New Book Captures Men’s Basketball’s Magical Season 50 Years Later

Unforgettable Knights by 1976 Jeff Kleinbaum recounts treasured moments in team history

This coming March marks 50 years since the magical run by the men's basketball team.

During the 1975-76 season, the team won 31 straight games before losing in the NCAA Final Four. All five starters were eventually named All-Americans and then inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame.

The team would score 90 points or more 25 times. Ten times they would score at least 100 points.

And that was before the 3-point shot.

Attendance at the College Avenue Gym was sold out every game, with crowds packed in at 2,800.

Now anyone can relive those days through Jeff Kleinbaum's new book: Unforgettable Knights, which takes the '75-76 season out of the cobwebs, for both the older generation and those who only know of that season from hand-me-down stories.

Kleinbaum's book features interviews with players as they reflect on their memories and lives over the past 50 years and with fans from back in the day. He also takes readers back to the games in the College Avenue Gym and at the Final Four.

By the end of the month the book should be available on Amazon and likely in stores like Barnes & Noble, said Kleinbaum, who was a senior guard on the legendary team.

During the 1975-76 season, the team won 31 straight games before losing in the NCAA Final Four. All five starters were eventually named All-Americans and then inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame.

"As time went by," he said recently, "The players and I started talking about the anniversary, and it struck me; we're getting older and guys are going to pass on, just like Phil Sellers did and Coach Tom Young, and the whole season was just going to be a few lines in a book somewhere.''

"I checked with my teammates and they loved the idea of a book, and that gave me motivation to move forward with it,'' Kleinbaum said. "But the problem was I'd never written a book. But after I started writing, I realized, I can do this."

He described the process as "Amazing,'' adding, "Even though I've always connected with my teammates, it's on a different level now.

"It brought us together again, and I loved that," said Kleinbaum, who became known as Mr. 100 - scoring the 100^th point seven times that season.

"I felt a very strong sense of accomplishment because I felt I did something great for the team. It's hard to describe. It's a lifetime bond, and this brought us to a new level. It's been phenomenal."

On Oct. 16, Kleinbaum and his teammates will take part in "Meet The Players" night. More than 200 fans purchased tickets for an evening that will include watching practice at Jersey Mike's, a cocktail hour at RWJBarnabas Heath Athletic Performance Center, and a chance to interact with players on the practice floor.

All in attendance will be given a copy of the book.

The '76 team played in a different atmosphere then fans experience today at the 8,000-seat Jersey Mike's Arena. But Kleinbaum remembers the feeling at games as truly captivating.

"There was nothing like playing in the Barn," he said. "You weren't just in the game; you were in the crowd. It's hard to describe. I couldn't understand how an opponent could come in here and win, and obviously they didn't that year."

The '75-'76 team played at the College Ave Gym, referred to as the barn, before the current 8,000 seat venue opened.

Early in the season the senior felt the team would be pretty good, but after a 105-82 thrashing of Boston College in early December, his optimism took off.

Kleinbaum, who went on to coach high school, remembers the more the team won, the more close knit they became.

"We understood each other,'' Kleinbaum said. "We hung together on road trips. It was like extension of the locker room."

Sellers, who played in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons, was the leader of the team, though senior Mike Dabney was the captain. The starting lineup included junior Eddie Jordan, sophomore Hollis Copeland, and freshman James Bailey.

"Phil's intensity was incredible. They talk about his scowl," he said with a laugh. "But he was kind, a great teammate, and would help somebody on the court or off. But if you were guarding him he'd want to kill you."

His attitude was tempered when Coach Tom Young took over the team during his sophomore year.

"As soon as Tom came in he put his stamp on the program. He addressed things immediately. No nonsense, which was exactly what we needed," he said. "He proved it as time went on and he adjusted to us. He saw our quickness and brought in guys like Jordan, Hollis Copeland, Mark Conlin, Steve Hefele, James Bailey and Abdel Anderson. He got our respect, we did what he asked and it worked. And that's why all of us are so indebted to him."

Kleinbaum, who majored in History and minored in Economics, got a teaching job right out of college at Spotswood High School. From there he went to Union High, also as a boys basketball coach. After working for 10 years was a stockbroker, he came back to teaching in 1995 and spent five years at Middletown North before moving Whippany Park for 23 years - teaching and coaching at both schools. With two grown children, he now lives in Florham Park.

"A lot of credit goes to Rutgers for what they're doing for the team and me," Kleinbaum said. "Coach Pikiell has completely embraced the Rutgers past. He respects the past and he's leading the charge."

Does it feel like 50 years ago?

"No,'' said Kleinbaum, now 71. "Partly because the players keep in touch to this day. They're my brothers. They'll always be my brothers."