1955–56 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team

1955–56 San Francisco Dons men's basketball
California Basketball Association champions
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Champions
Conference	California Basketball Association
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
1955–56 record	29-0 (14-0 CBA)
Head coach	Phil Woolpert
Assistant coach	Ross Giudice

The 1955–56 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team represented the University of San Francisco. The Dons ended the season undefeated, becoming the first NCAA tournament champion to record a perfect season.

Season Summary

San Francisco won two straight NCAA titles behind a punishing defense led by Bill Russell, who turned shot blocking into an art form. He was also better scorer than history gives him credit for, averaging more than 20 points in both championship seasons. In 1956, Russell had support from guard K.C. Jones and a balanced lineup; besides Russell, five other players averaged between 7.1 and 9.8 points per game.

Roster

Name ^[1]	Number
Hal Payne	3
K. C. Jones	4
Bill Russell	6
John Koljian	7
Bill Bush	8
Steve Balchios	10
Warren Baxter	11
Bill Mallen	12
Vince Boyle	14
Gene Brown	15
Tom Nelson	16
Mike Farmer	17
Mike Preaseau	18
Carl Boldt	19
Jack King	21
Hal Perry	23

NCAA basketball tournament

Far West
- San Francisco 72, UCLA 61
- San Francisco 92, Utah 77
Final Four
- San Francisco 86, Southern Methodist 68
- San Francisco 83, Iowa 71

^[2]

Awards and honors

Bill Russell, First Team All-America selection

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	2	Bill Russell	Boston Celtics
2	1	KC Jones	Boston Celtics
7	50	Carl Boldt	Detroit Pistons

^[3]

References

↑ "usfdons.com." Retrieved on July 27, 2009.
↑ http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1956
↑ http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1956&lg=N

San Francisco Dons men's basketball

Venues	Kezar Pavilion (1924–1958) St. Ignatius Gym (1924–1958) War Memorial Gymnasium (1958–present)

Culture & lore	History The Don

People	Head coaches All-Americans

Seasons	1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

San Francisco Dons men's basketball 1955–56 NCAA Champions

4 K. C. Jones 6 Bill Russell 15 Gene Brown 17 Mike Farmer 18 Mike Preaseau 19 Carl Boldt 23 Hal Perry Head Coach Phil Woolpert

NCAA Division I Men's Basketball champions

1939: Oregon
1940: Indiana
1941: Wisconsin
1942: Stanford
1943: Wyoming
1944: Utah
1945: Oklahoma A&M
1946: Oklahoma A&M
1947: Holy Cross
1948: Kentucky
1949: Kentucky
1950: CCNY
1951: Kentucky
1952: Kansas
1953: Indiana
1954: La Salle
1955: San Francisco
1956: San Francisco
1957: North Carolina
1958: Kentucky
1959: California
1960: Ohio State
1961: Cincinnati
1962: Cincinnati
1963: Loyola (IL)
1964: UCLA
1965: UCLA
1966: Texas Western
1967: UCLA
1968: UCLA
1969: UCLA
1970: UCLA
1971: UCLA
1972: UCLA
1973: UCLA
1974: NC State
1975: UCLA
1976: Indiana
1977: Marquette
1978: Kentucky
1979: Michigan State
1980: Louisville
1981: Indiana
1982: North Carolina
1983: NC State
1984: Georgetown
1985: Villanova
1986: Louisville
1987: Indiana
1988: Kansas
1989: Michigan
1990: UNLV
1991: Duke
1992: Duke
1993: North Carolina
1994: Arkansas
1995: UCLA
1996: Kentucky
1997: Arizona
1998: Kentucky
1999: Connecticut
2000: Michigan State
2001: Duke
2002: Maryland
2003: Syracuse
2004: Connecticut
2005: North Carolina
2006: Florida
2007: Florida
2008: Kansas
2009: North Carolina
2010: Duke
2011: Connecticut
2012: Kentucky
2013: Louisville
2014: Connecticut
2015: Duke
2016: Villanova

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