Back In McCasland: Lon Kruger, Alvan Adams Look Back on Oklahoma‘s Storied History In Field House
For the first time since 2012, Oklahoma basketball will be played in historic McCasland Field House.
If that wasn’t enough to set the scene, the Sooners will be playing in front of an electrified crowd of students only.
And a couple members of OU basketball’s royal family — who actually played in the arena — think it’s a great idea.
"Now that I've been a younger person and an older person, younger people tend to have more energy to throw out there at any type of event," OU legend Alvan Adams said. "Whether they're watching a car race, or OU football, or OU basketball, men's or women's. Younger people are gonna have more energy. They're gonna be a little crazy.”
"It's a great opportunity for the students," former Sooners head coach Lon Kruger said. "I really hadn't heard of that being done before where it's students-only, but hopefully they'll turn out in huge numbers and make it a fun night."
It should provide for a special atmosphere in a special building — one that has seen its fair share of electric basketball games through the ages.
“I’m excited about this game," head coach Porter Moser said. "The atmosphere there, I’m a historian, I love history paving the way for the future. I came here to a volleyball game my first year here, and to see Alvan Adams, Gar Heard, legends that played here, and I just started visualizing like what would it look like with this vertical arena.
"I’ve been everywhere trying to get the students to have such an impact. So I just thought it would be cool for the students to see how loud it can get right on top of the floor. I think it’s gonna be a great atmosphere.”
McCasland Field House is now home to the Oklahoma volleyball team and the Sooner wrestling program, but it used to house thousands of screaming fans during one of the greatest eras of Oklahoma basketball ever seen.
McCasland Field House
NATE BILLINGS / USA TODAY NETWORK
Located in the heart of the Oklahoma campus, just north of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, the Howard McCasland Field House opened in 1928 and was the place to be. The stands were close to the court and the spectators were packed in, making it easy for the student section to torment opposing teams and allowing the crowd to sway the momentum of every home game.
The Sooners opened up with a home win in the OU Field House as it was known back in the day, beating the Kansas Jayhawks 45-19 on January 13, 1928.
McCasland Field House would go onto host some good teams and provide a rock-solid base for the history of the Oklahoma basketball program. The Sooners’ record in the OU Field House, which was home to the Oklahoma basketball team from 1928-1975, stands at 320-153 (.677). There’s history that goes far beyond the wins and losses, too.
It was home to the 1946-47 Bruce Drake-led team that advanced to that year's NCAA title game in Madison Square Garden, where the Sooners lost to Holy Cross and a young freshman named Bob Cousy.
The Sooners hosted many other big names inside the Field House, including Hall of Fame player Alex English and former NBA player and coach Mike Dunleavy. Kansas legend Walt Wesley took the court, as did Iowa State’s Zaid Abdul-Aziz, formerly known as Don Smith, whose jersey now hangs in the Ames rafters. Bud Stallworth suited up at McCasland during his Big Eight Player of the Year campaign in 1972. Colorado's Cliff Meely took a trip to the Field House before breaking Buffalo records and landing in the top 10 of the NBA Draft.
Crazy enough, the great Wilt Chamberlain took on the Sooners in the historic Field House, leading the Jayhawks to a 59-51 victory in 1957. The season after, when Chamberlain came to town again, Doyle Parrack’s Sooners got the best of Kansas with a 64-62 win.
The Field House is where Kruger, who led the Sooners to a Final Four in 2015-16 as the head coach, took the court as a player for the Kansas State Wildcats.
Kruger played three games in McCasland Field House, and won just one of those contests.
"It was a very, very good atmosphere and Oklahoma had some really good players," Kruger told All Sooners. "The history, the tradition of OU basketball, a number of good players that played in in McCasland, is outstanding.
"The smaller size, of course, makes for a more intimidating crowd. You know, you're right there, you're packed in. And then always the number of good players they had at OU during that time, that played there, is what really made it tough. So again, it's a special place."
Kruger ended his illustrious coaching career as the head coach of Oklahoma, bringing his Field House memories full circle. The team's home games were in Lloyd Noble Center — opened in 1976 and often billed as “The House That Alvan Built” — but he took his squad over to McCasland for a few exhibition matches.
"We went over there a couple times," Kruger said, shifting course to his coaching career at Oklahoma. "Good, good crowds, good atmosphere. And it sounds like they're gonna have a special crowd with students only, I didn't realize that. That's a really neat idea. And hopefully the students will turn out, because the OU team is really good. Coach Moser does a great job and I've really enjoyed watching them play. So it should be a great night."
Kruger finished his coaching career in Norman with a record of 195-125 and seven tournament appearances in 10 years. He reached the Final Four in 2015-16 and recorded just one losing season in his tenure.
As a player at Kansas State, he squared off against Adams, who ironically was part of the last Oklahoma team to call McCasland home.
Adams was special from the moment he touched the Field House court, as he recorded 34 points and 28 rebounds in his first collegiate game. He was on the last Oklahoma team that played in the Field House permanently in 1975 before transitioning to the NBA, where he would enjoy a 13-year career with the Phoenix Suns.
"Well, I remember that it was so close to our dorm. … It was so close you walked to the game," Adams said in an interview with AllSooners. "When I was there, when we were playing against Lonnie Kruger at Kansas State there, it was nice to be close because we walked to class and then we walked to the games. As far as the building went, going from a high school to there, it was like 'Wow, this is the major leagues.’
"It was an old building. It was an historic structure. It was a small building, it wasn't as big as Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence but still it was our home. We had 'Alvan's Army' on the south end under the basket, those couple rows there. And the locker room was nothing more than some lockers and a few showers."
For the players, McCasland was more than just a basketball arena, though. There was a tremendous amount of pride behind defending the home floor and helping Oklahoma become more than just a football school.
"Quite simply, it was home," Adams said. "It was home court. And everyone knows we don't lose at home. And we didn't lose many games there at all in my three years. The crowd was loud. The crowd was always for us. And the fans were close to us, which was nice."
Adams dominated opponents in McCasland, especially during the 1973-74 season. He led the conference in total points, points per game, total rebounds, true shooting percentage and field goal attempts.
He averaged 21.2 points and 12.1 rebounds per game that year, leading Oklahoma to an 18-8 record. Adams was named the Big Eight player of the year in 1975, and his jersey is now hanging at LNC.
Alvan Adams
OU Athletics
In the final regular-season game the Sooners called the Field House home, Adams poured in a career-high 43 points and ripped down 25 rebounds before declaring for the NBA Draft. He was selected fourth overall by the Suns.
"One reason I went to OU, was because of Sooner football team," Adams said. "I visited Vanderbilt, Kansas State, Rice, and went to football games at some of these places. I go, 'I want to be part of a great athletic program, so' — and watching OU football, growing up on that, I wanted to keep watching that. I don't want to see Kansas State play football.
"And we (the basketball team) had the same kinds of fans. We didn't get the 57,000 football fans. But the 6,000 fans we got were going crazy for us. We wanted to protect our record and the fans came and were excited to watch college basketball and cheer us on to victory."
Oklahoma’s high-flying basketball team wasn’t the only ones putting on performances in the Field House, though. It was home to some of the best musicians and most famous politicians, too, adding to its mysterious and illustrious history.
Ray Charles took the stage at McCasland in 1962, Aretha Franklin in 1969, Jimi Hendrix the year after in 1970 — and depending on who you ask, Elvis Presley might’ve even made an appearance. Future President Jimmy Carter spoke to a Field House crowd in 1976, and President Bill Clinton gave a speech in 2008.
McCasland's rich tradition and history stretches far beyond the sport of basketball, and that's what makes it such a special venue. It's been a staple of the University of Oklahoma since the 1920s, and on Thursday, it will come alive again for the first time in a long time.
The Sooners are hosting the first ever 'students-only' game against Arkansas Pine-Bluff and the fans will once again be packed in and right on top of the home court. Both Kruger and Adams were enthralled by the idea, and would've loved to compete in an environment like that.
"I don't remember any rowdiness or craziness back then that was beyond acceptable,” Adams said. “It was just 'Hey, when you're shooting a free throw at the south end, you're gonna see all types of motion and people yelling at you to miss. and be in that close.’ Like some of these old buildings are, like our fans were there in McCasland, it was closer to the action. Younger fans with energy is going to translate into an advantage for the home team."
Oklahoma's McCasland Field House.
OU Athletics
Kruger has coached in some crazy environments over the course of his 35-year college coaching career, but the students-only dynamic is one that is completely unique.
For the first time in Porter Moser's tenure, the Sooners are nationally ranked at No. 25 and off to the best start (6-0) since Kruger's Final Four team. It's an exciting time for both the fans and the team, and the program seems to be headed in the right direction.
The students-only crowd will welcome the Sooners back to the floor Thursday night, and McCasland Field House will add another chapter to its historic book.
"I've had a chance to catch them (OU) several times and really, really like their team," Kruger said. "They play with great energy, they play with confidence. They are really, really good defensively. A lot of different guys can step up and make plays. Very, very fun to watch."
"And no surprise, Coach Moser does a great job and I know he will keep them going."
Oklahoma and Arkansas Pine-Bluff tip off at 7 p.m. on Thursday night, and the old magic of McCasland Field House will live another day.
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