NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University athletics department announced today the second of three men’s basketball All-Century Teams.
Making up the "Classic Team" are Emmanuel Leaks, Calvin Murphy, Phil Scaffidi, Andy Walker and Marshall Wingate.
.
Emmanuel Leaks
1964-68
n Cleveland, Ohion
Left Niagara with 1,267 career points and as the program’s leading rebounder with 1,087 boards.n
As a sophomore, he tallied 437 points and as a junior he led all scorers with 395 points. Leaks also pulled down a team-leading 336 rebounds.n
In his senior season, he averaged 17.2 points per game, second at the time to Calvin Murphy’s 38.4.n
Following his career, Leaks was a spent four campaigns in the American Basketball Association, traveling from Kentucky to New York to Utah and finally to Miami. In 1972, he was signed by the Philadelphia 76ers and a year later was signed as a free agent by the Washington Bullets.n
Leaks was the 36th member of the Niagara Hall of Fame.
Calvin Murphy
1966-70
n Norwalk, Conn.n
As a sophomore, he broke the Niagara single-game scoring record in his first varsity game with 41 points vs. Long Island in the Student Center and went on to average 38.2 points per game, second in the nation and third-best in NCAA history to that point. The average still ranks eighth-best all-time. n He was selected to the United Press International (UPI), Look Magazine and Basketball Weekly First-Team All-America Teams.n
As a junior, he set the national scoring mark against a Division I opponent with 68 points in a 118-110 win over Syracuse in the Student Center. The scoring effort still ranks third-best in NCAA history. He finished the year third in the nation in scoring at 32.4 points per game and had already set the Niagara career scoring mark. He earned first-team positions on 13 All-America teams, including Associated Press, UPI, Look Magazine and Basketball Weekly.n
His senior season, Murphy led Niagara to 20 wins and its first NCAA Tournament appearance. Niagara (22-7) upset Pennsylvania in the first round, 79-69, before bowing to Villanova and North Carolina State. Murphy averaged 29.4 points per game in his final season and finished with 2,548 points in his three-year career, the fifth-highest total in major college history at that point. n
His career scoring average of 33.2 points per game still ranks fourth in NCAA history behind Pete Maravich (LSU), Austin Carr (Notre Dame) and Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati). n
Murphy was a second-round draft choice of the Houston Rockets, where he played for 13 seasons, setting the Houston career records for points (17,949), games played (1,002), assists (4,402) and steals (1,165). More than 20 years later, he still holds the franchise assist record and ranks second in the other three categories. n
Niagara and the Rockets have retired his number 23. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on May 10, 1993, and into the Niagara Athletics Hall of Fame in 1975.
Phil Scaffidi
1976-80
n Amherst, N.Y.n
No one player captured the spirit and determination of the Niagara community more than No. 3, Phil Scaffidi. n
As captain of the 1978-79 team, he was on his way to setting the all-time assist record and scoring 1,000 career points in his senior year when he entered a Buffalo hospital with kidney-liver problems and tests indicated cancer. He underwent an operation in Colorado and was treated at Buffalo’s Roswell Park Memorial Institute. n
Scaffidi was able to return to the court for six games in the 1979-80 campaign. n
On Jan. 21, 1980, he scored eight points and added two assists to set the Niagara all-time assist mark with 403 and lead Niagara to a 105-91 win over Cleveland State. n
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association honored him with the 1979-80 Most Courageous Award. n
He died March 23, 1980, ending a 15-month fight against cancer.
Andy Walker
1972-76
n Long Island City, N.Y.n
Tallied 1,620 career points over his four-year career. His 678 career field goals ranks fourth on the all-time list. n
He played for coach Frank Layden’s final four years on Monteagle Ridge, and, as a senior, helped the Purple Eagles upset St. Bonaventure in the ECAC Upstate Playoffs, and earned a 1976 NIT bid. n
As a coach, Walker led Niagara to the 1987 NIT, where it knocked off Seton Hall in the first round, then dropped an 89-81 decision to La Salle. It was Niagara’s first postseason bid since his senior year. n
In 1988, Walker’s team advanced to Niagara’s only North Atlantic Conference title game in its seven years as a league member. Niagara lost to Boston University in the title game.
Marshall Wingate
1969-72
n New York City, N.Y.n
One of the top 10 Niagara scorers of all-time, Marshall Wingate surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career in a 73-72 win over Canisius in his senior season. n
The 6-5 swing player was a key figure on the 1972 team that advanced to the NIT finals. n
He and teammate Al Williams led the team over Texas-El Paso in the first-round game. He scored 20 to help Niagara defeat Princeton, 65-60, to extend Niagara’s stay in New York. n
After a semifinal win over St. John’s, Niagara lost to Maryland in the title game despite a 30-point effort from Wingate in his final collegiate game. He had scored 92 points in Niagara’s four-game tournament run. n
The 617 points scored his senior season remains one of the top 10 performances in Niagara history. His 17.1 career scoring average also ranks in the top 10. n
Fourth-round choice of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1972 NBA draft.
