Men's Basketball | 1/18/2017 4:04:00 PM
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POCATELLO, Idaho – Last weekend, Idaho State men's basketball welcomed back a historical group to Reed Gym as members of the 1976-77 Elite 8 team returned to be honored at halftime of the men's basketball game against Idaho on Jan. 14. This season marks the 40th anniversary of ISU's 76-75 victory over powerhouse UCLA to advance to the Elite 8, the deepest run in the NCAA tournament by any ISU team in history.
"It's wonderful," former point guard Ed Thompson said. "It's awesome to be back and see the old facility that's been here forever. Then to see the friends that, it's been forty years since I've seen some of these guys. It's nice to be back. And to get to see the new family; the new players, new coaches and all the great things that have gone one here."
The weekend began Friday evening with a private event for the team starting with an address by current Head Coach
Bill Evans, a locker room tour and the team's induction into the Ring of Honor. As part of the evening, the former players spoke to current men's basketball players regarding that historic year and the team chemistry that made their season so successful.
"That's the big thing is reminiscing about all the things we went through as a team," said former center Steve Hayes. "Everybody remembers the UCLA game, but they don't remember all the wind sprints we ran, up and down the stairs, the kids not going home for Christmas because we had two-a-day practices…All those stories and all the things we did to build our team comradery right there, it's those stories that mean a lot to you besides what we accomplished in the end."
Along with Thompson and Hayes, former players Brand Robinson, Jeff Cook and Stan Klos also returned in addition to Jim Larry Killingsworth and Phyllis Raddant, children of the late former Head Coach Jim Killingsworth, former sports information director Glenn Alford and former assistant coach Charlie Fenske. All were honored at halftime of the men's basketball game Saturday evening.
"They were special," Fenske said. "Coach Killingsworth had extremely high expectations for them on and off the court. The number of graduates and what they've done is really cool. They're just special people. The way you see them today, that's basically how they were 40 years ago."
