Bill Russell, KC Jones, Mike Farmer, Bernie Simpson, Gene Brown, Hal Perry, Stan Buchanan, Bob Wendell, Steve Balchios, Tom Nelson, Bill Bush _ check the rosters of the USF 1955 and 1956 national champs and the Cal 1959 national champs (which had a lot of SoCal guys back then) for more. Those were the days when NorCal men's hoops were nationally dominant. John Wooden and UCLA changed things shortly after. The rest is history. Unfortunate history.
Footnote: USF won the NIT title in 1949, at the time a more prestigious affair than the NCAA event. You might add those NorCal guys to the list if you choose. Don Lofgren comes to mind. So does Ross Giudice. There were others. Going back even farther, Stanford won the NCAA men's crown in 1942 during World War II. San Francisco prep star Howie Dallmar was the MVP. As we are all aware, the region's more recent history has been less than stellar on the male side of the ledger. But the dim past was actually quite good in the days before cable-TV, the web and Stephen A. Smith. In truth, the dominant NorCal college basketball program now, year in and year out, is Stanford's female version. They are a fixture in the NCAA top ten and a yearly threat to make it to the Final Four. No other NorCal program, men or women, can make that claim. That includes the St. Mary's men.
