Maury John

Maurice E. John (June 17, 1919 – October 15, 1974) was an American college basketball coach at Drake University and Iowa State University.

John was born June 17, 1919, in Sweet Springs, Missouri.

He attended William Jewell College for two years before transferring to Central Missouri State, graduating in 1941 with a Bachelor of Science in education.

He went on to earn his master's degree in education at the University of Missouri.

After graduating from college, John coached at Union High School in Union, Missouri, for a year.

He went on to serve in the Air Force during World War II.

He continued coaching the Lubbock, Texas Air Force Base basketball team.

After being discharged in 1946, John was named head coach at Moberly Junior College.

John began his collegiate coaching career starting the basketball program at Moberly Junior College in Moberly, Missouri.

He compiled a 285–58 record (.831) for Moberly in 12 seasons from 1946 to 1958.

John led Moberly to back–to–back NJCAA National Championships in 1954 and 1955.

He was followed at Moberly by future NBA coach Cotton Fitzsimmons, who led Moberly to another two NJCAA National Championships.

John moved from Moberly to Drake University of the Missouri Valley Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1958.

He would have a 211–131 record at Drake.

In 1963–64, John led Drake (21–7) to its first 20 win season and into the postseason, with an invitation to the 12–team 1964 National Invitation Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

There, the Bulldogs defeated Pittsburgh 87–82, before losing to New Mexico in the Elite Eight, 65–60.

John is the all–time wins leader at Drake and led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Final Four in 1969.

In his 28-year coaching career, John had a 528–214 record.

He led Drake (26–5) to the 1969 Final Four of the 1969 NCAA University Division basketball tournament, where the cinderella Bulldogs gave powerhouse UCLA and Lew Alcindor a scare on their way to the NCAA Championship.

The game has been labeled as "the greatest near upset in NCAA Tournament history."

In the 1969 NCAA Tournament, Drake opened by defeating Texas A&M 81–63 in the round of 16 after receiving a bye in the 25–team tournament.

The Bulldogs then defeated Colorado State 84–77 to win the Midwest Region and advance to the Final Four.

In the 1969 Final Four, Drake lost to Alcindor and Coach John Wooden's UCLA dynasty squad 85–82 on March 20, 1969, in the National Semi–Final.

Drake, down 41–39 at halftime was close with the #1 ranked team the entire game, behind 24 points from Willie McCarter, 13 points with 16 rebounds from Willie Wise, a famous block of an Alcinder shot by Rick Wanamaker and strong defense by Dolph Pulliam.

UCLA led 83–74 with one minute 12 seconds left, but Drake scored eight straight points and UCLA now had a one–point lead in the final minute of play.

The Bruins went on to beat Purdue by 20 points (92–72) in the Championship game, en route to seven consecutive NCAA Championships.

The Los Angeles Times gave an account of the closing moments: "Late in the game, UCLA led by three, but Drake had the ball and the momentum. Guard Willie McCarter put up a jumper from the left corner that ricocheted around the rim before falling into the hands of Drake forward Dolph Pulliam, who went straight back up with it. On the way up, Pulliam was hammered by Alcindor and Curtis Rowe, but the ball somehow made it through the hoop. The basket counted, but no foul was called against the Bruins. Eight seconds remained, and Drake trailed by one. UCLA escaped the Bulldogs' full-court press and got a pass through to Lynn Shackelford. In desperation, Drake's Ron Gwin fouled him. Shackelford made both of his one-and-one attempts."

Regarding the UCLA loss, McCarter reflected.

"My mother always told me that God never gives you anything you can't handle," McCarter said.

"That's what I thought about Coach John. He never gave us anything we couldn't handle. In that 1969 game against UCLA, for one special moment he had us all believing we were more than what we really were."

After the game, when asked what was the matter with UCLA, John Wooden replied simply, "Drake."

In the 1969 3rd Place Game, the Bulldogs continued their strong play as they defeated Coach Dean Smith's ACC Champion North Carolina Tar Heels, with Charlie Scott convincingly, 104–84, behind 28 points from Willie McCarter.

John proceeded to lead Drake to the 1970 and 1971 NCAA Tournaments as well, and both times led the Bulldogs to the Elite Eight.

In the 1970 NCAA tournament, Drake (22–7) defeated Coach Guy Lewis and Houston, with Dwight Davis, 92–87, before losing to New Mexico State 87–78 in the Midwest Regional Final.

In the 1971 NCAA tournament, Drake (21–8) defeated Notre Dame with Austin Carr 79–72 in overtime, then lost to Kansas 73–71 in the Midwest Regional Final.

His final Drake team averaged 83 points per game before the advent of the three–point shot.

John became known for his "belly–button" defense, in which he pushed his players to stick out their stomachs and play face–to–face.

It was noted that John, during that turbulent era was one of the first to hire a black assistant coach and have a black and white player room together in the same hotel room on road trips, even in the deep South.

In 1971, John left Drake to move to nearby Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

John died of cancer at age 55 in 1974, while coaching at Iowa State.