PS: We watched the game on 3rd floor BSB!

Dr. Mack,
Please do a better job of screening the comments!

P.S. If you are so ‘smart’, why is there only one kid listed at the bottom of your Bio page? Let’s get this thing updated, shall we?

As an avid player, I was lucky to have gotten a taste of Indiana basketball culture, and, once convinced of their worth, I followed ISU’s march to the NCAA finals in 1978/79.

I was not, at first, convinced they were all that good, since they played in the pretty much unknown Missouri Valley conference.

"So what if they’re undefeated? Who do they play?"

But, I started to watch their games, and grew to admire their stifling defense and team-oriented offense which revolved around the greatest white player who has yet lived.

(Larry Bird was voted three consecutive MVP’s by players who were then, as now, 75% black)

Unlike you, I DID watch the final – with roomates and ISU girlfriends in our apartment on Kent Street.

The girls cried when ISU came up short.

I don’t remember what we did after the game, but I’m betting it involved beer. I do remember hearing about trouble downtown – for which you have kindly provided details.

Thanks for the reminiscence.

Jim Susky
Super Senior
BSEE ’82

PS

The year before (77/78) I was a 3rd floor BSB resident.

I survived well into the 3rd Quarter before getting laked. Our RA Tom Wiltrout ("Trout" for short) posted me and others on the Top Ten Laking List.

He also instigated another tradition one evening – the infamous "butt slide".

I returned to the 3rd floor one evening (after Basketball) and found the entire floor drinking cherry vodka cut with red punch.

Trout announced the butt slide. We flooded the tile hall with water.

One of us freshman got up some courage (or lost inhibition), stripped down, and started out. He made it nearly 2/3 of the way down the hall.

Well, leadership worked in this case. Damn near everyone got naked and were soon sliding down the hall on their glutes.

This continued until Hovda (one of my roomies the following year) got his feet cut out from under him and feek with a gash above one eye.

I still remember the worried look on his face, when Trout shut down the proceedings, and took Keith to get stitched up.

By the way, Trout claimed to have never been laked. He was a big tough 6-4, 225 wide receiver on the football team.

Some of my fellow hallmates took that as a challenge.

Ron Dale – also about 6-4, 225 – got behind Trout, pinned his arms to his sides in a bear hug, and the rest swooped in. In five minutes, Tom Wiltrout, Class of ’79, was swimming with the ducks.

(actually, BSB3 did not throw him in the Duck Pond – too, too nasty)

Tom Wiltrout was a real good guy. He said later that Ron Dale (who, started Varsity Basketball that year as a freshman) was the strongest man he had ever encountered.

Ron could easily have played Big Ten basketball, but knew that he was very unlikely to make a living at the game.

Larry Bird said much later as an NBA Pro something like:

"I can’t believe they’re paying me all this money for something I would do for nothing"