East Orange HS basketball great Mike Dabney will be honored by Rutgers University basketball

EAST ORANGE, NJ — Without question, the greatest team in Rutgers University men’s program history was the 1975-76 squad that reached the NCAA Division 1 Final Four with an undefeated record.

The team was simply unstoppable, averaging 93 points a game. That was a remarkable achievement, considering there was no 3-point line and shot clock during that time.

One of the players on that team was East Orange High School graduate Mike Dabney, who will  be among the honorees during the inaugural “Knights of Honor” on Sunday, Jan. 28, when Rutgers hosts Purdue. The other honorees will be Eddie Jordan and Hollis Copeland, who were also on that 1976 team. The three players’ jerseys will be raised up to the rafters at Rutgers’ Jersey Mike Arena during the ceremony.

In a recent phone interview with The Record-Transcript, Dabney said he was thrilled about being honored and is looking forward to the ceremony. 

“I think it’s going to be a very nice ceremony during the Purdue game on the 28th,” said Dabney, who will be joined by his family that night. “It’s a nice honor.”

Dabney was a senior two-guard on that team. He ended up being the team’s second-leading scorer that season, averaging 19.1 points a game, behind Phil Sellers, who averaged 19.2 points. Dabney was named honorable mention all–American. Sellers sadly died this past September at age 69.

To Dabney, it was a special team and season. One of his favorite memories was the regular-season finale victory over St. Bonaventure. It was a tight game, in which Dabney hit two late free throws to help Rutgers eke out the 85-80 victory, putting the Scarlet Knights at 26-0 on the season.

Another great memory was the NCAA first-round game against Princeton in the East regional. In that game, Jordan fouled Pete Molloy, with Rutgers leading by one, putting Molloy on the free-throw line. Rutgers head coach Tom Young called two timeouts right before the one-and-one, in an effort to “ice” Molloy. Molloy missed the front-end of the one-and-one, Dabney grabbed the rebound and Rutgers held on for the thrilling 54-53 victory.

Rutgers then defeated UConn and Virginia Military Institute to advance to its first-ever Final Four. Dabney and Jordan were named to the all–East Regional team.

Though Rutgers lost to Michigan in the national semifinals and to UCLA in the third-place game to finish 31-2, Dabney will always cherish his memories of that Scarlet Knights team.

“It was a very unselfish team,” said Dabney, 69. “We were super fast. Without a three-point line or a shot clock, we averaged 93 or 94 points a game for the season. That was a lot of up-and-down.”

Dabney finished his Rutgers career as the program’s third all-time leading scorer with 1,902 points. He is currently No. 4 on the list. Sellers is No. 1 with 2,399 points.

Following the 1975-76 season, Dabney was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 36th pick. He played with the Lakers during the exhibition season, but was cut right before the start of the regular season. NBA rosters were limited to 11 players for the first time. Moreover, the ABA folded that year, as many of the players from that league moved on to NBA teams.

Dabney’s basketball journey began at East Orange High School. He was the first sophomore ever to play on varsity. During his sophomore season, the Panthers were 26-0 going into the Group 4 state championship game against Camden Wilson in a game at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Unfortunately, East Orange lost the game.

But in his senior year, Dabney helped the 1971-72 Panthers capture the Group 3 state championship. They finished as the No. 1 team in the state and No. 10 in the nation. That team was guided by head coach Bob Lester, who was only 26 at the time and in his first year at the helm. Lester went on to guide the Panthers to several county, sectional and state championships.

In addition to his basketball prowess, Dabney excelled in track and field and was a state high jump champion.

Growing up, Dabney was a self-professed basketball fanatic. He proverbially slept and ate basketball, 24/7.

Dabney recalled EOHS was loaded with incredible athletes.

“There were so many good ballplayers that didn’t make the team, because we had so many good athletes in that school,” said Dabney, who was enshrined into the East Orange Basketball Hall of Fame in the first induction class in 2022.

Dabney follows Rutgers basketball religiously, and he will always have a special place in his heart for East Orange.

“I’m a Panther for life,” he said. “It was great going to East Orange High School.” 

Photo Courtesy of Rutgers University

  East Orange Campus High School boys basketball