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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1908-06-09)June 9, 1908 Monrovia, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | June 4, 1970(1970-06-04) (aged 61) Bloomington, Indiana, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1928–1930 | Indiana |
| Position(s) | Center,forward,guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1930–1938 | Ball State |
| 1938–1943 | Indiana |
| 1946–1965 | Indiana |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 450–231 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2NCAA tournament (1940,1953) 4Big Ten regular season (1953, 1954, 1957, 1958) | |
| Awards | |
| ConsensusAll-American (1930) | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1960 (profile) | |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 | |
Emmett B. "Branch" McCracken (June 9, 1908 – June 4, 1970) was an Americanbasketball player and coach. He served as the head basketball coach atBall State University from 1930 to 1938 and atIndiana University Bloomington from 1938 to 1943 and again from 1946 to 1965. McCracken'sIndiana Hoosiers teams twice won theNCAA Championship, in 1940 and 1953. McCracken was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1960.
As a player at Indiana, McCracken was a three-year letter winner. At 6'4" and 200 lb (91 kg), McCracken played center, forward and guard, pacing the Hoosiers in scoring for three years. His coach and predecessor, Hall of Fame coachEverett Dean, called McCracken "rough and tough."[1] McCracken never missed a game. Once, when slowed by injuries, he planted himself near the free throw line, back to the basket, from there passing off to players cutting by him or keeping the ball and rolling to the basket himself. "Once we saw what he could do, we let him go," Dean said. "He was one of the first college centers who played the pivot the way it's played today."[1]
McCracken scored 32.3 percent of the points his three Hoosier teams scored. He led theBig Ten Conference with a 12.3 average his senior year and graduated as the league's career scoring record holder.
McCracken was a consensusAll-American in 1930. Upon his induction into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1960, he was the first man ever voted there for his performance as an Indiana player.
After his college career, McCracken played professional basketball for a few local and barnstorming teams, most notably theIndianapolis Kautskys withJohn Wooden and Frank Beard. This was often done while he was also coaching or working at another job and involved long car trips.
McCracken was the head coach forBall State University from 1930 to 1938 and compiled a 93–41 record. He led Ball State to the school's only victory over Indiana in school history in a year the Cardinals went 17–4.
In 1938 McCracken succeededEverett Dean and coached theIndiana University Hoosiers. His teams were known as the "Hurrying Hoosiers" because of McCracken's emphasis on the fast break. During his two spans at Indiana from 1938 to 1943 and 1946–1965 he compiled a 364–174 record. During the intermission from 1943 to 1946, he served as a lieutenant in theUnited States Navy, inWorld War II.
McCracken's first Indiana team was led by All-AmericanErnie Andres, later a McCracken basketball assistant.[2] In McCracken's first year, the team finished 17–3, splitting games with bothPurdue and eventual NCAA runner-upOhio State.[2] The following year the1939–40 NCAA title team, led by All-AmericanMarvin Huffman, would take Indiana to unprecedented success: an NCAA title and a record (at the time) 20 wins.[1] This championship put McCracken in the record books as the youngest coach to win the NCAA championship (31 years old). The 20–3 record by that team would not be bested for another 13 years until broken again by Indiana.[1] At their home court atThe Fieldhouse, Indiana saw six perfect seasons including a 24-game unbeaten home winning streak from 1938 to 1941. In 1948, McCracken was responsible for recruitingBill Garrett who became the firstAfrican American player inBig Ten varsity basketball history.
The Hoosiers'1952–53 NCAA title team—led byBobby Leonard,Dick Farley, and three-time All-AmericanDon Schlundt—won the Big Ten and went on to win the NCAA championship by defeating reigning championsKansas by one point. The Hoosiers would again win the Big Ten the following season in 1953–54. Just a few years later the team won back-to-back conference championships in 1956–57 and 1957–58 behind the leadership of two-time All-AmericanArchie Dees. A few years later the Hoosiers were led by two-time All-AmericanWalt Bellamy, one of the fewAfrican-American players in Division 1 college basketball at the time.
In the fall of 1960 theIndiana Hoosiers football program was hit with devastating NCAA sanctions that impacted every varsity sport at the school, including basketball.[3] Although the violations only occurred within the football program, all Hoosier varsity sports were barred from postseason play during the probationary period.[3] The sanctions drastically undermined the ability of coaches to lure talented players to Indiana. Nevertheless, McCracken did manage to successfully recruit twinsDick Van Arsdale andTom Van Arsdale, both of whom would earn All-America honors in 1965.
McCracken ultimately coached IU for 23 years, amassing 364 wins and 210 Big Ten wins.[2] His teams also won four regular season Big Ten titles and went to the NCAA tournament four times, winning two national titles.[2]
McCracken died on June 4, 1970, from heart failure. He was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery inHall, Indiana.[4]
McCracken was enshrined in theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1960. He was also honored by Monrovia Jr.-Sr. High School when his name was given to the main gymnasium. Indiana's court atAssembly Hall is also named for him.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State Cardinals(Independent)(1930–1938) | |||||||||
| 1930–31 | Ball State | 9–5 | |||||||
| 1931–32 | Ball State | 9–7 | |||||||
| 1932–33 | Ball State | 7–9 | |||||||
| 1933–34 | Ball State | 9–10 | |||||||
| 1934–35 | Ball State | 9–9 | |||||||
| 1935–36 | Ball State | 13–7 | |||||||
| 1936–37 | Ball State | 13–6 | |||||||
| 1937–38 | Ball State | 17–4 | |||||||
| Ball State: | 86–57 (.601) | ||||||||
| Indiana Hoosiers(Big Ten Conference)(1938–1943) | |||||||||
| 1938–39 | Indiana | 17–3 | 9–3 | 2nd | |||||
| 1939–40 | Indiana | 20–3 | 9–3 | 2nd | NCAA Champion | ||||
| 1940–41 | Indiana | 17–3 | 10–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1941–42 | Indiana | 15–6 | 10–5 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1942–43 | Indiana | 18–2 | 11–2 | 2nd | |||||
| Indiana Hoosiers(Big Ten Conference)(1946–1965) | |||||||||
| 1946–47 | Indiana | 12–8 | 8–4 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1947–48 | Indiana | 8–12 | 3–9 | T–8th | |||||
| 1948–49 | Indiana | 14–8 | 6–6 | T–4th | |||||
| 1949–50 | Indiana | 17–5 | 7–5 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1950–51 | Indiana | 19–3 | 12–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1951–52 | Indiana | 16–6 | 9–5 | 4th | |||||
| 1952–53 | Indiana | 23–3 | 17–1 | 1st | NCAA Champion | ||||
| 1953–54 | Indiana | 20–4 | 12–2 | 1st | NCAA Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1954–55 | Indiana | 8–14 | 5–9 | T–6th | |||||
| 1955–56 | Indiana | 13–9 | 6–8 | T–6th | |||||
| 1956–57 | Indiana | 14–8 | 10–4 | T–1st | |||||
| 1957–58 | Indiana | 13–11 | 10–4 | 1st | NCAA University Division Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1958–59 | Indiana | 11–11 | 7–7 | T–5th | |||||
| 1959–60 | Indiana | 20–4 | 11–3 | 2nd | |||||
| 1960–61 | Indiana | 15–9 | 8–6 | T–4th | |||||
| 1961–62 | Indiana | 14–9 | 7–7 | T–4th | |||||
| 1962–63 | Indiana | 13–11 | 9–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 1963–64 | Indiana | 9–15 | 5–9 | 8th | |||||
| 1964–65 | Indiana | 19–5 | 9–5 | 4th | |||||
| Indiana: | 364–174 (.677) | 210–116 (.644) | |||||||
| Total: | 450–231 (.661) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
