1977–78 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team

The 1977–78 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by first-time head coach Bobby Watson after the departure of Arad McCutchan, who had spent the previous 31 years as coach of the program. Former Purple Aces player Jerry Sloan had previously accepted an offer to become the new head coach but left after six days with the team. The season was the Purple Aces' first time playing in NCAA Division I after years of success in NCAA Division II competition.

1977–78 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball
Conference	Indiana Collegiate Conference
Record	1–3 (0–0 ICC)
Head coach	Bobby Watson (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Mark Sandy Ernon Simpson Stafford Stephenson
Home arena	Roberts Municipal Stadium

The Purple Aces lost their first two games of the season against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the DePaul Blue Demons. The Purple Aces' only win of the season came in a home game on December 6, 1977, against the Pittsburgh Panthers. On December 10, 1977, the Purple Aces lost an away game to the 11th-ranked Indiana State Sycamores.

Season overview

In January 1977, Aces head coach Arad McCutchan announced that he would step down after 31 years in the position. His longtime choice to succeed him, former Aces player Jerry Sloan, signed a four-year contract on February 3, 1977, but resigned six days later because of personal reasons. The Aces finished with a 15–12 record during the 1976–77 season.

After Sloan's resignation, the University of Evansville's screening committee interviewed eight candidates for the position. On May 3, Bobby Watson, an assistant for the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, was announced as head coach. He had been watching the position for years and was familiar with Indiana through recruitment trips in the tri-state area. Watson was one of three final candidates alongside Wayne Boultinghouse from ISU–Evansville and Jack Schalow from Morehead State.

On March 25, Watson signed Norvell Lee, the head coach at Goldsboro High School, as his first assistant coach. On April 21, he added assistant Stafford Stephenson, the head coach at Wingate Junior College, and graduate assistant Mark Sandy, the head coach at Herndon High School, to his coaching staff; Watson had served as an assistant alongside Stephenson at Wake Forest and Sandy was one of his players at Ferrum. On July 3, Lee stepped down as assistant coach because of his mother's poor health. Five days later, Larry Humes, an assistant coach at Howe High School and former Aces player, was signed as an assistant. On August 19, Watson announced that Humes had resigned and was to be replaced by Ernon "Ernie" Simpson, head coach at Union County High School.

Plane crash

Main article: Air Indiana Flight 216

On December 13, 1977, all 14 members of the varsity team and some members of the staff were killed in the Air Indiana Flight 216 crash. The Purple Aces had been travelling to Nashville, Tennessee, to play the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Evansville Regional Airport and killed all passengers on board. Watson was the only coach on the flight as assistant coaches Mark Sandy, Stafford Stephenson and Ernon Simpson were on scouting assignments. The only Purple Aces player who was not on the flight, freshman David Furr, was killed in a car accident two weeks later.

Roster

1977–78 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G Warren Alston 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Fr Goldsboro, NC F Ray Comandella 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Fr Munster, IN F Mike Duff 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Fr Eldorado, IL G Kraig Heckendorn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Fr Cincinnati, OH G Mike Joyner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Fr Terre Haute, IN G Kevin Kingston 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Sr Eldorado, IL F Barney Lewis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Fr Goldsboro, NC C Steve Miller 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Jr New Albany, IN C Keith Moon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — So Kettering, OH F Mark Siegel 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Fr Indianapolis, IN G Greg Smith 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Fr West Frankfort, IL F Bryan Taylor 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr Tell City, IN G John Ed Washington 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Sr Indianapolis, IN G Tony Winburn 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) — Sr Jeffersonville, IN	Head coach Bobby Watson (VMI) Assistant coach(es) Mark Sandy (Ferrum) Ernon Simpson (Kentucky Wesleyan) Stafford Stephenson (Emory & Henry) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: May 17, 2026

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 30, 1977*		Western Kentucky	L 72–82	0–1	Roberts Municipal Stadium  Evansville, IN
Dec 3, 1977*		at DePaul	L 71–94	0–2	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Dec 6, 1977*		Pittsburgh	W 90–83	1–2	Roberts Municipal Stadium  Evansville, IN
Dec 10, 1977*		at No. 11 Indiana State	L 76–102	1–3	Hulman Center  Terre Haute, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Player statistics

Player	GP	FGPG	FGAPG	FG%	FTPG	FTAPG	FT%	RPG	PFPG	PPG
Warren Alston	4	4.0	8.8	.457	2.3	3.3	.692	1.5	1.3	10.3
Ray Comandella	1	.0	.0	–	.0	.0	–	.0	1.0	.0
Mike Duff	4	8.5	18.5	.459	3.3	5.3	.619	9.5	4.5	20.3
Kraig Heckendorn	4	.5	1.5	.333	1.0	1.5	.667	.0	2.0	2.0
Mike Joyner	2	1.5	3.0	.500	.0	.0	–	.0	.0	3.0
Kevin Kingston	4	.3	1.0	.250	.0	.3	.000	.5	1.3	.5
Barney Lewis	4	.5	1.3	.400	.0	.3	.000	.5	.0	1.0
Steve Miller	4	4.0	9.0	.444	5.3	7.0	.750	7.0	3.3	13.3
Keith Moon	4	.3	1.8	.143	.5	.5	1.000	1.0	1.5	1.0
Mark Siegel	4	.8	2.5	.300	.0	.0	–	1.8	1.8	1.5
Greg Smith	1	.0	.0	–	.0	.0	–	.0	.0	.0
Bryan Taylor	4	7.5	13.0	.577	3.3	4.5	.722	5.3	2.3	18.3
John Ed Washington	4	3.8	13.0	.288	.3	.3	1.000	5.3	3.3	7.8
Tony Winburn	4	.0	.3	.000	.0	.3	.000	1.0	1.0	.0
Team Totals	4	30.8	72.0	.427	15.8	23.0	.685	41.5	22.3	77.3