Undefeated 1973-74 South Hagerstown boys hoops team celebrates golden anniversary

Fifty years after winning the last Maryland boys basketball state championship by a Washington County public school, the undefeated 1973-74 South Hagerstown Rebels remain arguably the most storied and successful hoops team in county history.

On March 16, 1974, the Rebels capped a 25-0 season with an 83-70 victory over Bethesda-Chevy Chase in the Class A (now 3A) championship game at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House.

"We were confident from the get-go," said Mike Brashears, who scored 30 points in the final to become the first Rebel to reach 1,000 career points, finishing with 1,002. "We all knew what our roles and jobs were, we were complementary to each other, we were unselfish and played well together, and it showed what a team could be. Everybody pitched in."

"We weren't intimidated by anybody," said Tom Alexander, a reserve on the team. "We had a game plan and were well prepared. I can't even remember being nervous about losing. It never entered our minds."

Smithsburg's quest to end the county's boys basketball state title drought ended with a 75-59 loss to defending champion Edmondson-Westside of Baltimore in the Class 1A semifinals Tuesday at Thomas Johnson.

"We're kind of like the Miami Dolphins," Brashears said. "If everybody gets eliminated, we get another year to brag."

'We were like a family together'

The seeds for the 1974 season were planted many years earlier, and not always on the basketball court.

Brashears and fellow starters Stan Jones and Tim Evans first made their mark as members of the 1968 National Little League team that advanced to the Little League World Series. Later at South, Jones played quarterback for the Rebels' football team, which included several other basketball players.

"A lot of the guys played other sports together," Alexander said. "We were used to each other. Most of us were in the same classes and spent a lot of time together. … We played with each other and against each other for a long time."

The 1974 senior class excelled on the hardwood from the day it first took the court as the Rebels' freshman team, going undefeated in 1970-71. As juniors in 1972-73, they led South to a 20-3 record and the district final, but the Rebels fell at Fort Hill.

"Fort Hill was a really, really good team," Brashears said. "Not a very good game for me. I got in foul trouble, and we fell short."

"We got a taste of it the year before when we got beat by Fort Hill at Allegany, and we weren't going to let it happen again," Alexander said.

Molding a champion

Brashears recalled a saying used frequently by Rebels head coach Nick Scallion, a first lieutenant in the 3rd Marine Division in Korea and Japan from 1952-54: "Coach always said, 'If a team beats us, they may be more talented than us, but they'll never be in better shape than us.' We were always in great, great shape. We probably ran to California and back over my three (varsity) years."

"During a practice in the beginning, coach told a story about how when he played, he never asked to be taken out of a game," Alexander said. "He expected us to be in good enough shape to play. The way he said it was, 'If someone throws a grenade on the court and you jump on it, and then your guts are spilling out, then you can ask to come out.'

"He was a disciplinarian, but it paid off in the end. He had us running all the time and it was tough, but it paid off in the fourth quarter when our opponents were dog tired and we had fresh legs."

Brashears and Jones also were quick to give credit to the reserves, with Jones saying that "we never played anybody better than them."

"After all these years, I'd still tell anybody what made us great was our second team," Jones said. "The guys we practiced against every night, that made our team. Those guys should get all the credit."

"We had phenomenal practices because the guys who were reserves were great players who pushed us and made us better," Brashears said. "When they got in, they weren't intimidated, and they contributed as much as the five starters."

"A lot of us didn't play a lot," Alexander said. "(But) the rest of us were so good for them, that when they played somebody else, it was a piece of cake for them. Practicing against us made it easier for them, but you don't think about that when you're a high school kid."

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Putting the pieces together

The 1973-74 Rebels got an unexpected boost from the arrival of Norm Kelly, a 6-foot-7 center who transferred from New Jersey. Kelly would set the South single-season scoring record that season, and would play college ball at the University of Southern California and Saint Mary's (Calif.).

"Norm just fit right in, and I attribute that to Coach Scallion," Alexander said. "A lot of coaches couldn't have handled it, but he commanded a lot of respect. I think we were almost afraid to lose."

"We were very fortunate for Norm to come and be able to play at South," said Brashears. "He played tremendous basketball for us and helped us out on the press."

That press, a 1-3-1 trapping variant, gave opponents fits and often sparked the Rebels, who loved to take turnovers or rebounds – usually secured by Kelly or 6-foot-4 forward Jim Banks – and turn them into fast-break opportunities led by Brashears and Jones, who went on to play football at James Madison.

"Jim was a burly guy," Brashears said. "His dad was kind of our team doctor and took care of us – especially me, because I was diving all over God's green earth and had more strawberries than I could shake a stick at. Those guys controlled the boards and then got it out to Stan and me, and we got the fast break going. Being able to go play football in college lets you know what kind of athlete (Jones) was."

Opponents ultimately didn't have an answer for the Rebels as they went 20-0 in the regular season, including an overtime victory over Tri-State rival Martinsburg and two wins over Fort Hill.

"I don't think it mattered who we were playing," Jones said. "No disrespect to everybody, but we just went out and played our game. We never changed anything. We pressed you, we intimidated you, we played you physical."

"We knew we were good, but you would never see anybody flaunting or bragging about it," Alexander said. "We just knew we were prepared and we knew we had the talent. There were a couple games someone was in foul trouble, but someone else was always able to step in and we had enough depth. Losing never entered our minds, and we were so well-prepared we knew we could beat anybody."

Marching to a championship

South's run to the state title began with a 95-64 victory over Westminster in the district quarterfinals. Kelly led the way with 28 points and Brashears added 22.

The Rebels defeated Fort Hill for the third time that season in the district semifinals, with the 63-56 final score being the closest South would have. Kelly scored 16, Brashears had 15 and Jones and Banks each added 12.

South then rolled to a 92-66 win over Thomas Johnson for the district title. Kelly again led the way with 26 points, Brashears had 20, Banks netted 17 and Jones added 10.

The Rebels played the state semifinal and championship games on consecutive nights at Cole Field House: "We drove home after that (semifinal), had breakfast at the school, then drove down again," Brashears said.

South put away Edgewood 86-70 in the semifinal, with Brashears erupting for 31 points, Kelly scoring 18 and Jones making good on a prediction he told Scallion.

"Each of us went and got a state program," Brashears said. "Stan checked what the (tournament single-game) record was for assists."

"I walked up to Coach Scallion on the bus and said, 'I'll break it tonight,'" said Jones, who finished with 13 points and 10 assists.

"We were very, very unselfish," Brashears said. "Coach used that term very often. Passing up a good shot to get a great shot was what we were all about, and we passed very well as a team."

Only Bethesda-Chevy Chase stood in the Rebels' way.

"We knew it was going to be a tough (final) against a metro school. They played AA schools, which are now 4A schools," Brashears said. "We knew they had talent, we knew their schedule was tough, but we were confident that if we did our things as well as possible, we would be in the game and likely come out on top."

In addition to Brashears' second straight 30-point game, Kelly scored 21 points and Jones added 12 in the title game.

"It was a very competitive game," Brashears said. "Three or four of their guys fouled out, three or four of our guys fouled out, but I wasn't on the end of the referee's whistles. We had a couple little runs with some steals on the press and easy buckets, and were able to maintain a decent lead. We didn't feel threatened and we were very confident."

Scallion got his state title after leading South to the state semifinals in 1962 and 1966.

"Coach was very, very happy to win one," Brashears said. "As he said, 'The third time's the charm.' He enjoyed the win as much as we did as players."

'It's like it happened yesterday'

Fifty years later, the memories are still fresh. Being congratulated by Maryland head coach Lefty Driesell. The satisfaction of a job finished on the bus ride home. The police escort from the county line on top of South Mountain back to the school.

"It's always nice to get to this time of the year and these memories come back to us," said Brashears. "We're having a class reunion in June, so that will be pretty neat to talk about. It's nice to relive what happened to us. Our goal was to win a state title, and we were fortunate to do it. Being undefeated made it that much more gratifying."

"Every year when the Little League World Series comes around, I think of the trip we made, and I think of 1974 when the basketball playoffs roll around. It brings back the memories, the teammates, who you played against, and it's pretty cool. It's like it happened yesterday. It's a ton of great memories, and is something no one can take from us."

"It was a very unselfish group of people in the right place at the right time," Jones said.

"We were like a family together, and it brings me to tears when I think about it," Alexander said. "We were so close and had so many memorable moments."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Unbeaten South Hagerstown boys basketball team passes test of time