Army Black Knights men's basketball

History

Bob Knight, the coach with the most wins in NCAA men's basketball history, began his head coaching career at Army from 1965 to 1971 before moving on to Indiana. One of Knight's players at Army was Mike Krzyzewski, who later was head coach at Army before moving on to Duke and becoming the winningest men's basketball coach in NCAA Division I history.

Since its inception in 1903, Army retrospectively has been awarded a national championship, has made eight NIT appearances, has refused two NCAA tournament invitations, in 1944 and 1968, and has an overall 49.7% winning percentage.

The Black Knights were retroactively ranked as the nation's top college team by Premo-Porretta for 1923 season and were retroactively listed by the Helms Athletic Foundation as the national champion for 1944, when they went undefeated (15–0), but declined an invitation to the NCAA tournament due to World War II. While the NCAA lists the historical Helms selections for reference, neither the Helms title nor the Premo-Porretta ranking are officially recognized as national championships. The 1944 squad was captained by Edward C. Christl, who earned a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross during World War II and for whom the Black Knights' home arena is named.

Head coach Bob Knight turned down the 1968 NCAA tournament invitation in favor of the NIT, because he believed the Black Knights had a better chance of winning the NIT with Lew Alcindor and UCLA playing in the NCAA tournament. Further, Madison Square Garden was close enough to West Point to allow the Corps of Cadets to attend the games, and Army had participated in the NIT seven times in 10 years, including four of Knight's five seasons as head coach. They would go on to lose their first game of the 1968 NIT to Notre Dame.

As of 2025, the Black Knights are one of only three original major programs that were playing college basketball in 1939, when the inaugural NCAA tournament was held, that are still active Division I programs and one of 38 eligible teams overall to have never participated in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Army shares this distinction with William & Mary and The Citadel (St. Francis Brooklyn was also part of this group before it discontinued athletics in 2023.)

The Black Knights have played in the National Invitational Tournament eight times and also played in the 2016 edition of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), their first appearance in a postseason tournament in 38 years, losing to NJIT in the first round.

Seasons

Main article: List of Army Black Knights men's basketball seasons

In 119 seasons, the Black Knights have a record of 1262–1276.

Postseason results

National Invitation Tournament

The Black Knights have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) eight times. Their combined record is 13–10.

CollegeInsider.com tournament

The Black Knights have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Their record is 0–1.

CBI results

The Black Knights have appeared in two College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Their record is 1–2.

Head coaches

All-Americans

The following Army players were named NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans:

• William Copthorne – 1910 (Helms Athletic Foundation)
• William Roberts – 1913 (Helms Athletic Foundation)
• Elmer Oliphant – 1915 (Helms Athletic Foundation)
• Gene Vidal – 1918 (Helms Athletic Foundation)
• Harry Wilson – 1927 (Helms Athletic Foundation)
• Dale Hall – 1944 (Consensus Second Team), 1945 (Consensus Second Team)
• Gary Winton – 1977 (AP Honorable Mention), 1978 (AP Honorable Mention)
• Kevin Houston – 1987 (NABC Third Team)

Academic All-Americans

The following Army players were named Academic All-America:

• Mike Silliman – 1964
• John Ritch – 1965
• Robert Sherwin – 1972, 1973
• Steve Rothert – 1989

Basketball Hall of Fame

The following Army players and coaches have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:

• Ernest Blood – 1960, former coach
• John Roosma – 1961, former player
• Elmer Ripley – 1972, former coach, inducted as a contributor
• Harry A. Fisher – 1973, former coach, inducted as a contributor
• Bob Knight – 1991, former coach
• Mike Krzyzewski – 2001, former coach and player, inducted as a coach

Major awards

Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Award: Outstanding Scholar-Athlete of the Year

• John Ritch – 1965

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award

• Robert Sherwin – 1973

Haggerty Award

• Kevin Houston – 1987

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

• Randy Cozzens – 1985
• Kevin Houston – 1987

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year

• Les Wothke – 1985

Patriot League Men's Basketball Coach of the Year

• Pat Harris – 2001–02
• Zach Spiker – 2012–13

Patriot League Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year

• David Ardayfio – 1990–91
• Alex Morris – 1992–93
• Kyle Wilson – 2012–13

Patriot League Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year

• Marcus Nelson – 2008–09
• Josh Caldwell - 2020-21
• Josh Caldwell - 2021-22

References

References

1. (2009). "ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game". ESPN Books.
2. "Army Black Knights School History". Sports Reference LLC.
3. Noles, Jim. (2018). "Undefeated: From Basketball to Battle - West Point's Perfect 1944 Season". Casemate Publishers.
4. (February 21, 1968). "NCAA Taps 8 Tourney Fives". Syracuse Herald-Journal.
5. Chase, Chris. (March 11, 2015). "The Odd Reason Army Has Never Made the NCAA Tournament".
6. Feinstein, John. (February 1, 2016). "Kryzyzewski, Knight Coached at Army. Army Still Has Not Made an NCAA Tournament Appearance". [[The Washington Post]].
7. "Wall Street Journal blog: March Madness Claims New Victims".
8. (March 21, 2023). "St. Francis Brooklyn to Eliminate Entire Athletics Program".
9. "Archived copy".
10. "Army Black Knights Index".