Hall of Fame
The 1970-71 Men's Basketball team was picked to finish near the bottom of that year's Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Association conference standings. However, after dropping the first game of the season to Quincy, the Bulldogs won 11 of their next 13 games.
That momentum propelled Coach Boyd King's men to an overall record of 18-9 overall and their 9-3 conference record gave them the MIAA title for the first time in 11 years. It also earned the Bulldogs a national ranking along with a hosting responsibilities for the NCAA College Division regional tournament.
The Bulldogs would win the first-round game 75-66 over North Dakota State University but fell in the regional championship game 60-48 to Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Seniors Charles Currie and Claude Wilson were named to the first team all-MIAA squad. Currie averaged a double-double with 12.2 points and 12.2 rebounds in the 27 games played that season. Wilson was the team's leading scorer with 16.1 points per outing while sophomore Lou Gregory was third in scoring at 11 points per game and 8.3 rebounds to earn honorable mention all-conference honors.
King, who retired following the season after 25 years on the Bulldog bench, was named the District Five College Division Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association. King is still the all-time leader in coaching wins at the school with 382 victories. King was a member of the 1983 inaugural Truman Athletics Hall of Fame class.
