Vanderbilt University Men's Basketball Quiz

Answer: Memorial Gymnasium

Memorial Gym is one of the older facilities in college basketball. It was built in 1952 and has a seating capacity of over 14,000. It was dedicated to Vanderbilt students and alumni who were killed during WWII. It has been referred to as the "Fenway Park of college basketball", and Vanderbilt's many last-second wins and upsets there have led to sportswriters referring to the phenomena as "Memorial Magic".

Answer: The team's benches are located at the ends of the court

The gym's playing floor is situated above the lower level seats, much like a stage. That unique design made it necessary to place the benches at the end of the court. That was not a highly unusual situation when the facility was constructed. The benches location is said to give Vanderbilt a major home court advantage, and many visiting coaches complain about the arrangement.

Answer: He was the first African-American to receive a SEC varsity scholarship

In 1966, Wallace became the first African-American to receive a Southeastern Conference varsity scholarship, and the first to play varsity basketball. Wallace was the recipient of many threats and racial taunts when traveling to other SEC schools. He was the first African-American to finish four years of competition in the SEC. During his senior season, Wallace was named team captain and was named second team All-SEC.

After his graduation, the universities of Alabama, Kentucky, Florida, and Georgia opened the 1970 season with integrated teams. Wallace went on to a successful law career, and was the second Commodore to have his number retired.

Answer: Clyde Lee

Lee was a forward/center. The Nashville native led Vanderbilt to their first SEC championship during the 1964-1965 season. That same season, he led his team to the NCAA regional finals where they lost to Michigan 87-85. He was named an All-American during his senior season as well as the "SEC Player of the Year".

He went on to play in the NBA from 1966 to 1976. He played for the San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Atlanta Hawks. He was the first Vanderbilt basketball player to have his jersey retired. So many people wanted to see Lee play that the school expanded the seating capacity of their gym.

The expansion project became known as "the Balconies that Clyde Built".

Answer: Town and Country

Charles Davis was from the city of Nashville. After his Vanderbilt career, he went on to play for eight seasons in the NBA. Davis played for the Washington Bullets, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls. In 2006, he received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award.

He has returned to Nashville and oversaw his philanthropic foundation. Mike Rhodes was from the rural Perry County, Tennessee. He came in as one of Tennessee's most prolific scorers in Tennessee high school history, scoring over 3200 points.

He got his degree in Engineering Science and Geology and returned as an engineer to his home county. Together, this double scoring threat lit up scoreboards at Vanderbilt and around the SEC and because of their urban and rural backgrounds.

Answer: Jan Van Breda Koff

Jan Van Breda Koff played for Vanderbilt from 1970 to 1974. In 1974, he led the Commodores to their second SEC championship, was named the SEC Player of the Year and was tabbed as an All-American. VBK played professionally from 1975 to 1983 with the Denver Nuggets, Kentucky Colonels, and Virginia Squires of the ABA and the New York/New Jersey Nets of the NBA.

His college coaching career began at Cornell in 1991. In 1993, he came to Vanderbilt where during his six-year tenure, he led the team to three NIT appearances and one NCAA tournament appearance.

He coached Pepperdine from 1999 to 2001 where he had a .734 winning percentage before going to St. Bonaventure. His coaching stint there ended in 2003 after a scandal over the admission of a player without proper academic credentials, led to the team forfeiting a number of games. VBK denied any knowledge of the admission snafu.

Answer: They are the only teams to hit a three-point field goal in every game

The three-point field goal was introduced to college basketball during the 1986-87 season. After much experimentation, the NCAA decided to set a uniform three-point shot line at 19 feet and 9 inches from the basket at the beginning of the 1986-87 season.

In 2007, the line was moved to 20 feet 9 inches. At the conclusion of the 2009 season, Vanderbilt had hit a three-point shot in 728 consecutive games. UNLV and Princeton had also hit at least one three-point goal in every game they have played in since the 1986 rule change.

Answer: Roy Skinner

Bob Polk was hired as Vanderbilt's first full-time coach after Kentucky beat the Commodores 98-29 in the SEC tournament in 1947. At the time of his hiring, Polk had been an assistant at Georgia Tech. The new coach immediately began building Vanderbilt into a basketball power.

His first year he experienced his only losing season as a head coach (8-14), and in 1951 he did what was thought impossible, as he led his team to a 61-57 victory over number one ranked Kentucky, winning Vanderbilt's first SEC tournament championship.

In 1961, bad health forced Polk to retire, and his assistant Roy Skinner was hired to replace him. Skinner coached at Vanderbilt until 1976 compiling a record of 278-135, and winning two SEC championships (1965, 1975). C.M. Newton coached Vanderbilt from 1981 to 1989, leading them to a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA tournaments. Eddie Fogler coached Vanderbilt from 1989 to 1993. Fogler led the Commodores to a National Invitational Tournament championship in 1990, and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1993. Phil Lee was Vanderbilt's first full-time women's basketball coach.

He was there from 1980 to 1991.

Answer: F Troop

A Nashville newspaper sports editor coined the term "F-Troop". Ford, Fosnes, and Feher all came to Vanderbilt in 1972 as part of a lauded freshman class. Fosnes finished his career as, at the time, the school's second all-time leading scorer. The two-time All-SEC first team player went on to become a physician. Ray "Butch" Feher came to Vanderbilt from Michigan.

He was named third-team All-SEC and played one year for the Phoenix Suns before returning to Tennessee to enter the family business. Joe Ford was smallest of the three players.

He was considered the guy who did the little things to help a team win and was the first of the trio to crack the starting line-up. Ford was an excellent free throw shooter, and is remembered for hitting two free throws with no time left on the clock to give Vanderbilt a victory over Kentucky in 1973.

After college, Ford went into the insurance business in his home state of Kentucky. The F-Troop was part of the team that won the 1974 SEC championship.

Answer: Shan Foster

Shan Foster came to Vanderbilt from Louisiana. At the time of his graduation, he was Vanderbilt's leading scorer with 2011 points. In 2008, Foster was selected as the SEC Player of the Year, second team All-American (Associated Press), and was awarded the 2008 Lowe's Senior Class Award. After college, Foster continued his playing career in Europe.