NINTH WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES -- 1977
University of Louisville (Ky.) head coach Denny Crum served as head coach of the 1977 USA team that would travel to Sofia, Bulgaria, seeking to defend the USA's 1973 gold medal. USA teams had won gold medals in three of the first four World University Games.
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1977 USA RESULTS (8-0)
1977 WORLD UNIV. GAMES FINAL STANDINGS
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The USA had a young and very talented team. 6'4' Darrell Griffith (Louisville), 6'4' Freeman Williams (Portland State), 6'4' Sidney Moncrief (Arkansas),and 6'9' Larry Bird (Indiana State) were just some of the players who helped lead the Americans to a sparkling 8-0 record and the gold medal.
The USA took its first three games easily, winning by an average margin of 64.3 ppg. Behind 20 points from Griffith, the USA opened with a 136-57 romp over Belgium, then Griffith scored 22 in a U.S. 131-46 win over Kuwait. The U.S. defeated Poland 91-62 as 6'6' Calvin Natt led the U.S. attack with 16 points.
Next facing the gold medal co-favorite Soviet Union, the USA's offense continued to surge and the Americans handed the Soviets a 129-96 setback in front of a capacity crowd of 2,000. The U.S. never trailed in the contest and Griffith led the U.S. charge with 25 points.
Tempers flared in the USA - Cuba matchup. Tied 46-46 with 18 minutes remaining in the game, benches emptied and fighting broke out in front of the U.S. bench. Bulgarian police stepped in and regained order, and when the game resumed, the U.S. stormed on to a 94-78 victory. Natt led the U.S. with 24 points and Griffith added 21. With Williams scoring 19 points and Griffith adding 15, the U.S. maintained its perfect record by defeating Brazil 103-81. Downing Czechoslovakia 85-69, the U.S. earned the right to play in the championship game. Natt and Walter Jordan accounted for 19 points each in the win.
Facing the Soviet Union in the gold medal contest, only the score would be different in the second USA-USSR contest as the U.S. sailed to an impressive 87-68 victory and the gold medal. Moncrief led the USA attack with 16 points, while Williams and Bird each added 14 points. Czechoslovakia, by virtue of its 74-67 victory over Canada, earned the bronze medal.
| NAME |
POS
|
HGT
|
WGT
|
AGE
|
SCHOOL | HOMETOWN |
| James Bailey |
F
|
6-9
|
220
|
20
|
Rutgers | Cedar Knoll, NJ |
| Larry Bird |
F
|
6-9
|
220
|
20
|
Indiana State | French Lick, IN |
| Dave Corzine |
C
|
6-11
|
265
|
21
|
DePaul | Arlington, IL |
| Richard Gallon |
F
|
6-10
|
225
|
20
|
Louisville | Tampa, FL |
| Darrell Griffith |
G
|
6-4
|
195
|
19
|
Louisville | Louisville, KY |
| Phil Hubbard |
F
|
6-8
|
226
|
20
|
Michigan | Mayfield Heights, OH |
| Walter Jordan |
F
|
6-6
|
190
|
21
|
Purdue | Fort Wayne, IN |
| Jeff Judkins |
F
|
6-6
|
185
|
21
|
Utah | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Sidney Moncrief |
G
|
6-4
|
190
|
19
|
Arkansas | Little Rock, AR |
| Anthony Murray |
G
|
6-3
|
180
|
21
|
Alabama | Birmingham, AL |
| Calvin Natt |
F
|
6-6
|
220
|
20
|
Northeast Louisiana State | Bastrop, LA |
| Freeman Williams |
G
|
6-4
|
194
|
21
|
Portland State | Los Angeles, CA |
| HEAD COACH: Denny Crum, University of Louisville (KY) | ||||||
| MANAGER: Buddy Travis, Grayson County College (TX) | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Bill Vining, Ouachita Baptist College (AR) | ||||||
| ATHLETIC TRAINER: John Alvarez, University of Utah | ||||||
CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
| NAME | G | FGM-FGA | PCT | FTM-FTA | PCT | REB/AVG |
PTS/AVG
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| USA TOTALS | 8 |
856/107.0
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| OPP. TOTALS | 8 |
557/ 69.6
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NOTE: 1977 USA Men's World University Games individual player cumulative statistics are not available
