them get us into a running contest like they wanted to."
The game was a defensive battle from the start as through 10 minutes of play the teams had combined for just 16 points with each scoring eight. The Cadets would hold leads of 14-13 and 18-15 before ending the half with a 24-17 lead. It was just the fourth time all season the Mids found themselves in the locker room at halftime behind on the scoreboard.
Each team attempted 26 shots in the first half, with Army sinking 12 attempts and Navy eight. There were only two free throws attempted in the half, both by the Mids. Individually, Vernon Butler, who was back among the starting five, scored 11 points and was the only Mid to score more than two points in the first half. In the other locker room sat Kevin Houston and Scott Whipp, each of whom had scored eight points.
"We were really tight," said Kylor Whitaker. "All of the Star Games were like that, in every sport. We beat them in each of my four years, but they were all, two, three, four-point games.
"It is difficult if you let a team hang around long enough and you are having difficulty on offense. Every possession was critical."
"At halftime, there was a little bit of a switch that came on," said Carl Liebert.
Navy held Army without a made field goal for the first five minutes of the second half. In that same span, Robinson made two baskets and two free throws, Whitaker scored on a layup and Liebert added a field goal to give the Mids a 27-26 advantage.
An Army basket followed, then the Mids took a 31-30 lead. Houston scored on the next possession for the Black Knights to start a 6-0 run that gave the home team a 36-31 lead with 8:29 remaining. It took exactly six minutes of play before Navy took the lead back at 41-40 on a jump shot by Cliff Rees with 2:29 left, but Houston responded 40 seconds later with a jumper of his own to make the score 42-41 in favor of Army. Back came Navy and Robinson scored off of a pass from Butler while being fouled with 56 seconds left. His basket gave the Mids a 43-42 lead, but he missed the free throw and it was gathered in by the Cadets. Houston would miss a go-ahead field goal attempt for the Cadets, but Mark Michaelson snared the offensive board and scored to make the score 44-43 Army with 11 seconds remaining.
Navy immediately called timeout, then Army called one of its own before the Mids could inbound the ball. There was no surprise to anyone when the ball went in to Robinson. He was fouled by Houston with two seconds remaining and went to the line. Robinson made the first free throw, then Army called a timeout. The attempt at icing Robinson worked as he would miss the second. That meant the teams were headed for overtime for just the second time in the 66-year series.
Army took the first lead of the extra frame when Houston was fouled a few seconds after the jump ball and made both free throws. Navy answered when Butler scored on a layup 15 seconds later. Houston again went to the charity stripe on the next Army possession, and he again made both free throws to give Army a 48-46 lead. Navy promptly sent the ball into Robinson and he was fouled. He made just one free throw to keep the Mids one-point shy of the Cadets.
For the third time in three possessions of overtime, an Army player went to the foul line. This time it was Steptoe. Making matters worse for Navy was that Butler was the one who committed the foul, which was his fifth of the game. Steptoe made both free throws to make the score Army 50, Navy 47 with 3:28 showing on the clock.
Navy drew to within one point when Robinson scored on a layup with 3:15 left. Neither team scored for over a minute, with that drought stopped when Rees gathered in his own missed shot and scored on the putback to make the score 51-50 Navy with 2:04 still to play. The Navy defense successfully continued its efforts, but the Mids couldn't score themselves until Robinson hit a jumper with three seconds left on the shot clock and 34 seconds remaining in the game. Those two points gave Navy a 53-50 lead. After the Black Knights came away empty on their next opportunity with the ball, Robinson was fouled with 21 seconds remaining. He made one of his two efforts, but that was enough to push the lead out to 54-50.
Army finally scored its first field goal of overtime with 14 seconds left to slice the margin in half, then quickly called timeout. The Cadets were able to force a jump ball with seven seconds remaining, but the possession arrow pointed toward the Mids. After Navy successfully inbounded the ball, Army fouled Robinson with three seconds left as he was trying to dunk the ball. He missed the first attempt but made the second to essentially clinch the victory for the Mids as this was the last season before the introduction of the three-point shot.
"I just remember playing the Army game very uptight with no transition, no push of the ball, yet having the confidence that we were not going to lose," said Doug Wojcik. "Army deserves credit, and Kevin Houston was a very good player."
Five players between the teams never left the court in the instant classic. Robinson scored two points in the first half, 14 in the second and seven (of Navy's 11) in overtime to end the game with 23 points along with 11 rebounds. Butler added 16 points and eight boards and Houston –– who was one year away from leading the NCAA in scoring average for a season –– led Army with 20 points and six assists.
"They were well prepared for us," said Robinson of Army. "They wanted to slow it down and make it an ugly game. They collapsed their defense and made it tough on us. And they had one of the best scorers in the country."
"Kevin Houston was tremendous and they had a great game plan against us," said Whitaker, "but we would still be crying if we had lost that game."
February 25 * Annapolis, Md. * CAA
(AP: 19) Navy 85, Richmond 72
While the Mids were edging the Cadets, Richmond was defeating American to create the winner-take-all showdown for the conference regular season title in the finale of the campaign for both teams. Each team had won 12 of 13 CAA games, Navy entered the game with an overall record of 23-4 and Richmond brought a 22-4 record with it to The Yard.
Memories of the first meeting of the season were not lost on anyone.
"The turning point in the season was that close loss to Richmond down there," said Butler in the 1986-87 team media guide. "We were in shock –– reality set in that they (Richmond) could win the league. It really opened everyone's eyes."
"It was just an absolutely huge game," said Wojcik. "The Academy and Annapolis were buzzing. Huge memory maker for us and also the Mids who attended. We knew we had to win."
"We were ready for them when they came here," said Derric Turner. "The fire marshal had to kick people out of Halsey. There were people standing in the hallway. Halsey is a tough place for kids to play in. It was crazy. We were rock stars."
"I remember my sophomore year," said Liebert, "coach Evans couldn't holler at us in the huddle during timeouts because the other team could hear him due to their not being a lot of fans. That Richmond game was the first time when we had a home crowd almost like a (Duke) Cameron crazy atmosphere. Sheet posters everywhere. Halsey was packed. They were scalping tickets. Not all of the Midshipmen could get in. You walk out there and holy cow, this is a giant game. From that standpoint, it was great because I think we all felt appreciated for our work from that season by the Mids, the town, the families. Everybody showed up. It finally felt like we were a nationally-ranked team playing a home game. It was really inspiring. At shootaround we knew it was going to be big. But then we go in the locker room and wait to come back out for the 20-minute warmup. When we came back, the place was packed."
"Before the game, I told them, 'If you need a psych-up speech, you don't have a pulse,'" said Paul Evans to the Washington Post.
"I saw all of these people standing up and crowding into the corners and then they gave us a loud cheer," said Butler in the Baltimore Sun. "I admit I got caught up in the moment. I remembered where Navy basketball had been and where it was now and then I suddenly remembered I had a game to play."
Navy jumped out to a 10-4 lead only to see Richmond close to within one point at 24-23 with eight minutes left in the first half. It again was a one-point Navy lead at 28-27 when Whitaker, Robinson and Whitaker again scored field goals to stretch the advantage out to 34-27. Another late 5-0 run by the Mids gave them a 44-39 lead at the break.
Army and Navy each made 21 field goals during the 45-minute game at West Point; Navy made 19 field goals and Richmond 18 in the first 20 minutes of this game. The Spiders shot 58.1 percent from the field, but that lofty figure was outdone by the Mids connecting on 70.4 percent of their shots. Whitaker alone was 9-10 from the field in scoring 20 first-half points.
The Navy lead was eight points at halftime of the first game against Richmond before it evaporated. This time, Navy's seven-point halftime edge was quickly extended to 49-40 and 52-42 just two minutes into the second half. After a Richmond basket, a 7-0 Navy run pushed the lead out to 59-44 with 15 minutes still to play. It remained a double-digit gap between the teams until Richmond used an 8-0 run to close to within 70-64 with five minutes remaining. It was then a five-point game at 71-66 when Robinson scored on a layup with 4:22 remaining. Wojcik soon scored on a jumper and Robinson registered a steal and fed Butler for a layup to make the score 77-68 with 2:43 left and force the Spiders to call timeout.
It wasn't long before what would be the third-largest crowd in Halsey Field House history (6,315) started to celebrate the victory and an outright conference regular season title.
"That game was a turning point for Navy basketball," reflected Robinson, "because of the excitement and energy it brought. When I arrived (as a plebe) we were considered one of the 'other sports' besides football. But it was different after that. We were able to rise to the occasion and validate what we were doing."
The trio of Butler, Robinson and Whitaker combined to play all but four minutes of the game and score 70 of Navy's 85 points. Butler paced the Mids with 27 points, Whitaker tallied 24 points and Robinson recorded 19 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and five steals. Additionally, Wojcik dished out 10 assists. It was the eighth game of the year in which he handed out at least 10 assists.
"We always had two (players) on Robinson," said Richmond head coach Dick Tarrant in USA Today. "Of course, you leave gaping holes elsewhere."
"We played real smart," said Evans in the Washington Times. "We took the open shot when it was there and went inside when we needed to do that."
"Of course, the game plan was always to make David work on both ends of the floor," said Richmond player Greg Beckwith. "However, Navy had a really nice team and complimentary players. I thought Kylor Whitaker and Cliff Rees kept teams and us honest on the perimeter as both were really good outside shooters. Butler was the unsung hero because he was the person who would get key rebounds and stick-backs for their team. He was a tough, rugged big that was a finisher around the basket and seemed to make all of the plays when needed. Doug Wojcik controlled the tempo in the second game, and they had all of their classmates cheering, as well."
"We weren't happy about losing to them the first time around," said Rees. "We really wanted to go undefeated in the league. But we were a competitive group. Vernon, Whit, Dave, Woj and everyone had a major chip on their shoulder after losing to them. We were pretty intense in prep for that game and wanted to send a message leading up to the conference tournament. And when you have those guys playing with a chip on their shoulder and wanting to make a statement, I liked our chances."
March 1 * Annapolis, Md. * CAA Tournament / Quarterfinal
(AP: 19 / Seed: 1) Navy 81, (Seed: 8) James Madison 67
CAA Final Standings (Tournament Seed)
13-1 Navy (1)
12-2 Richmond (2)
10-4 George Mason (3)
6-8 UNCW (4)
6-8 East Carolina (5)
3-11 American (6)
3-11 William & Mary (7)
3-11 James Madison (8)
Evans gave the players some advice heading into March, as he later relayed to the Baltimore Sun.
"The next few weeks will be some of the most important times in your life. Don't waste them, because you might never have an opportunity like this again. You should dedicate yourself to the game of basketball for three or four weeks, and give it (NCAA Tournament) your best shot. There will be plenty of time for fun after that."
The quarterfinal round games in the CAA Tournament were played at the home of the higher-seeded team in each of the four games. That meant the top-seeded Mids, winners of 16-straight and 51 of 54 home games, would play host to eighth-seeded James Madison in the tournament opener.
Whereas the Mids were on a 10-game winning streak, the Dukes had lost 11-straight games until closing the regular season with a win over East Carolina.
Navy took first-half leads of 12-6, 16-8, 22-12 and 29-14 before the score was 33-18 at halftime. Robinson neared a double-double (12 points, nine rebounds) in the first half. The Mids never let their lead dip below 10 points in the second half as they advanced to the semifinal round of the tournament behind 32 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks by Robinson.
But that team effort wasn't satisfying to anyone.
It was as, "Poor of a performance as it had all season," according to reporter Joe Gross of the Annapolis Capital.
"If we had to have a poor game, I guess you might as well get it over with now," said Evans in the Baltimore Sun. "Our passing was horrendous, our free-throw shooting was horrendous, our offense was bad, and we were decent on defense."
"We all played pretty stupidly," said Wojcik in the same article as Evans.
March 3 * Fairfax, Va. * CAA Tournament / Semifinal
(AP: 19 / Seed: 1) Navy 62, (Seed: 4) UNCW 60
The pairings for the two semifinal round games featured No. 1 Navy vs. No. 4 UNC Wilmington followed by No. 2 Richmond vs. No. 3 and tournament-host George Mason. The Mids had defeated the Seahawks by scores of 76-61 and 95-68 during the regular season, led those games for a combined 74 of 80 minutes and trailed for just 75 seconds. This game would be much, much different.
"We played very well in the semifinal game," said UNCW player Greg Bender. "Having played Navy twice, we were no longer intimidated by Robinson and we figured out that we had to slow the game down if we were going to beat Navy. We were only going to have a chance if we kept it in the 60s. We also had the one player in the conference in Brian Rowsom who could at least compete on the interior with Robinson. Brian had improved dramatically and he gained more and more confidence each time he faced Robinson."
Navy held a 6-0 lead 95 seconds into the game and took eight-point leads at both 14-6 and 16-8. The Seahawks fought back to tie the score at 22 and take their first lead of the evening at 26-25. UNCW eventually took a 35-30 lead before it held a 35-31 advantage at halftime.
The Mids shot almost 47 percent from the field in the first half, but allowed the Seahawks to shoot just under 60 percent. Rowsom was again a thorn in the side for Navy as he alone was 7-11 from the floor and scored 14 points.
"I think our guys played pretty good," said Evans of Navy's first half in the News American. "We haven't played a team that's played a better half than Wilmington did in the first half all year."
Just as the Mids had done at the start of the game, Navy began the second half on a 6-0 run to take a 37-35 lead. The score would go on to be tied at 37, 42, 45, 47 and 49. Navy held a 51-50 lead when Butler grabbed an offensive carom and scored on the putback. Robinson followed with a jumper and Butler made one free throw to make the score 56-50 with five minutes remaining. Butler soon scored on back-to-back tip-ins to increase the lead out to 60-52 with three minutes left. UNCW notched each of the next five points (60-57) then, after Rees made just one of two free throw attempts, scored the next three points to close to within 61-60 with 1:26 still to play.
The Seahawks fouled Butler with 43 seconds left. He missed the foul shot but Robinson grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled with 41 seconds remaining. He would make the first attempt and miss the second to keep it a one-possession game at 62-60. UNCW had three chances to tie the game in the last 10 seconds, but each missed their mark.
"I just remember we couldn't get our transition game going and it was another game where we really had to grind out our offensive possessions and knew defensively we needed to get stops," said Rees.
"It was a slow, halfcourt game," said Wojcik. "We were fortunate to survive, but it was tournament play; survive and advance, and we did!"
"Navy was clearly frustrated at times," said Bender, "as we held them to one of their lowest point totals of the season, but in the end they hung on to win the game.
"I always had great respect for the Navy players, not only for how they performed on the court but also for how they carried themselves off the court. They obviously have a different regiment than most Division I athletes and you know they may be tasked with protecting America and our freedoms. They always played hard and represented the Naval Academy to its high standards. Even though there have been two CAA teams to make it to the Final Four, there is no doubt in my mind that the 1985-86 Navy team was the best team in CAA history."
March 4 * Fairfax, Va. * CAA Tournament / Final
(AP: 18 / Seed: 10) Navy 72, (Seed: 3) George Mason 61
As the Mids were winding down after their win over UNCW, their thoughts may have been focused on a third meeting with Richmond. Nobody told George Mason that, however, as in the second semifinal the Patriots defeated the Spiders by the same score the Mids had defeated the Seahawks (Richmond would receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament).
The lack of a rubber game against Richmond did not deter the Mids from being emotionally ready for the game against the Patriots. There was some bad blood between the teams dating back to the previous season when George Mason's Carlton Yates did some screaming and finger pointing at the Navy bench toward the end of a victory by the Patriots in Halsey Field House. The teams combined for 83 fouls in the two games played during the 1986 CAA regular season, with numerous writers who covered the games discussing the "physical" nature they witnessed in their respective stories on the pair of early season encounters.
Before the title game even got started, players from the two teams had an on-court "discussion" that had to be settled by CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager in an emergency meeting as each started to shoot at the same basket. After that was decided and the game began, a technical foul was administered to George Mason two minutes into the game when the home team's fans wouldn't stop throwing items onto the court. More trash was talked throughout the game by the players and even the coaches, some arms were swung, benches cleared once and 51 fouls were called, but no more technical fouls were handed out.
"I told one of their players, 'The final word will be on the scoreboard,'" said Whitaker in the Annapolis Capital. "I didn't let it get to me. We all expect that kind of thing when we play Mason."
Robinson scored the first three Navy baskets of the championship game on two dunks and a layup. Butler soon scored seven-straight Navy points, with his last basket of that span boosting the Mids to a 24-14 lead at the midway point of the first half. It was still a double-digit margin at 27-17 when George Mason started to come to life. The Patriots came almost all of the way back as they closed to within one point at 34-33 and 36-35. A Robinson jumper with five seconds left gave the Mids a 38-35 lead at the break.
Another Robinson dunk started the second-half scoring and Navy would slowly expand its lead back out to double figures at 53-43. It also was a 10-point game at 57-47 when the Patriots made another run at the Mids. A 6-0 spurt by George Mason made the score 57-53 with 6:14 showing on the clock. The Mids would connect on five of six free throw attempts over the next two minutes, then Robinson threw down another dunk to take the Navy lead out to 64-53 with four minutes remaining. The lead never fell below nine points as Navy celebrated its second-straight CAA Tournament title and trip to the NCAA Tournament.
"I don't think we could have beaten Navy with the Marines, Air Force and Army all in one," said George Mason head coach Joe Harrington in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Leading the way for Navy were the (at the time) Nos. 1 and 3 career scorers in school history. Butler was 7-11 from the floor and 10-12 from the foul line in scoring 24 points and Robinson was 8-12 from the field and 10-18 from the charity stripe in scoring 26 points. He also added 12 rebounds and two blocked shots. Both players were named to the all-tournament team, with Robinson (80 points, 47 rebounds, 16 blocked shots) being tabbed the MVP of the event.
"That game, and maybe some of the game before, rather than playing to win, we were playing not to lose," said Liebert. "We just wanted to win the (CAA) tournament and get into the NCAA's and do our thing. For us, coach would remind us that we were not gifted enough to win on just athletic ability. You have to show up physically and mentally to win."
