Everett Shelton served as a machine gunner in the Marines during WWI before becoming head coach at Wyoming in 1939. He left 20 years later with more than 300 wins, 8 conference titles, and the 1943 NCAA title. He was known for creating the 5-Man Weave Offense and helped develop Robert “Ace” Gruenig into the best center of his era and a future Hall of Famer. According to Shelton’s former player, 1943 tourney MOP, and inventor of the 1-handed jump shot Kenny Sailors, “Next to God, my mother, and my wife, he was the most influential person in my life.” Shelton passed away in 1974 but was posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980. Sailors was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 and lived until age 95 before passing away last week. Sailors’ funeral took place earlier today on the campus of the University of Wyoming, followed by his burial in Greenhill Cemetery. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel had the privilege of interviewing Kenny in years past about his famous coach, which we are proud to publish for the very 1st time below. We send our condolences to Kenny’s family as well as Wyoming fans everywhere.
In 1932 Shelton developed the 5-Man Weave Offense: how did he come up with the idea, and what made it so effective? I am not sure how he came up with it, but of the 26 coaches I had he had the best understanding of the science/tactics of the sport. The weave had a lot to do with us winning a title and the coaches back East did not like it. It is a screening offense where you pass to a teammate and then move to another area. We always had to be careful about not fouling out when we played back East with refs who were not used to seeing us a lot, and the opposing coaches would work the refs extra-hard when facing us.
In the 1937 AAU national tourney as coach of the Denver Safeways he beat Clair Bee’s LIU team and then had a 5-PT win over the Phillips 66ers to win the title: how unstoppable was that team (led by future Hall of Famers Jack McCracken/Ace Gruenig)? We beat pretty much every team back then with the weave offense. Some coaches tried to convince the refs that we were running an illegal offense due to the contact but we never initiated the contact. All offenses today set screens: it is a simple offense once you learn the technique. McCracken/Gruenig were 2 of the greatest players I ever played with or against. Gruenig is probably 1 of the best big men in the history of the game.
After becoming coach at Wyoming he won 8 conference titles in an 18-year span from 1941-1958: how was he able to be so dominant over such a long period of time? He was a great coach and understood the psychology of young athletes. He had won an AAU title before coming to Wyoming so he expected to win a title after arriving here. I thought very highly of him.
Take me through the magical 1943 NCAA tourney:
Your team went 31-2 that season despite playing only 9 home games: how were you able to have so much success despite so many road games (the team went 22-2 away from home)? Shelton trained us from day 1 about how ridiculous it was to complain about playing on the road. He knew that the only chance people had to beat us was if we were forced to play in a tiny YMCA-type gym. We had the best court in our part of the country but there was nothing different about Madison Square Garden or other gyms around the nation. The only difference was getting booed vs. getting cheered: he said “they never booed a bum” so we enjoyed it! I had never been on a train or airplane before so it was a big deal to me.
Milo Komenich scored 22 PTS in a 3-PT win over Oklahoma and 17 PTS in a 4-PT win over Texas: where does Komenich rank among the best teammates you ever had, and how did Shelton turn him into an All-American? Shelton saw Milo in the AAU tourney as a young player and recognized that he was big/strong/tough guy. He convinced Milo that he owned the key and it was his job to keep everyone out of there. I had a lot of respect for Milo: he had a terrific hook shot so I loved to set him up to score in the post. Shelton knew what big men needed to do in the post and knew the psychology involved in teaching big men to play tough with good footwork without getting called for a lot of fouls. The key was repetition.
You scored 16 PTS to beat Georgetown in the title game and wound up being named tourney MOP: what did it mean to you to win the title, and how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most? He kept us in the right attitude. The NYC newspapers were pretty negative toward us by saying that we were a tiny school that did not belong there, so Shelton told us to go out there and show everyone how well we could play. He always told us that we could beat anyone: he pounded it into us. We were cocky even as freshmen so by the time we were seniors we still wanted to prove to everyone that we could win.
2 days after winning the tourney you played NIT champ St. John’s at MSG in a game to benefit the Red Cross and pulled out a 5-PT OT win in your final game before joining the Marines: what kind of emotional roller-coaster were you on after going coast-to-coast for the game-winner at the buzzer at the end of regulation…only to have the refs rule that St. John’s had called timeout after tying it up with 5 seconds left? We wondered about that for a time but Shelton never gave it a 2nd thought. I am sure they thought they had a great advantage after Milo fouled out, but we brought in Jim Weir who was also big/strong. Jim was the fastest big man that I ever played with or against. When St. John’s All-American Harry Boykoff came out to guard him at the high post, Weir would drive right around him.
In 1959 he served a 1-year term as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches: why did he take the job, and how did he like it? He was a good man so I could see how he would be good in any basketball job. He understood the game and understood human nature.
He passed away in 1974: when people look back on his career, how do you think he should be remembered the most? If they really knew who he was then they would have to realize what a great coach he was. He just seemed to understand the little things about the game defensively that coaches today do not know.
He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? I learned a lot of little things from him, like how to set a screen without being called for a foul. I played for some good coaches but none as great as him. He was able to discipline his players without turning them off. He was an old WWI Marine who had a tough attitude but he was a good man in so many ways. I never heard him use a cuss word or any slang: he was never angry at us and just wanted us to be the best. We really hit it off because he needed a PG who could drive to the basket: we had a lot of mutual respect and remained friends for the rest of our lives. I bought into the system because he was a master psychologist. When I made the pros my coach (Hall of Fame player Dutch Dehnert) told me that he would have to teach me how to shoot a 2-handed set shot. He also thought that I dribbled the ball too much so needless to say I spent a lot of time on the bench! I had created my own 1-handed jump shot (which was weird to a lot of people at the time), and Shelton was smart enough to leave me alone because he could see that it worked for me. I worked on jumping straight up rather than moving forward and drawing an offensive foul.