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The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

Guilford’s Top 16: Countdown ends with #1

We have finally reached the number one Guilford sports team of all time. This was a hard choice because there have been many great teams not included on this list. Drum roll, please.

The top team on the countdown is the 1972-73 men’s basketball team.

This team was dominant throughout the entire season, as was their coach, Jack Jensen.

In the two previous seasons, Jensen compiled a staggering 40-15 overall record and established himself as one of the best NAIA coaches. In the Alumni Gym, he guided the Quakers to a 19-1 record. In 55 games, Jensen’s teams had scorched opponents with a 10-point margin of victory.

Guilford was determined not to lose the Conference of the Carolinas tournament a third time in a row. The Quakers had senior leader, M.L. Carr ’73, who was the team’s clutch performer.

Carr averaged 21 points per game and 12 rebounds per game. He ranked second in points and first in rebounds. He arguably had his best game of his career in the NAIA National Championship game, where he threw down 23 points against Maryland Eastern Shore.

But Carr didn’t make the team great on his own. He had help from senior Teddy East ’73.

East was the team’s role player and did whatever Jensen asked him to do. He had respectable numbers — 14 points per game — and was the team’s primary shut-down defender.

Finally, there was stud first-year World B. Free ‘77. He led the team in points per game with 28 and was the Quakers’ best offensive threat. Because of his scoring prowess, he drew a lot of attention from opposing defenses. As a result, he led the team in assists with 98.

After Guilford went 11-3 in the Conference of the Carolina’s division, they went on to lose the District 26 Championship against Catawba. This fueled the team for the run they made in Kansas City for the NAIA Championship.

“What’s a Guilford?”

That unforgettable phrase that ran in the Kansas City Star sports section in 1970 left all sports writers in Kansas City and in North Carolina smiling on March 17, 1973 when the Quakers arrived in KC.

The Quakers didn’t waste any time when they got to the tournament. In their first four victories, the team won by a dominating average of nine points per game. Free was averaging over 20 points per game to guide the team to the championship game.

Here they met Maryland- Eastern Shore for the title. The game was a nail-biter. The Quakers pulled it out 99-96. This improved the team’s overall record to an outstanding 29-5.

After the win, Carr was named to the first-team all-tournament NAIA team, as well as NAIA All-American. East won two defensive awards while earning an Honorable Mention as an NAIA All-American. Free was awarded Most Valuable Player of the NAIA Tournament as well as first-team All NAIA Tournament Team.

After these players graduated, they all had careers in the professional realm in the NBA. Free played for several NBA teams including the World Champion Philadelphia 76’ers in 1983. After Carr’s playing days were over, he became the head coach, then general manger of the Boston Celtics.

Greg Jackson also made it to the NBA, playing 3 seasons with the New York Knicks and the Phoenix Suns averaging eight points per game.

This is why the 1973 basketball team won the top spot on the list. They won the National Title game and had three players on the team get to the professional level of basketball.  

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