Throughout the next two months, we'll offer periodic reviews of Towson's first NCAA Tournament team as we prepare to honor and recognize the 30^th anniversary of this outstanding achievement on Thursday, Jan. 30. This is the first of a series of reflections and memories from that special season.
 
Looking back over the 36 years I covered Tiger Basketball as TU's director of athletic media relations, I'd have to put the 1989-90 team at the top of the list as my all-time favorite. The memories of that squad just keep coming as it celebrates its 30th anniversary this season.
 
Those guys could flat out play. They were fun to watch and a pleasure to know. And although Terry Truax was the head coach, a lot of credit should be given to assistant Jim Meil for recruiting this group comprising mostly local players. It remains as the only team in the history of Tiger Basketball that all five starters played interscholastically in metropolitan Baltimore – power forward Kennell Jones (Poly), small forward Kelly Williamson (Calvert Hall), center Mike Morin (Mt. St. Joseph), point guard Devin Boyd (Walbrook) and off guard Kurk Lee (Dunbar).
 
Two other players on that first NCAA Tourney team were dream subs who also played key roles; guard Lewis Waller and forward Chuck Lightening. Lewis was the designated sixth-man, the best sixth-man in the program's history. Chuck possessed an enormous amount of athletic ability and would be a main force in helping the Tigers return to the NCAA Tournament the next year.
 
This fabulous Baltimore five was together for only two years. Dubbed the "Special K's" by associate SID Dan O'Connell, Kennell (Old Dominion), Kelly (Xavier) and Kurk (Western Kentucky) transferred into the program for the 1988-89 season. In two years these guys helped the program post a 37-23 record.
 
They came very close to winning the 1989 East Coast Conference Tournament title but a pulsating semifinal game featuring 22 lead changes and 11 ties was decided in the final 10 seconds of overtime when Otis Ellis converted both ends of a one-and-one to lift Lafayette to an 80-79 win, spoiling Towson's opportunity.
 
Despite the disappointment the Tigers were showered with post-season honors. Kurk was named ECC Player of the Year. Devin, the freshman point guard, was selected ECC Rookie of the Year. Truax was the league's Coach of the Year.
 
The highly decorated Tigers bounced back in 1989-90, measuring up to the ECC's choice as pre-season favorites. Ignoring a couple of regular season hiccups they made a statement in the tournament, handily dispatching Rider 74-63, Delaware 85-71 and Lehigh 73-60 for the elusive ECC title. The championship earned Towson its first ever post-season trip to the NCAA Division I Tournament.
 
The players shrugged off the fact that we were a 16th seed pitted against an ogre in the form of the No. 1 seeded, Mookie Blaylock-led 26-4 Oklahoma Sooners, making their 12th trip to the Big Dance. Didn't matter. We were headed to Austin, Tex. where we were going to play an NCAA tourney game, the program's first.