1970-1971 Men's Basketball Team
• First ever Skyway Conference Championship team
• Scored over 90 points 11 times and exceeded 110 points four times
• Played all games on the road prior to construction of Erickson Hall Gymnasium
• Eight team members served in Vietnam War before, during or after the season
For any institution or program just starting up, there are often some lean years and growing pains along the way. Eventually those give way to successes and milestone achievements. For Waubonsee, the 1970-71 men’s basketball team was the one that broke through and put Chiefs’ Athletics on the map in the fourth year of the program’s existence. They set the stage for all of Waubonsee’s future basketball success.
Guided by future Hall of Fame coach Ray Lumpp, the Chiefs captured the college’s first ever Skyway Conference Championship, laying the foundation for Waubonsee’s decades-long winning basketball tradition. With just a 6-7 record midway through the season, the team went on a 10-game winning streak and finished 9-1 in conference play to win the school’s first of four titles under Lumpp’s leadership.
A turbulent time in our country’s history with the Vietnam War going on, eight members of the team served in the United States military either before, during or after the season. They also brought some firepower to the basketball court, scoring over 90 points in 11 games and exceeding triple digits four times with games of 110, 112, 113 and 114 points, well before there was a three-point line or shot-clock.
Phil Neal, the team’s leading scorer, was among the nation’s top-5 in scoring with a 32.6 points per game average. In conference play he averaged nearly 36 points per contest, highlighted by a then school-record 50-point, 21-rebound performance in a win over McHenry County College, and a 48-point, 25-rebound game in a win over the College of Lake County. Three other players, Charlie McGhee, Buddy McDougle and Tom Schroeder all averaged in double-digit scoring for the season, while 6’6” Phil Garbe provided some size on the defensive side of the ball.
With the construction of Erickson Hall Gymnasium still a few years away, the squad played all their games on the road with 'home games' at Kaneland, West Aurora, Geneva, East Aurora and Batavia high schools. That season Waubonsee also played against five major college opponent's freshman or junior varsity teams, when freshmen were not allowed to play at the NCAA Division I level. The Chiefs played even with the University of Illinois at Assembly Hall until the final minutes, and they beat Northern Illinois University at Chick Evans Field House in DeKalb. The Chiefs also competed against DePaul University at Alumni Hall in Chicago, along with Aurora College and Northwestern University, taking on the Wildcats at McGaw Hall which is now called Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Other team members included Bob Boland, Lindsey Legner, Aaron Jacobs, Bernie Kehoe, John O’Donnell, Phil Van Lear, Gerry Martinson, Lee Weisse, Larry Shepard, Freddie Smith, John Becker and team manager Rennel Stewart. And every step of the way the Waubonsee cheerleaders were there, cheering on the Chiefs.
Message from Ray Lumpp's son Tom Allen
