Western Wayne Today

The 1955-56 Wayne State University men's basketball team has been inducted into the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame, marking the first time a team has received this honor.

During the 1955-56 season, the Tartars opened with a win at Eastern Michigan before losing to Louisville in their home opener at U of D Memorial Building. The team then achieved 17 consecutive victories, including both home and away wins against Valparaiso and Central Michigan, as well as a home victory over Eastern Michigan. Wayne State completed conference play undefeated with a 6-0 record in the President's Athletic Conference and secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

A notable moment from that season was Wayne State's 72-63 win over DePaul in an NCAA First Round game held in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This marked the first NCAA Tournament game victory by any school from Michigan. The team's tournament run ended with a loss to Kentucky in Iowa City during the Sweet Sixteen round.

Key players included George Brown, who averaged 17.4 points and 15 rebounds per game and later became one of the first African American players to sign an NBA contract. Other standouts were George "Baby" Duncan (13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds per game), Fred Snowden (who went on to become the first African American head coach at a major university), and Clarence Straughn (15.3 points per game). After his collegiate career, Brown played for the Harlem Globetrotters following his brief stint with the Minneapolis Lakers.

The squad was coached by Joel Mason and finished its season with an overall record of 18 wins and three losses after falling to Morehead State in a regional third-place contest.