SIXTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP -- 1970
Ljubljana, Yugoslavia • May 10-24, 1970
For the first time, the World Championship moved to the Northern hemisphere. Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, was awarded the tourney, giving Yugoslavia the hometown advantage after back-to-back Yugoslavian silver medals in 1967 and 1963. Playing in their homeland proved beneficial for Yugoslavia as it won the 1970 title as had the host countries in 1963 and 1950.
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1970 USA RESULTS (6-3)
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The USA team, consisting of American collegians, were fast out of the gate. Opening preliminary pool play with a 21-point victory over Cuba, 74-53, Australia was bettered by 37, 99-62, then the Americans wrapped-up their preliminary round of competition with a 99-86 victory over previously unbeaten Czechoslovakia.
Advancing into the final round, San Jose State's 6'7' Darnell Hillman scored 21 points as the U.S. again defeated Czechoslovakia, this time by a score of 88-60. Next, the American squad jumped all over Uruguay early and went on to score a convincing 76-39 victory. Facing a veteran Soviet Union team and playing in front of Tivoli Arena crowd of over 8,000, the two teams were tied 44-44 at halftime and the U.S. fell behind 66-58 late in the second half. Still trailing 72-68, behind the play of Garfield Smith, Mike Silliman and Ken Washington, the U.S. rallied and after a Washington three-point play in the closing seconds, the U.S. prevailed for a 75-72 win. Washington led the Americans with 18 points, followed by Silliman with 16, Hillman with 14 and Jim Williams added 12.
Standing 6-0, the Americans faltered down the stretch, dropping all three of their final games. Suffering a bitter 66-64 setback to Italy, host Yugoslavia slipped past the Americans 70-63 as more than 8,000 fans cheered the Yugoslavs on. Although Yugoslavia led for much of the contest, twice the game had to be interrupted to clear the playing floor of debris that spectators had thrown. Silliman, formerly of the U.S. Military Academy, led the Americans' scoring against Yugoslavia with 16 points, followed by Washington with 14 and Hillman with 12. A key performer for Yugoslavia was Kresimir Cosic, a sophomore at Brigham Young University who tallied 11 points.
Struggling and now out of medal contention, the U.S. dropped its final game of the competition to Brazil, 69-55, to fall to 6-3 overall and a disappointing fifth in the final standings. Yugoslavia won the gold, Brazil earned the silver, and the USSR collected the bronze.
1970 USA MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM ROSTER
| NAME | POS | HGT | WGT | AGE | SCHOOL | HOMETOWN |
| Tal Brody | G | 6-2 | 175 | 25 | University of lllinois | Trenton, NJ |
| Darnell Hillman | F | 6-7 | 205 | 20 | San Jose State University | Saramento, CA |
| Stan Issac | F | 6-7 | 220 | 26 | Iona College | Bronx, NY |
| Brad Luchini | G | 6-2 | 170 | |||
| Bruce McDonald | G | 5-10 | 160 | 23 | Cedarville College | |
| Michael Silliman | F | 6-6 | 230 | 26 | U. S. Military Academy | Louisville, KY |
| Garfield Smith | F | 6-7 | 215 | 25 | Eastern Kentucky University | Campbellsville, KY |
| Bill Walton | C | 6-11 | 210 | 17 | Helix High School / UCLA | La Mesa, CA |
| Kenny Washington | G | 6-3 | 185 | 26 | Univ. of California-Los Angeles | Beufort, SC |
| Jim Williams | F | 6-8 | 207 | 26 | Chicago Jamaco Saints (Temple) | Norristown, PA |
| Art Wilmore | G | 6-4 | 207 | 19 | University of Michigan | New York, NY |
| Bob Wolfe | G | 6-2 | 170 | 25 | Marquette University | Mehomonie Falls, WI |
| HEAD COACH: Hal Fischer, USAF (San Francisco, CA) | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Hank Vaughn, Goodyear Wingfoots (OH) | ||||||
| MANAGER: Russel Lyons, Boulder, CO | ||||||
1970 USA MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
| NAME | G |
FGM-FGA
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PCT |
FTM-FTA
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PCT |
REB/AVG
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PTS/AVG
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AST
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| Michael Silliman | 9 |
34- 80
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.425 |
15- 24
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.625 |
18/ 3.0
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119/ 13.2
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5
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| Kenny Washington | 9 |
26- 52
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.500 |
21- 28
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.750 |
22/ 3.7
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112/ 12.4
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13
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| Tal Brody | 9 |
17- 43
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.395 |
8- 10
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.800 |
9/ 1.5
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87/ 9.7
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13
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| Darnell Hillman | 9 |
30- 46
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.652 |
14- 22
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.636 |
40/ 6.7
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83/ 9.2
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0
|
| Bruce McDonald | 8 |
16- 35
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.457 |
13- 18
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.722 |
28/ 4.7
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83/ 10.4
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5
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| Garfield Smith | 9 |
15- 34
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.441 |
9- 22
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.409 |
47/ 7.8
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65/ 7.2
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3
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| Bob Wolfe | 9 |
12- 33
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.364 |
2- 2
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1.000 |
3/ 0.5
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53/ 5.9
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3
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| Jim Williams | 8 |
11- 18
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.611 |
6- 10
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.600 |
30/ 5.0
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46/ 5.8
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2
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| Stan Issac | 8 |
4- 13
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.308 |
1- 2
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.500 |
11/ 1.8
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28/ 3.5
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1
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| Bill Walton | 5 |
2- 4
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.500 |
0- 0
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.000 |
4/ 4.0
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13/ 2.6
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0
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| Brad Luchini | 4 |
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10/ 2.5
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| Art Wilmore | 3 |
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4/ 1.3
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| USA TOTALS | 9 |
169-372
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.454 |
93-142
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.655 |
214/ 35.7
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703/ 78.1
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46
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| OPP. TOTALS | 9 |
245-
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87-
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577/ 64.1
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NOTE: Individual cumulative statistical totals reflect totals for only the USA's final six games. Box scores for the USA's first three preliminary games against Cuba, Australia, Czechoslovakia are not available. USA team cumulative statistical totals for everything but points scored reflect totals for only the USA's final six games, box scores for the USA's first three preliminary games against Cuba, Australia, Czechoslovakia are not available.
