After La Salle's victory, Gola even appeared on Ed Sullivan's "Toast of the Town" show on national TV.

WSJ: Why La Salle Basketball Matters

Gola scored 22 points in La Salle's win over Dayton in the NIT title game at the Garden, capping a season in which he averaged 17.4 points and 17.1 rebounds and helped expand people's thinking about how basketball could be played.

WSJ: Why La Salle Basketball Matters

Enter Gola, a 19-year-old freshman guard who had grown up just blocks from La Salle's north Philadelphia campus.

WSJ: Why La Salle Basketball Matters

Two years after winning the NIT, La Salle won the NCAA title, and the Explorers reached the NCAA championship game again in 1955, Gola's senior season.

WSJ: Why La Salle Basketball Matters

Over his 12 NBA seasons, including four with the Knicks, Gola was a consistently excellent player, though his career never reached the same heights it did at La Salle.

WSJ: Why La Salle Basketball Matters