DePaul University Athletics
Quiet All-American Triptow Brought National Prominence to DePaul
3/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | D CLUB
CHICAGO - Jack Phelan was enjoying his retirement in Florida when he was hit with some bad news.
A former DePaul basketball teammate and good friend for some 70 years, Dick Triptow, had passed away at the age of 92 on Feb. 20 in north suburban Lake Forest.
"I found out during a visit from Thad Dohrn and Father (John T.) Richardson," Phelan said. "That really shook me up. We had been friends for such a long time, and we had attended a lot of banquets together over the years. This guy was a real gentleman."
The news launched Phelan on a trip down memory lane with one flashback after another centered around the 6-foot All-American guard who helped lead the Blue Demons to a runner-up finish at the 1944 NIT.
That 1943-44 team featured a 6-10 sophomore center named George Mikan who was virtually unstoppable in the era of the six-foot wide free throw lane. Triptow was adept at feeding Mikan in the post while orchestrating an attack that also included 6-7 Whitey Kachan, Jack Allen, Gene Stump, Jack Dean, Ernie DiBenedetto and Phelan---a 6-5 backup center who said he did a lot of cheering from the bench.
"I was one of 14 freshmen playing on DePaul's team with George and Dick, our only senior," Phelan said. "Dick was a great All-American guard with an awful lot of speed.
"I remember Dick being tremendously fast with long strides who could take off at the free throw line, glide to the basket and score on a shot inside. He would be at full-speed on his second step. That made him very hard to guard.
"Right off the bat we started out fast and won our first 13 games. Our first loss was at Valparaiso 65-57 in a game where there seemed to be a little home cooking with the officials. That's how it was back in those days.
"Three weeks later when they came to DePaul, we beat them 69-38."
Legendary coach Ray Meyer was in his second season after guiding the Blue Demons to the NCAA Final Four the previous year.
"Dick was an excellent ballhandler and had the ability to drive and get the ball into George in the post," Phelan said. "George was as good a post player as there was in the game. Back then, the free throw lane was six feet wide and there was no way to stop him. He was the reason the lane was widened to 12 feet. They had to get him away from the basket.
"Dick was a very upbeat guy and coach Meyer was very positive about him. You never heard a harsh word or any nastiness out of Dick. He was always a popular guy who never said anything bad about anybody.
"He was on the quiet side and a good student. You could come to him with a problem and he would provide great direction. For all of us freshmen, he was like our father figure.
"On the road or at home, we always went out as a unit. There would be 12 or 13 guys going out at the same time. That's how close our team was back then. Our two captains were Dick and George."
Triptow & Co. won seven of their last eight games in going 20-3 during the regular season. They opened the NIT---which back then was equal to the NCAA tournament---with a 68-45 victory over Muhlenberg.
Then came the NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden where Meyer and Mikan were matched up against Oklahoma A&M with legendary coach Hank Iba and 7-1 center Bob Kurland.
The Blue Demons fell behind 15-2 after the first 10 minutes in front of more than 18,000 fans. DePaul rallied behind Stump and Dean to come within 24-18 at halftime.
The Kurland-Mikan matchup should have been was one for the ages. Many experts believed Kurland was a bit more refined as a player than Mikan. The game was hyped as "The Battle of the Big Men" because of their complete dominance on both ends of the court.
With no goal-tending rule back then, the two giants would sweep seemingly-made shots off the rim or out of the basket. As a result, the NCAA created goal-tending rules for the following season.
The marquee matchup never materialized as Mikan fouled out with four minutes gone in the second half with just nine points and Kurland followed several minutes later with 14 points.
Oklahoma A&M had to play the final 90 seconds with only four players as the rest had fouled out. The man advantage helped DePaul seal the 41-38 victory---outscoring the Aggies 23-14 in the second half.
"After George fouled out, I came in to face Kurland," Phelan said. "I was told to run around and make him follow me.
"Coach Meyer said: `If Kurland follows you, run to the corner. If he keeps following you, run to half-court. If he's still following you, run down Broadway.' Defensively, I tried to front him and hope they didn't make accurate passes over the top.
"Coach Iba was known for running a patterned game. So, all of us had a pretty good idea what they were going to do and were ready on defense."
DePaul advanced to the NIT title game, falling to St. John's and Hall of Fame coach Joe Lapchick 47-39.
"We played a great game against St. John's, but give them a lot of credit for playing a better game," Phelan said. "They had a guy named Bill Kotsores who was named the tournament MVP."
The 1943-44 Blue Demons ended their season with a 22-4 mark and set several offensive records. They scored more than 80 points in a game four times to set a new standard at DePaul.
Phelan recalled how Mikan and Triptow reconnected in the pros.
"Dick and George were very close to each other," Phelan said. "They both wound up playing for the Chicago Gears in the National Basketball League for three years and winning a title. They played their home games at the old Coliseum. When that team split up, Dick went to the Fort Wayne Pistons and George to the Minneapolis Lakers."
Following his DePaul career, Triptow played pro basketball for six years and penned the book, "The Dynasty that Never Was," which chronicled Chicago's first professional basketball championship.
Nicknamed "Tip Toe" Triptow by legendary Chicago broadcaster Jack Brickhouse, Triptow averaged 10 points a game as a rookie. In 1948-49, the Fort Wayne franchise entered the Basketball Association of America which was the precursor to the National Basketball Association. The Blue Demon guard finished his career playing for the Baltimore Bullets. Mikan passed away in June of 2005.
After his pro basketball career, Triptow taught and coached at St. Patrick's High School from 1950-59. He then accepted a coaching position at Lake Forest College where he coached four different sports until 1973. His final move was to Lake Forest High School where he worked until retirement in 1988.
The Triptow family will host a celebration of his life at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Gorton Community Center, 400 E. Illinois Rd. in Lake Forest.