Lucas

On March 19, 1960, the Ohio State University men's basketball team beat defending champion California 72-55 to win the NCAA Tournament. It stands as OSU's only national basketball championship. (OSU fell to the University of Cincinnati in the championship game the next two years.) The Buckeyes were led by a sophomore, All-America center Jerry Lucas. He was the top scorer and rebounder in the game. Lucas was voted Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. A native of Middletown, Lucas won 125 consecutive basketball games from fifth grade through high school. He attended Ohio State on an academic scholarship. Lucas played with Bobby Knight, who went on to coach Indiana University. Four people from the 1960 championship team - Lucas, Knight, John Havlicek and coach Fred Taylor - were inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame. Lucas went on to play in the NBA for the Cincinnati Royals, the San Francisco Warriors and the New York Knicks.

Rebecca Goodman

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com or call (513) 768-8361.