Overview:
Ajay Mitchell is working on his shot at becoming the 11th Gaucho to play in the NBA
UC Santa Barbara has never made the Sweet 16 in men’s basketball, but its history is anything but wonky.
Willy Wonka himself would get a sugar rush in reviewing the Gauchos’ saccharine past — from a coach named Alice to a current NBA prospect named Ajay.
UCSB announced last week that it would soon add the posters of Gabe Vincent and Orlando Johnson to its Thunderdome gallery when it reintroduces the “Legends of the Dome” program.
The inductions – which highlight the arena’s top athletes and coaches during its 45 years of existence — began in 2009 and were last conducted in 2014.
UCSB’s basketball history, however, predates not only that arena and even its current campus location, it even thrived well before the university adopted the nickname of “Gauchos.”
They were known as the “Roadrunners” — although “Pterodactyls” might have fit the time period better — when UCSB fielded its first basketball team in 1921.
That was the same year that Santa Barbara State Normal School, located in the town’s Riviera foothills, changed its name to Santa Barbara State Teachers College.
A kind of abnormal-school thing also happened that year. A home economics professor named Miss Alice Bradley agreed to take over the first basketball team when they couldn’t find a coach.
Bradley’s record of 8-5 gives her the third-best winning percentage (.615) in UCSB basketball coaching history.
Alice, of course, doesn’t live there anymore, and her players have been long forgotten to history.
But we’re going to dig as deep into the history books as possible to give you our picks for the best Gaucho quintets during the next five generations.
The Greatest Generation
(The coach Willie Wilton Years, 1937-1957)
The Starting Five (listed chronologically) — Tommy Guerrero, Lowell Steward, Harvey Hubler, Tommy Williams, Bob McCutcheon
The History — They were the real heroes of their time. Tommy Guerrero, the Gauchos’ first basketball All-American, served as a fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He spent a year in a British hospital after getting shot down over Belgium.
Lowell Steward became a pilot with the all-black Tuskegee Airmen soon after his graduation.
He flew 143 combat missions over Europe in everything from a Bell P-39 Airacobra to a Curtiss P-40E Warhawk and finally a North American P-51 Mustang for the 100th Fighter Squadron.
Steward was the star center and Guerrero the high-scoring forward of a Gaucho team that led then-Santa Barbara State to the 1941 NAIA Final Four in Kansas City.
But Steward, the first black man to play basketball in the California Collegiate Athletic Conference, was barred from the national semifinals because of Missouri’s Jim Crow laws.
Racism cost UCSB its best shot ever at a national basketball title.
Harvey Hubler was a two-time all-league center after the war, in 1947 and 1948, before becoming a coach at Monrovia High. He was killed in 1953 in a deer hunting accident.
Bob McCutcheon, another two-time All-CCAA player, also remained in the game after setting UCSB’s single-season scoring record in 1950.
He coached Santa Maria High School to a CIF-Southern Section championship and later guided Allan Hancock College to a state JC title.
Tommy Williams was the MVP of two of coach Willie Wilton’s last and best Gaucho teams (1954-1956) when they won 35 of 50 games.
Also Noteworthy — Dick Rider was the sophomore defensive stopper on the 1941 NAIA Final Four team and he won first-team all-CCAA honors as a junior.
He never got a chance to play again. UCSB named its MVP Award in Rider’s honor after he was called off to war and killed in action.
Wilton, who picked his best five for me during an interview in the 1990s, put Rider on his second five along with Gordon Gray, Quentin Sims, Billy Levielle and Bill Russell (not the one who accomplished a few things for the Boston Celtics — he probably would’ve made Wilton’s first team).
And you can’t overlook big Dick Acres, who set a UCSB record in 1956 with his rebound average of 14.3.
Baby Boomer Era
(The coaching years of Art Gallon, Ralph Barkey and Ed DeLacy, 1958-1983)
The Starting Five — Doug Rex, John Tschogl, Don Ford, Richard Anderson, York Gross
The History — Doug Rex, the center who ushered UCSB into its Division I basketball era, averaged a double-double of 18.4 points and a school-record 10.6 rebounds for his career (1968-1971).
He was so good that UCSB classmate Mark French, another 6-foot-8 center who would later earn Legend of the Dome status as the Gaucho women’s basketball coach, switched to the Gaucho baseball team.
John Tschogl, a forward who was only a year behind Rex, made first-team All-Big West Conference (then known as the PCAA) three straight years before playing the next three seasons in the NBA.
Don Ford averaged 19.6 points during his junior year of 1976 before signing early with the Los Angeles Lakers. He played in the NBA for seven seasons.
He was the best Gaucho to never make an all-league team: UCSB played as an independent at that time while being temporarily exiled from the PCAA for having dropped the sport of football.
Richard Anderson, who averaged a double-double of 16.0 points and 11.1 rebounds in 1982, played six years in the NBA after the Clippers drafted him in the second round.
York Gross averaged a double-double of 20.9 points and 10.4 rebounds the following season. Although the Denver Nuggets took him in the fourth round of the 1983 NBA Draft, mental illness soon derailed his basketball career.
Also Noteworthy — The 1961 team that included Ray Bosch, Gary Davis, Joel Fleiss and Bob Laird became the first Gaucho group since the NAIA Final Four team of 1941 to reach the 20-win mark. They advanced to the NCAA College Division (DII) quarterfinals in Evansville.
Other stars in the constellation of that quarter-century were Ralph Barkey, its future head coach, along with Tom Lee, Dick Kolberg, Steve Rippe, Ron Allen, Bob Schachter, Clarence Allen, John Service, Dave Brown, Ricky “Tex” Walker, Matt Maderos and Walter Evans.
The Era of Thunder
(The coaching years of Jerry Pimm, 1983-1998)
The Starting Five — Brian Shaw, Carrick DeHart, Eric McArthur, Lucius Davis, Raymond Tutt.
The History — Brian Shaw, the only Gaucho ever picked in the first round of the NBA Draft, gave birth to the Thunderdome as well as “berth” to UCSB’s experience in the NCAA Division I Tournament.
He helped coach Jerry Pimm’s squad earn an at-large bid in 1988 while becoming the only player to ever lead the Big West in both assists and rebounds.
Shaw played 14 years in the NBA, winning three championship rings with the Lakers. He’s coached in the league for the last three decades, which included a two-year stint as head coach of the Nuggets. He’s now an assistant with the Clippers.
Carrick DeHart and Eric McArthur, Shaw’s sophomore teammates in 1988, got the Gauchos into the national rankings in 1989 and led them to their only NCAA Division I Tournament victory in 1990.
DeHart’s 24-point effort on a sprained ankle handed NCAA champion UNLV its last defeat of the 1990 season. He held UCSB’s all-time scoring record for nearly two decades.
McArthur, known by his teammates as “The Freeze,” set Gaucho records for rebounds and blocked shots during that 1990 season.
Lucius Davis, UCSB’s 12th-all-time leading scorer, was a sophomore on that 1990 team and the Big West MVP in 1992.
He went out on a sweet note, singing the national anthem before leading the Gauchos to victory in his Senior Night game against New Mexico State.
Although Raymond Tutt played on two losing teams, his parking-lot shooting range helped him set the school’s single-season scoring record of 24.1 points per game in 1997.
He followed that up with an 18.9 average in 1998 before becoming a fan favorite in Italy’s top pro league.
Also Noteworthy — Scott Fisher, who ranks 15th on UCSB’s all-time scoring list, became the first Gaucho to play in the Olympics — although not for the United States. He represented Australia at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta 10 years after his graduation.
Fisher lured UCSB classmate Conner Henry — No. 19 on the school’s scoring charts — Down Under after Henry’s two seasons in the NBA to help him coach the Perth Wildcats. Henry would later become Perth’s head coach.
Other stars in that era’s constellation were Brian Vaughns, Gary Gray, Paul Johnson, Idris Jones, Mike Meyer, Ray Kelly, Doug Muse and Lelan McDougal.
Era of the New Millennium
(The Bob Williams Years, 1999-2017)
The Starting Five — Mark Hull, Branduinn Fullove, Alex Harris, Orlando Johnson and Alan Williams.
The history — Mark Hull, the first player whom coach Bob Williams ever recruited, is best remembered for his eight three-pointers and 31 points that nearly upset Arizona in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. He ranks ninth on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,580 points.
The other four each won Big West Player of the Year honors: Branduinn Fullove in 2003, Alex Harris in 2008, Orlando Johnson in 2010, and Alan Williams in 2014.
Harris became the first Gaucho to average more than 20 points per game in back-to-back seasons (2006-2007 and 2007-2008). He was UCSB’s all-time leading scorer with 1,696 points before Johnson passed him with 1,825 in 2012.
Johnson led UCSB to its first back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2010 and 2011). His pro career included stints with four NBA teams (Indiana, Sacramento, Phoenix and New Orleans) after his selection in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft.
He’s toured the world for the last decade — playing in 12 countries on four continents — before returning to the Thunderdome this season as a Gaucho color analyst for Fall Productions’ ESPN+ telecasts.
Johnson told Williams, his freshman teammate in 2012, that “this team is yours now” when he departed for the NBA. Williams responded by averaging double-doubles in his last two seasons (21.3 points, 11.5 rebounds in 2014 and 17.3 points, 11.8 rebounds in 2015).
“Big Al” or “Big Sauce,” as he was alternately known, finished second to Johnson in the school record books with 1,732 points.
Williams also followed Johnson into the NBA to play for Phoenix and Brooklyn, as well as to such foreign destinations as China, Russia and Australia.
Also Noteworthy — Coach Bob Williams actually included B.J. Bunton among his all-time starting Gauchos even though he played for him only during his first season of 1998-1999.
Bunton averaged 17.5 points and 6.8 rebounds for a UCSB team that won the Big West’s Western Division at a time when the 12-team league included such basketball powers as New Mexico State, Boise State and Utah State.
But James Nunnally, Johnson’s sidekick on the NCAA Tournament teams of 2010 and 2011, might be the toughest omission from Williams’ all-time starting five. He finished with 1,685 career points to rank fifth all-time at UCSB.
He and Johnson became the highest-scoring one-two punch in Gaucho history when they combined for 1,194 points in 2011.
They also became the first two players of the Bob Williams era to play in the NBA, with Nunnally getting brief stints in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Houston and New Orleans.
Others deserving mention include Nick Jones, Cecil Brown, Chris Devine, James Powell and Michael Bryson.
Era of the New Generation
(The coaching years of Joe Pasternack, 2017-present)
The Starting Five — Gabe Vincent, Max Heidegger, JaQuori McLaughlin, Amadou Sow, Ajay Mitchell
The history — Gabe Vincent’s knee injury sealed the fate of UCSB’s 6-22 season in 2016-2017. His earnest rehabilitation, however, also helped to rehabilitate the Gauchos the following season.
The Gauchos went 23-9 during Vincent’s final season — and coach Joe Pasternack’s first. It marked the biggest turnaround in the nation that year.
Vincent, who ranks 10th all-time at UCSB with 1,441 points, used his three-D production of three-point shooting and defense to help the Miami Heat reach last year’s NBA finals.
He signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Lakers last fall, although another knee injury has sidelined him for all but the first five games of this season. He’s expected back on the court next month.
Max Heidegger actually led that 2018 team in scoring with a 19.1-point average while setting a school record with 95 three-pointers.
He scored 1,347 points by the time he graduated in 2020, ranking 16th in school history, although he could’ve threatened Johnson’s record had he not suffered a series of concussions.
Heidegger is currently averaging 12.9 points and 3.6 assists in the NBA G League for the Windy City Bulls near Chicago.
JaQuori McLaughlin won Big West Player of the Year honors in 2021, averaging 16.0 points and 5.2 assists per game, to lead UCSB to a 22-5 record.
His play threw a scare into Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, with the Gauchos falling just short, 63-62.
He became the 10th Gaucho to make the NBA when the Dallas Mavericks gave him a look for four games the following year. His career has since been stalled by a series of injuries.
Amadou Sow, McLaughlin’s 6-9 junior teammate on the 2021 team, scored 1,620 points while becoming the first Gaucho to make the All-Big West first or second teams in all four of his seasons. He’s now playing for Slovenia’s Cedevita Olimpija.
The big question about Ajay Mitchell is not if but when he will play in the NBA. The 6-foot-5 point guard, who’s listed on most of this year’s mock draft boards as a second-round pick, could join Ford as the only Gauchos to ever leave early for the NBA.
Scouts are still trying to gauge his level of athleticism and shooting ability. He started the season on a gimpy ankle, which cost him two games, but he’s since averaged 19.6 points and 4.0 assists per game with improved three-point shooting of 36.2%.
A return to school next season could find Mitchell becoming the next Shaw instead of the next Ford, rising on those boards to become only the second first-round pick in UCSB history.
Mitchell could also set a standard all his own by becoming the first Gaucho to ever eclipse 2,000 career points. His current total of 1,334 ranks 17th all-time at UCSB and, at his current pace, would have him break Johnson’s record.
Also Noteworthy — Leland King, Miles Norris and Josh Pierre-Louis
Leland King was to Pasternack what Bunton was to coach Williams: A one-year wonder who helped kick-start his program.
“Leland was our first important recruit at UCSB,” he said of the graduate transfer from Nevada.
King became only the ninth Division I Gaucho to average a double-double (15.6 points and 10.2 rebounds).
He joined Heidegger on the 2018 All-Big West First Team to combine for 1,110 points during a 23-9 season. As one-two punches go, they rank second at UCSB behind only Johnson and Nunnally.
Miles Norris’ value as a shot-blocking, stretch-four forward helped UCSB set a school record last year with 27 victories and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. He averaged 14.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
A 6-10 transfer from Oregon, Norris became the 31st Gaucho to reach the 1,000-point mark despite playing only three seasons at the school, finishing with 1,037.
He’s still working for a shot at the NBA as a member of the G League’s College Park Skyhawks in suburban Atlanta.
Josh Pierre-Louis, nicknamed “Superman” by television announcers for his athletic plays, is approaching the Gauchos’ 1K Club with 953 points (he has 1,055 for his collegiate career when including his freshman year at Temple).
He would become the first Gaucho to play in three NCAA Tournaments if UCSB catches fire to win the Big West Tournament and write still another chapter in its long basketball history.