WILLIAM DOOLITTLE
Basketball, 1970-74
Inducted February 10, 1990

William Doolittle was a four-year cage letterman for the Bears of Coach Bill Thomas and was a starter through most of the time, playing on MIAA championship teams his last two years and on the NCAA Division II runner-up team in 1974.  The Bears posted a 9-3 conference mark and an overall 20-8 season record in 1972-73, losing to South Dakota State in the semifinals of the NCAA regional tournament.  SMSU came back to post another 9-3 league mark the following year and wound up 21-9 overall.   SMSU defeated North Dakota and Kentucky Wesleyan to win the regional championship and then stopped St. Joseph’s in the quarterfinals and New Orleans in the semifinals before losing to Morgan State in the national title game.  A native of Hughes, Arkansas, Doolittle was selected to the all-tournament team in 1974 at the national finals in Evansville, Ind.  An SMSU co-captain in ’74, Doolittle led the Bears in rebounding as a junior and senior and was the MIAA’s top rebounder his junior year.  He was named to the MIAA all-conference second team as a sophomore and junior and gained all-league honorable mention as a senior.  He was also selected to the MIAA tournament all-tourney team.  He is the school’s third leading all-time rebounder and finished his career with 757 points and 1024 rebounds in 105 SMSU games.  Doolittle had a four-year rebound average of 9.9 a game.