In the 1948–49 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball season, the Sycamores were led by coach John Longfellow, NAIB All-American Duane Klueh and future NBA players, John Hazen and Bob Royer.
Coach John Longfellow's first team raced out of the gate, winning 9 of their first 12 games; including the mid-season Mid-Western Tournament over Oklahoma City Univ, Delta State (Miss) and Northeast Missouri.
The next day, in a re-match, following a December game, Beloit (WI) beat an exhausted Indiana State team to claim National 3rd place honors.
The starting lineup featured four future 1,000 career point scorers; Klueh, Don McDonald, the 1950 Chuck Taylor Award-winner Lenny Rzeszewski, and Bob Royer.
The roster also included future Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer, Jim Powers, who became high school coach to actor Michael Warren.