1979 USA MEN'S SPARTAKIADE TEAM
Vilnius, Soviet Union - July 21-August 5, 1979
Promoted as the 'Dress Rehersal for the 1980 Olympic Games,' the 1979 Spartakiade competition was an international, multi-sport event hosted by Russia and its neighboring satellite countries.
1979 MEN'S SPARTAKIADE FINAL STANDINGS
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Usually Spartakiade competitors were limited to Soviet states, but with a need for test events before hosting the Olympics, the Soviet Union invited athletes from beyond the iron curtin to participate as well. Hosting over 2,500 athletes and 800 journalists, Spartakaide utilized Olympic venues like Lenin Stadium, the site of the 1980 opening ceremonies and track and field events.
Basketball, however, was held in Vilnius, Soviet Union, and a young United States men's team found its competition challenging as the U.S. squad finished 4-2 and in fifth place.
Coached by then Purdue head mentor Lee Rose, who later coached the 1985 World University Games Team to a silver medal in Japan, the USA Spartakiade squad included future NBA stalwarts Joe Barry Carroll, Jeff Lamp, Andrew Toney and Herb Williams.
The USA fell in its opening game of Spartakiade, losing to the Leningrad team 85-68, but rebounded in its second game to defeat Yugoslavia 87-75. Eventual silver medalist Ukraine proved more than the U.S. could handle and scored an 85-76 win as the Americans fell to 1-2 overall and out of the medal hunt.
Although out of medal contention, the USA refused to fold and finished the tournament strong, scoring three consecutive wins beating Estonia 97-86, Latvia 73-65 and host Lithuania 86-76.
One of the Spartakiade cage highlights came during the USA-Estonia game, when the USA's 6-11 center Herb Williams broke the backboard while dunking and sent shattered glass around the floor. Several fans ran onto the court to collect the glass pieces as souvenirs and the game was interrupted for more than 30 minutes while the backboard was replaced.
Despite finishing with a 4-2 record, the USA's early round losses placed them in the consolation bracket and allowed them no better than a fifth-place finish.
By defeating Ukraine 85-81 in the finals, Moscow rolled to first place and was the only team to finish with a perfect 6-0 record. Czechoslovakia finished third by beating Leningrad 79-73 in the bronze medal game.
| NAME |
POS |
HGT | WGT |
AGE |
SCHOOL | HOMETOWN |
| John Bates |
F |
6-6 | 200 |
20 |
West Virgina Wesleyan Coll. | Charleston, WV |
| Joe Barry Carroll |
C |
7-1 | 245 |
21 |
Purdue University | Castro Valley, CA |
| Russell Cross |
C |
6-10 | 228 |
17 |
Manley High School (IL) | Chicago, IL |
| Jim Johnstone |
C |
6-10 | 245 |
18 |
Wake Forest University | Youngstown, NY |
| Chad Kinch |
G |
6-4 | 190 |
21 |
Univ. of North Carolina-Charlotte | Perth Amboy, NJ |
| Mike LaFave |
F |
6-8 | 195 |
|
Scecina Memorial H. S. (IN) | Indianapolis, IN |
| Jeff Lamp |
G |
6-5 | 185 |
20 |
University of Virginia | Prior Lake, MN |
| David Lawrence |
F |
6-10 | 220 |
20 |
McNeese State University | Lake Charles, LA |
| Andrew Toney |
G |
6-4 | 180 |
21 |
Univ. of Southwestern Louisiana | Birmingham, AL |
| Brian Walker |
G |
6-2 | 175 |
21 |
Purdue University | Lebanon, IN |
| Herb Williams |
C |
6-11 | 220 |
21 |
Ohio State University | Columbus, OH |
| Gary Winton |
F |
6-5 | 230 |
24 |
U.S. Military Academy | Somerville, AL |
| HEAD COACH: Lee Rose, Purdue University (IN) | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Tom Bennett, Mesa Community College (AZ) | ||||||
| MANAGER: Jack Thurnblad, Carleton College (MN) | ||||||
| ATHLETIC TRAINER: Denny Miller, Purdue University (IN) | ||||||
| CHIEF OF MISSION: Theo Heap, Mesa Community College (AZ) | ||||||
1979 USA MEN'S SPARTAKIADE TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
| NAME | G | FGM-FGA | PCT | FTM-FTA | PCT | REB/AVG | PTS/AVG |
| USA TOTALS | 6 | 500/ 83.3 | |||||
| OPP. TOTALS | 6 | 516/ 86.0 |
1979 USA Men's Spartakiade individual player cumulative statistics are not available
