- This topic has 0 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 7 months, 3 weeks ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
Ahead of the final regular season game of the 1963-64 season, rising sophomore guard Bill Melchionni was informed by Villanova head coach Jack Kraft that he would move into the starting lineup. While the news was an exciting step for a blossoming star, it was also something of a shock given the Wildcats were 21-3 and on track to receive an NCAA Tournament bid.
“I hadn’t started a game all season,” said Melchionni, the surprise of the move still evident in his voice on the telephone from his home in Florida.
The switch to the starting lineup would come at the expense of George Leftwich, who only two seasons before had been ½ of one of the nation’s most electric backcourts beside Wali Jones. However, that was before a major knee injury suffered in an automobile accident cost Leftwich the 1962-63 season. The lingering affects would impact his mobility for the balance of his college career.
“George had started the whole year,” recalled Melchionni, “and I was a little worried about what his reaction might be. George was so widely respected and had started throughout his time in college.
“But George came to me and was very gracious. You couldn’t have asked for a better response from a teammate. To me, it was just a reflection of the kind of high character guy George was.”
Earlier this week news spread among the Wildcats of the 1960s that Leftwich, a 1965 VU graduate, had died on June 18. The news was shared on social media by Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C., which helped launch Leftwich’s playing career and which he later served as head basketball coach and athletics director. (The court at Carroll now bears his name).
“George was just the consummate teammate,” noted another fellow former Wildcat, Bernie Schaffer.
“He was always a team player,” added another teammate, Jim McMonagle, a fellow starter with Leftwich on an iconic 1961-62 Nova squad.
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.