University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Celebrating 90 Years - Looking Back on UNC Asheville's Last Visit to the State of California
12.20.2017 | Men's Basketball
The UNC Asheville men's basketball team will attempt to keep its record perfect in the state of California this week when the Bulldogs travel to St. Mary's for a battle with the Gaels on Dec. 22.
That's right: Asheville is perfect when it plays in the Golden State. The Bulldogs are 1-0 in California.
And what a win it was.
Thirty years ago, the Bulldogs were in their second year of Division I play. Jerry Green's program had surprised many in its first year of Division I play with a 15-11 overall record and 6-3 mark against teams from the Southern Conference. The 1986-87 campaign had silenced many skeptics who didn't think Asheville belonged in Division I or could compete successfully on that level.
In its second year of Division I play, the Bulldogs got off to a solid start with impressive wins over Western Carolina, The Citadel and James Madison to begin the year 4-2.
The victory over James Madison was especially impressive as senior forward Ricky Chapman exploded for 41 points in a 90-81 overtime win at the Asheville Civic Center. JMU coach John Thurston said afterwards that no inside player had dominated his team like Chapman. What made that statement remarkable is that at the time Navy was in James Madison's conference and had the services of center David Robinson who was in the midst of an All-American career.
Asheville would begin the new year of 1988 with a game in the state of California. The Bulldogs would journey across the country to play the University of California in Berkley. Asheville athletic director Ed Farrell was good friends with Cal's head basketball coach Lou Campinelli and made the game happen. The Bulldogs would get the incredible sum of $10,000 at the time to play against the Bears.
It was quite a trip flying to California for the Bulldogs. That's not something the program did very often. Jerry Green's club has just graduated from driving vans to riding in motor coaches to games.
Asheville arrived on New Year's Eve after a long flight that had to refuel in Las Vegas due to headwinds. The team flew into San Francisco and then rented vans to drive to their hotel in Berkley. It was quite an experience going over the Bay Bridge into Oakland and then Berkley.
The Bulldogs spent the first day of 1988 touring San Francisco before practicing at Harmon Gym, then the home of the Bears.
Just two weeks earlier on the same court, Cal had blown out UCLA on national television. Campinelli had built a competitive program in Berkley that had become a contender in the then Pac-10.
The Bulldogs and Bears would square off at Harmon Arena with a close to sell-out crowd on hand. And it was mostly students there to cheer on Cal. The famous straw hat Cal Band made its appearance and walked right through the Bulldogs warm-ups. Most teams that played there just kept on warming up but the polite Asheville squad turned on its Southern hospitality and stopped practicing while the 50-piece band walked on through.
Harmon Arena was loud that night, but the Bulldogs played with poise from the start. Cal had shot very well from the three-point line against UCLA, but Green's club would not allow the Bears to have that kind of success. The first half was close before a late Bulldog run put the Blue & White in front 29-23 at halftime.
In the second half, Cal rallied but could never get the lead. The Bulldogs couldn't quite put the Bears away and a Pac-10 officiating crew made sure they didn't with several interesting calls that went against Asheville.
But the Bulldogs' defense stymied Cal at every turn. Sophomore guard Maurice Caldwell made clutch free throws, while Chapman seemed to grab every important defensive rebound. Senior forward William Funderburk hit some key buckets in the final five minutes.
Asheville would hold and win 58-53 as the Bulldogs had made an incredible West Coast debut.
Afterwards, Coach Green would turn on his Southern charm like only he could do. "We don't get to travel around the world like you all do, so just getting to the arena was a victory for us," commented Green. The Bay Area media enjoyed Green's comments and the team's play.
It was a night that Campinelli wanted to quickly forget.
"Give Jerry and Asheville credit but this has to be one of the worst losses in Cal basketball history," stated Campinelli. "We were just outplayed from start-to-finish."
The Bulldogs would spend all day flying back as their flight was delayed due to fog at first and then delayed in Charlotte. The team would not get back to Asheville until 4 a.m. Nobody seemed to mind.
"We've had some great wins over the years, but this might be the biggest," said Green on the flight back. "A little school like UNC Asheville beating a team like Cal with so many more things than we have was really amazing."
The Cal win was the highlight of the 1987-88 season for the Bulldogs. Asheville was up-and-down the rest of the way and would finish with a 13-15 overall record. The Bulldogs were competitive but couldn't sustain consistency.
Asheville's final game of the year was a reflection of that season. The Bulldogs would play Winthrop on its homecourt in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament. Green's club would lead by 18 in the first half and by eight with five minutes left but fell in the final moments. A key play would be a controversial charge call on Chapman with 15 seconds remaining that wiped out a tying basket.
Winthrop would roll to a Big South Conference championship with easy wins over its next two opponents which only frustrated the Bulldogs more.
The Winthrop loss would also be Green's last game as Bulldog coach. A few months later, Roy Williams would be hired as Kansas' head coach. His first call was to his old friend – Jerry Green. Green would join the Jayhawk program as an assistant coach before moving on to head coaching stops at Oregon and Tennessee.
The Bulldogs graduated three seniors from the 1987-88 team but returned just about everybody else the next year for new coach Don Doucette. Those returning Bulldogs would get another thrill when they would win the 1989 Big South Conference Tournament. And we will talk about that championship as we get closer to March.
So this year's Bulldogs, when they play at St. Mary's on Dec. 22, will be trying to keep Asheville unbeaten in the state of California.
**In celebration of UNC Asheville's 90th anniversary, Hall of Famer Mike Gore will look back on important moments in athletics department history over the course of the 2017-18 athletic year**
That's right: Asheville is perfect when it plays in the Golden State. The Bulldogs are 1-0 in California.
And what a win it was.
Thirty years ago, the Bulldogs were in their second year of Division I play. Jerry Green's program had surprised many in its first year of Division I play with a 15-11 overall record and 6-3 mark against teams from the Southern Conference. The 1986-87 campaign had silenced many skeptics who didn't think Asheville belonged in Division I or could compete successfully on that level.
In its second year of Division I play, the Bulldogs got off to a solid start with impressive wins over Western Carolina, The Citadel and James Madison to begin the year 4-2.
The victory over James Madison was especially impressive as senior forward Ricky Chapman exploded for 41 points in a 90-81 overtime win at the Asheville Civic Center. JMU coach John Thurston said afterwards that no inside player had dominated his team like Chapman. What made that statement remarkable is that at the time Navy was in James Madison's conference and had the services of center David Robinson who was in the midst of an All-American career.
Asheville would begin the new year of 1988 with a game in the state of California. The Bulldogs would journey across the country to play the University of California in Berkley. Asheville athletic director Ed Farrell was good friends with Cal's head basketball coach Lou Campinelli and made the game happen. The Bulldogs would get the incredible sum of $10,000 at the time to play against the Bears.
It was quite a trip flying to California for the Bulldogs. That's not something the program did very often. Jerry Green's club has just graduated from driving vans to riding in motor coaches to games.
Asheville arrived on New Year's Eve after a long flight that had to refuel in Las Vegas due to headwinds. The team flew into San Francisco and then rented vans to drive to their hotel in Berkley. It was quite an experience going over the Bay Bridge into Oakland and then Berkley.
The Bulldogs spent the first day of 1988 touring San Francisco before practicing at Harmon Gym, then the home of the Bears.
Just two weeks earlier on the same court, Cal had blown out UCLA on national television. Campinelli had built a competitive program in Berkley that had become a contender in the then Pac-10.
The Bulldogs and Bears would square off at Harmon Arena with a close to sell-out crowd on hand. And it was mostly students there to cheer on Cal. The famous straw hat Cal Band made its appearance and walked right through the Bulldogs warm-ups. Most teams that played there just kept on warming up but the polite Asheville squad turned on its Southern hospitality and stopped practicing while the 50-piece band walked on through.
Harmon Arena was loud that night, but the Bulldogs played with poise from the start. Cal had shot very well from the three-point line against UCLA, but Green's club would not allow the Bears to have that kind of success. The first half was close before a late Bulldog run put the Blue & White in front 29-23 at halftime.
In the second half, Cal rallied but could never get the lead. The Bulldogs couldn't quite put the Bears away and a Pac-10 officiating crew made sure they didn't with several interesting calls that went against Asheville.
But the Bulldogs' defense stymied Cal at every turn. Sophomore guard Maurice Caldwell made clutch free throws, while Chapman seemed to grab every important defensive rebound. Senior forward William Funderburk hit some key buckets in the final five minutes.
Asheville would hold and win 58-53 as the Bulldogs had made an incredible West Coast debut.
Afterwards, Coach Green would turn on his Southern charm like only he could do. "We don't get to travel around the world like you all do, so just getting to the arena was a victory for us," commented Green. The Bay Area media enjoyed Green's comments and the team's play.
It was a night that Campinelli wanted to quickly forget.
"Give Jerry and Asheville credit but this has to be one of the worst losses in Cal basketball history," stated Campinelli. "We were just outplayed from start-to-finish."
The Bulldogs would spend all day flying back as their flight was delayed due to fog at first and then delayed in Charlotte. The team would not get back to Asheville until 4 a.m. Nobody seemed to mind.
"We've had some great wins over the years, but this might be the biggest," said Green on the flight back. "A little school like UNC Asheville beating a team like Cal with so many more things than we have was really amazing."
The Cal win was the highlight of the 1987-88 season for the Bulldogs. Asheville was up-and-down the rest of the way and would finish with a 13-15 overall record. The Bulldogs were competitive but couldn't sustain consistency.
Asheville's final game of the year was a reflection of that season. The Bulldogs would play Winthrop on its homecourt in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament. Green's club would lead by 18 in the first half and by eight with five minutes left but fell in the final moments. A key play would be a controversial charge call on Chapman with 15 seconds remaining that wiped out a tying basket.
Winthrop would roll to a Big South Conference championship with easy wins over its next two opponents which only frustrated the Bulldogs more.
The Winthrop loss would also be Green's last game as Bulldog coach. A few months later, Roy Williams would be hired as Kansas' head coach. His first call was to his old friend – Jerry Green. Green would join the Jayhawk program as an assistant coach before moving on to head coaching stops at Oregon and Tennessee.
The Bulldogs graduated three seniors from the 1987-88 team but returned just about everybody else the next year for new coach Don Doucette. Those returning Bulldogs would get another thrill when they would win the 1989 Big South Conference Tournament. And we will talk about that championship as we get closer to March.
So this year's Bulldogs, when they play at St. Mary's on Dec. 22, will be trying to keep Asheville unbeaten in the state of California.
**In celebration of UNC Asheville's 90th anniversary, Hall of Famer Mike Gore will look back on important moments in athletics department history over the course of the 2017-18 athletic year**
Monday, March 18
Monday, March 18
Thursday, March 14
Monday, March 04