The Final Four of the 2005 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will be held in St. Louis on April 2-4 at the Edward Jones Dome.
Through the history of the Final Four, basketball players from St. Louis have played key roles in helping their respective teams reach the apex of college basketball. During the month of March, the St. Louis American will take a look back at some of the talented area players who were fortunate enough to compete in college basketball’s greatest spectacle.
This week, the American features former Sumner High standout William Westfall.
The majority of people who witnessed the 1973 Final Four in St. Louis will remember the record-setting 44-point performance by All-American Bill Walton in UCLA’s 87-66 victory over Memphis State in the championship game.
The Big Redhead connected on 21 of his 22 field goal attempts as he turned a close game into his own personal showcase. It was also another NCAA title for the UCLA dynasty and its legendary head coach John Wooden.
For St. Louisan William Westfall, the memories of that Final Four experience go much deeper. A former standout at Sumner High, the 1973 Final Four represented an emotional homecoming as a member of the Memphis State Tigers. The 6’8″ Westfall was a starting forward on the Tigers and one of the key players.
“It was overwhelming for me and my family. For all of the people I love to see me play in such an event was incredible. I loved every minute of it,” Westfall said.
“My friends still tease me about Bill Walton dropping 44 points on us, but they are still proud of me. Walton was arrogant, but he had a hell of a game against us. Playing in that Final Four was just a thrill and I still cherish every moment of it.”
Westfall traveled a long road to get to the biggest stage of the NCAA Tournament. He almost did not make it. When he was six years old, he was seriously injured in a house fire that resulted in burns over most of his body. At the time, doctors wanted to amputate one of his legs only to be talked out of it by his mother Sophia.
“I spent 18 weeks in the hospital,” Westfall said. “I thank god for Homer G. Phillips Hospital. My father stayed by my bedside the entire time. I’ll never forget that.”
Westfall recovered from his injuries and eventually grew to his full height of 6’8″ as he attended Sumner High to play for one of the greatest teams in the history of high school basketball in St. Louis. He was a key player on the 1969 Sumner team that won the Class L state title.
Led by the late John Algee, the Bulldogs were stacked with talented players such as 7-footer David Brent, future Saint Louis University star Harry Rogers, who is Westfall’s cousin, his childhood friend Travis Brown, James Brown and future NCAA scoring champ Marshall Rogers.
After graduating from Sumner in 1970, Westfall had his sights set on attending SLU but was not recruited. He admits to being upset about that to this very day. He settled on attending Trinidad Junior College in Colorado where he became a two-time JUCO All-American.
Westfall went from being lightly recruited as a high school senior to being one of the most sought after players in the nation after his two stellar years at Trinidad. He finally chose Memphis State and coach Gene Bartow, who led St. Charles High to the Missouri Class L state title in 1957.
As a junior at Memphis, Westfall averaged eight points a game for the national runner-up team. On a team that featured scoring stars such as Larry Finch, Larry “Dr. K” Kenon and Ronnie Robinson, Westfall was one of the team’s leading rebounders. The Tigers won the Missouri Valley Conference, then defeated formidable teams such as South Carolina and Kansas State to get to St. Louis. Westfall gave his Final Four watch to his sister Ann, and he buried his NCAA ring with his father Carl when he died.
Westfall returned for his senior year in 1974 and averaged 12 points a game for a team that made it to the National Invitational Tournament. He was a co-captain with Bill Laurie, the current owner of the St. Louis Blues.
