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Hoosier Players Helped Make USF's Hoop Dreams a Reality in 1971

by David Glaser, Bullseye, July 1999

They were Tampa's real life version of Hoosiers. A successful, veteran high school coach was hired to lead them, and three boys from Indiana who grew up with basketball as their religion were the team's heart and soul.

But this was no Hollywood script. This was the birth of a college basketball program at the University of South Florida in 1971.

And this is where an all-state high school quarterback decided to take chance.

"I was all set to go to Purdue and play football," John Kiser said. "But I just decided that what I really wanted to do was play basketball. Then when Coach (Don) Williams came to visit my house, he sold me that this new program he was starting in Tampa was where I needed to be."

Kiser has never regretted the decision.

Despite averaging 32 points and 20 rebounds a game as a senior at Northwestern High School in Kokomo, Ind. Kiser wasn't an all-state choice in basketball. He did, however, attract Williams' attention and became USF's first scholarship player. Soon after, two more Indiana natives, guards Tommy Davis and Bill Lear, joined Kiser in the first group of six scholarship players at South Florida.

"I hadn't played with or against Tommy or Bill, but we knew each other," Kiser said. "When you're playing, you keep your ears open about the other good players in the state, so we were familiar with each other. That was a big plus because we were all going so far away from home."

The bond was almost instantaneous. When the group, which also included Louisville, Kent. Native Rob Mineer, Arthur Jones from Mulberry and Fred Gibbs from Chicago, arrived in Tampa, they started makeshift practices on a court behind their DeSoto Hall housing on Fletcher Avenue.

"We'd run wind sprints and drills. We were all just really enthused about getting started. I think we all felt a real responsibility to work hard and make sure we were ready to play. We were going to make a little history," Kiser said.

That history began with a 74-73 win over Stetson in USF's first game. Kiser nailed down the victory with some late free throws.

What followed was an encouraging 8-17 campaign that included wins over Central Florida, Florida A&M, Rollins and others. Also included on the first year schedule were Florida, Alabama, Mississippi State, UNC-Charlotte, Wake Forest and St. Banaventure.

Kiser finished the first season as USF's top scorer, edging Davis in scoring average, 18.4 to 18.2. Those first Bulls played an uptempo style, and three times scored more than 100 points in a game. Mineer, at 6-foot 8, was the team's tallest player. Kiser played forward at 6-4 and still averaged nearly eight rebounds per game.

"We made up for our lack of size by hustling and being able to put the ball in the hole." he said. "Two passes and it was up."

Despite the historic start, however, homesickness soon began to take it's toll. By the start of the second of USF basketball, Davis and Lear had returned home to Indiana and Mineer had transferred to Louisville. Kiser and Jones, meanwhile, led the 1972-73 Brahmans to a 14-11 mark that included wins over Georgetown and Old Dominion. Kiser again was one of South Florida's top scoring threats, averaging 12.6 points, second on the team to Jones' 13.2.

The 1973-74 campaign proved to be the first of the two difficult ones for Kiser. During the season, his father developed cancer. Kiser spent his time shuttling between Tampa and Indiana, and appeared in just 19 games, averaging 7.5 points and 3.2 rebounds. The following year, he suffered a broken ankle in practice and ended his USF career off the court.

"Even with the way it ended, it was a real exciting time in my life,"

Kiser said. "We were always the underdog and we had play on the road so much. Nobody wanted to come and play us at Curtis Hixon downtown. I think playing there helped get the community and the newspaper to take notice and get behind us."

Kiser walked away from USF in 1975 with a degree in education and headed right back to Indiana, where he eventually opened his own insurance business in 1977. By 1986, Kiser was able to sell the profitable business and retire. A year later, he married his wife of 12 years, Helen. Then, in 1988, Kiser faced his toughest challenge yet, when he suffered kidney failure.

"I was on dialysis and went on the list for a transplant in Indiana and in Florida," he said. "But it's not something I dwelled on. When you have an illness, if you dwell on it, it just saddens you. I'm not that type of person."

In 1992, after nearly four years on dialysis, Kiser received a kidney transplant at Tampa General Hospital. Since then, he has been active with the National Kidney Foundation helping to raise $2.5 million in his home state through the Foundation's Crash Program.

"Basically what we do is come to your house or wherever and haul away you old car. We get the title, sell it and donate the money," Kiser said.

Because of his efforts, the Kidney Foundation's state volunteer award in Indiana is now called the Kiser Award.

Even though he has now also developed a form of Parkinson's disease which makes walking difficult, Kiser is as active and upbeat as ever. He has started another successful business, Angel, Inc., which installs security systems in residences and businesses. And he's rarely far from a basketball court during the winter months.

In his new home of Cicero, Ind., a town of just 2,000, Kiser is a fixture around the local Hamilton Heights High School. From 1993-96, he coached the seventh grade boys, and from 1997-98 he was a volunteer varsity assistant. School officials have pleaded with him to take charge of the girls program, but Kiser's multiple commitments have kept him from taking on that responsibility.

And, yes, he still maintains close ties to the university where he played.

"When I was coaching the seventh graders, we had a play called South Florida. On one trip to Tampa I brought back a bunch of USF t-shirts. Those were hot items. Every kid in school wanted a Bulls t-shirt," Kiser said.

"I catch the Bulls on TV as often as I can. The years have gone pretty fast. I was invited back for the 25th reunion and the team acknowledged the first guys by wearing vintage uniforms. When you see that, it makes you feel good that you were there at the start."

Re-printed with permission.