The 1935-36 season marked the beginning of a great wave of talented young players. They came from across the country, big cities and small towns, some were big men who could rebound and score on second chances while others were smooth shooting small forwards and guards but they all had one thing in common: They could score. And they thrived on schools that embraced a more offensive focus to the game.

The best of the bunch, and arguably one of the best to ever play the sport was a Flushing, Michigan native by the name of Leon Reed. The star forward was the first player in history to be named a first-team All-American selection each of his four seasons and would also win the National Player of the Year award twice, including in 35-36 as freshman. Reed was a 6'8" giant who was dominant on the boards and inside but could also score consistently from 10-12 feet out. Almost singlehandedly he turned Ohio Poly from a middle of the road independent school into one that appeared in the tournament with regularity. The Cardinals would bow out in the opening round this season but their time, and Reed's was coming.

Reed was not the only freshman who helped reshape the game. Derick Weigel of CCLA also earned First-team All-America status as a freshman this season and was a pure scorer. He also had good genes as his older brother Lyman was a two-sport star for Commonwealth Catholic, as a guard and a baseball pitcher, before going on to a long big-league baseball career. There were plenty of other talented newcomers as well, including Weigel's CCLA teammate Jim Phillips and Chris Davis of Central Ohio -both of whom were second team All-Americans as freshman.

The tournament, for a change, had very few surprises and each of the 4 regional top seeds made it to Bigsby Garden for the National Semi-Finals. The four were Great Lakes Aliance champ Detroit City College, West Coast Athletic Associaction winner Coastal California and the top two teams in a rapidly rising Northeast Conference: Liberty College and Brooklyn State.

Saturday's opening game of the semi-finals was a wild one as Liberty College and Detroit City College were very evenly matched. The Bells, who had reached the national semis 3 years earlier, made it one step further this time around with a narrow 39-37 victory over the Knights. While certainly not on the scale of Coastal California's hard luck, the Knights were beginning to feel like they could not catch a break in New York. They spent most of the 1930's as a top-ten ranked school but always seemed to come up just short in the tournament and were still looking for their first national title.

When we say coming up short in the tournament, no one can compare to hard-luck Art Barrette and his Coastal California Dolphins. They were back in the semi-finals -for the 11th time in school history- but once more they failed to win the two games necessary to become national champs. Brooklyn State knocked them out with a 44-38 victory to set up an all Northeast Conference final. It was a sloppy championship game, full of turnovers and missed opportunities but when the dust settled Liberty College had scratched out a 31-29 victory for their first national title...and a rivalry with Brooklyn State that would only grow.

NATIONAL TITLE PLAYOFF
SEMI-FINALS: Liberty College 39 Detroit City College 37
Brooklyn State 44 Coastal California 38

TITLE GAME: Liberty College Bells 31 Brooklyn State Bears 29

1935-36 MAJOR CONFERENCE CHAMPS
ACADEMIA ALLIANCE: Dickson 21-10 (10-4)
NORTHEAST: Garden State 25-5 (12-4)
DEEP SOUTH: Western Florida 21-10 (11-1)
GREAT LAKES ALLIANCE: Detroit City Coll 27-6 (12-4)
WEST COAST ATHL ASSN: Coastal California 26-7 (12-4)
SOUTHWESTERN ALL.: Amarillo Methodist 21-9 (12-2)
PLAINS: Oklahoma City State 15-14 (10-2)
SOUTH ATLANTIC: Cowpens State 23-7 (11-3)

1935-36 TOP TEN
1 Liberty College 28-6
2 Detroit City College 27-6
3 Brooklyn State 26-8
4 Coastal California 26-7
5 Western Iowa 25-7
6 North Carolina Tech 26-6
7 Lane State 23-8
8 Central Ohio 22-8
9 Garden State 25-5
10 St. Ignatius 23-9

LIST OF AIAA CHAMPIONS
1909-10 Henry Hudson Explorers
1910-11 Brunswick Knights
1911-12 Brunswick Knights
1912-13 Georgia Baptist Gators
1913-14 Henry Hudson Explorers
1914-15 George Fox Reds
1915-16 CCLA Coyotes
1916-17 Chicago Poly Panthers
1917-18 Brunswick Knights
1918-19 Pierpont Purple
1919-20 Bayou State Cougars
1920-21 Carolina Poly Cardinals
1921-22 North Carolina Tech Techsters
1922-23 North Carolina Tech Techsters
1923-24 North Carolina Tech Techsters
1924-25 Whitney College Engineers
1925-26 Chicago Poly Panthers
1926-27 Opelika State Wildcats
1927-28 CCLA Coyotes
1928-29 Columbia Military Academy
1929-30 Carolina Poly Cardinals
1930-31 Chesapeake State Clippers
1931-32 Brooklyn State Bears
1932-33 CCLA Coyotes
1933-34 North Carolina Tech Techsters
1934-35 Custer College Calvery
1935-36 Liberty College Bells

ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM
C Harry Presnell SR Spokane State
F Leon Reed FR Ohio Poly
F Derrick Weigel FR CCLA
G Gary Garner SR Western Iowa
G Chris Duren JR Western Iowa

ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM
C Cecil Hayes SR Georgia Baptist
F Jim Phillips FR CCLA
F Gabriel Lawson SR Alabama Baptist
G Chris Davis FR Central Ohio
G Zane Dowden SR Coastal California

PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Lou Reed Ohio Poly
COACH OF THE YEAR - Tony Shute Cowpens State