The 1985 TCU Horned Frogs football team was coached by Jim Wacker….who was the father of Mike Wacker….who was a 6’9″ F/C for the University of Texas Longhorn basketball team from 1981 to 1984….as he played double post with C LaSalle Thompson during the 1981 season under Head Coach Abe Lemons.
Mike Wacker and LaSalle Thompson were a formidable tandem down on the block in 1981 -1982 for the Horns….as Wacker averaged 15.2 points and 9.3 rebounds….while Thompson average 18.6 points and 13.5 rebounds per game for the season
During the 1981 -1982 season….Coach Wacker, who was coaching just down the road from Austin at Southwest Texas State (now Texas State)…..and had just finished leading the Bobcats football team to their 2nd NCAA Division II National Championship in the past two years….took a Thursday during the 1st half of the Texas basketball season off from his busy schedule in San Marcos, TX….to drive up to watch his son play that Thursday night in Austin.
Since Bone Daddy’s bar….Madison Square Garden, The Sports Place at 302 E. 6th Street in Austin would host the weekly Abe Lemons Luncheon every week during basketball season….and on this particular Thursday….Coach Lemons showed up accompanied by Coach Wacker….who we are sure he got to know during the recruiting process of his son, Mike….so, Bone Daddy got to spend some time with a coach who not only had won 2 x NAIA Division Ii National Championships along with 2 x NCAA Division II National Championships…..and sired a top level collegiate basketball player (son Mike) ….who along with LaSalle Thompson, had led their Longhorn team to a 14 – 0 record and # 4 national ranking to that point in the season.
That night against Baylor University….Texas F/C Mike Wacker suffered a serious career threatening knee injury that required a year and a half to heal well enough for him to play competitive basketball again. The injury to Wacker was devastating to the Longhorn program….causing LaSalle Thompson to not return to Texas for his senior year….while opting to begin his 14 year NBA career.
The most devastating aspect of Mike Wacker’s injury was the fact that it led to the eventual firing of Coach Abe Lemons at Texas….which ended a wonderful 5 year business relation between Bone Daddy and Coach Abe.
Coach Jim Wacker would leave Southwest Texas State to coach the TCU Horned Frogs for the next 8 years…..and in this 1985 season….was able to lead his team to a 20 – 0 plastering in the video seen herewith.
