1963-64 West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC) Champions

Overall Record: 23-5 | WCC Record: 12-0

Head Coach: Pete Peletta
Overall Record: 23-5 WCC Record: 12-0
All-WCC Team(s): Ollie Johnson (POY + First), Dave Lee (First), Joe Ellis (First)
Top Scorer: Ollie Johnson (20.5) Top Rebounder: Ollie Johnson (16.7)
USF Hall-of-Famers: Jim Brovelli, Joe Ellis, Russell Gumina, Ollie Johnson, Erwin Mueller, Ed Thomas, Huey Thomas

The Dons won the West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC) with a perfect 12-0 league record and three times went over the century mark in scoring. Head coach Pete Peletta had entered the 1963-64 season with high hopes following a trip to the NCAA West Regional Finals in 1963, and the return of most of his key players. But Peletta’s veteran squad got off to a slow start. However, after splitting their first six games, the 3-3 Dons got hot and went on to win their next 17 games, including a clean sweep through the WCAC.

The Dons high-octane offense averaged 73.8 points per game and shot 48.3 percent as a team from the field. Ollie Johnson would again lead the Dons in scoring at a 20.5 points per game clip, also pulling down an impressive 16.7 rebounds per game. Senior forward Dave Lee added 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds, and USF Hall of Famer Joe Ellis added an average of 8.5 points per outing.

In the NCAA Tournament, USF upended Utah State, 64-58, in the West Regional Semifinals on Mar. 13, but then fell to eventual NCAA champion and number one ranked UCLA, 76-72, in the West Regional Finals on Mar. 14. The Dons gave the Bruins their toughest battle en route to the NCAA title. Johnson finished with 22 points against the Bruins and Erwin Muller added 15. The Dons finished the season with an overall record of 23-5.

Did You Know?
In addition to holding down the demanding job of head basketball coach Pete Peletta, was also the Athletic Director at USF. Peletta also passed on the coaching bug to two of his players that season - both Dan Belluomini and Jim Brovelli played for the Dons from 1962-64, and then later on took over the coaching reigns on the Hilltop. Belluomini coached the Dons for two seasons (1979-81), and Brovelli guided the Dons for ten years (1985-95).

In 1964, the NCAA tournament was not seeded like it is now. If the tourney then was seeded like it is today, the Dons likely would have been a #1 seed or #2 seed and thus would not have faced UCLA until the Final Four. The Dons were the toughest challenge for the Bruins that year in UCLA’s title run.

They Said It:
“My job as point guard is easy - just feed the ball inside to Ollie Johnson and let him go score us some points. If I get him the ball anywhere near the paint, he is going to score for sure.” - USF guard Jim Brovelli

“We should have beaten UCLA in the NCAA Tournament. Even though they came into the game undefeated, we knew we could play with them. The game was really competitive, but Gail Goodrich really hurt us down the stretch.” - USF guard Jim Brovelli