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land Herm Gilliam because most of the colleges in his Big Ten at 9-5, Purdue's highest finish in 18 years. home state of North Carolina were not recruiting black Merriweather hit a game-winning 18-foot jumper with players. eight seconds left for a two-point win against MichiSo, Purdue having three black starters in the 1957- gan State, setting up a showdown the following week 58 season qualified as a significantly progressive at Indiana in the second-to-last game of the season. move. The irony is that if Eddy had not added so many Austin, however, picked up four quick fouls and Eison black players two years earlier, it might have landed left the game with a knee injury, helping Indiana to Robertson, who went on to become one of the game's a 109-95 victory and the conference championship by all-time greats. After leading Attucks to a second con- one game over Purdue and Michigan State. secutive state title in 1956, Robertson had his choice With all five starters returning the following season, of colleges. He wanted to play at Indiana, and visit- Purdue was a favorite to win the Big Ten title and the ed the school with his high school coach, Ray Crowe, accompanying automatic berth in the NCAA tournawith the intent of signing with the Hoosiers. IU coach ment in '59. Sports Illustrated, for one, made the preBranch McCracken, however, kept him waiting outside diction in its college basketball preview. After losing his office for at least a half-hour, and then greeted him its season opener at second-ranked Kansas State, it by saying, "You're not one of those players who wants ran off seven consecutive victories. The final two of to be paid to go to school, are you?" them brought the championship of the Hoosier ClasOffended, Robertson got up and left. Merriweather sic, an annual holiday tournament at Butler that also claims Robertson would have gone to Purdue at that included IU and Notre Dame. Purdue beat Butler and point if not for the fact he would have bumped at least Notre Dame by double-figure margins to win the tourone of the black players already on the team to the nament, with Merriweather earning MVP honors. bench. That championship, however, also brought an end "Had it just been me and maybe one other (black to Purdue's dreams for the season. Austin, according player), Oscar would have come to Purdue," Merri- to Merriweather, slipped and fell late in the game, weather said. fracturing a kneecap. While he recovered, Purdue lost Robertson, writing in his autobiography about his three of its first four Big Ten games, immediately fallrecruiting process following his disappointing expe- ing out of the conference race. It finished in anothrience at IU, was more vague: "I thought hard about er tie for second place, four games back of Michigan Purdue. Willie Merriweather was there, but it was not State. Only conference champions could play in the to be." Robertson would have elevated Purdue's program to heights not seen since John Wooden had led it to a national championship in 1932. Without him, the Boilermakers settled for being highly competitive. They had finished 16-6 in 1956, easily the best record in Eddy's six seasons as coach, when Merriweather's EvEry AnglE. class were freshmen and did not E v E r y P o s s i b i l i t y. play. They were 15-7 when Merriweather was coming off the bench Mobile banking FroM anywhere in '57, and then 14-8 in '58 when he, Local banking goes global with mobile banking at Lafayette Eison and Austin started together Savings Bank. Their mobile app is perfect for my busy lifestyle—and yours. Check out mobile banking at Lafayette as juniors. That balanced team fin- Savings Bank today. www.lsbank.com | 742-1064 ished in a tie for second place in the David Boudia, Olympic gold medalist 88 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 1 f