1955–56 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team

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Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1

The 1955–56 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team represented the University of San Francisco. The Dons ended the season undefeated, becoming the first NCAA tournament champion to record a perfect season.

Season Summary

San Francisco won two straight NCAA titles behind a punishing defense led by Bill Russell, who turned shot blocking into an art form. He was also better scorer than history gives him credit for, averaging more than 20 points in both championship seasons. In 1956, Russell had support from guard K.C. Jones and a balanced lineup; besides Russell, five other players averaged between 7.1 and 9.8 points per game.

Roster

Name ^[1]	Number
Hal Payne	3
K. C. Jones	4
Bill Russell	6
John Koljian	7
Bill Bush	8
Steve Balchios	10
Warren Baxter	11
Bill Mallen	12
Vince Boyle	14
Gene Brown	15
Tom Nelson	16
Mike Farmer	17
Mike Preaseau	18
Carl Boldt	19
Jack King	21
Hal Perry	23

NCAA basketball tournament

Far West
- San Francisco 72, UCLA 61
- San Francisco 92, Utah 77
Final Four
- San Francisco 86, Southern Methodist 68
- San Francisco 83, Iowa 71

^[2]

Awards and honors

Bill Russell, First Team All-America selection

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	2	Bill Russell	Boston Celtics
2	1	KC Jones	Boston Celtics
7	50	Carl Boldt	Detroit Pistons

^[3]

References

^ "usfdons.com." Retrieved on July 27, 2009.
^ http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1956
^ http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1956&lg=N

[1] "usfdons.com." Retrieved on July 27, 2009.

[2] ttp://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1956

[3] ttp://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1956&lg=N

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v t e San Francisco Dons men's basketball
Venues	Kezar Pavilion (1924–1958) St. Ignatius Gym (1924–1958) War Memorial Gymnasium (1958–present) Chase Center (alternate; 2019–present)
Culture & lore	The Don KTCT
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics