Teeter, who played basketball at Drake from 1966-1970, was a member of the 1969 team that went 26-5 in his junior year and played in the NCAA Final Four in Louisville. The Bulldogs tied for the Valley title with Louisville that year but defeated the Cardinals 77-73 in a playoff in St. Louis to make the NCAA tournament.
The Valley was a different conference in those days and was one of the power conferences then. Louisville, Memphis and Cincinnati were all members of the Valley.
Drake started in the Midwest regional and won two games in 1969. The Bulldogs beat Texas A & M 81-63 and defeated Colorado State 84-77.
The Final Four that season consisted of Drake, UCLA, North Carolina and Purdue. Drake lost by three points, 85-82, to UCLA and Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) in the semi-finals. In those days, there was a third place game and Drake drilled North Carolina, 104-84, to take third place.
"I didn't play against UCLA, and I got in late in the North Carolina game and scored a basket," said Teeter. "But still it was a great experience."
In 1969, only 25 teams made it to the NCAA tournament and all the teams were conference champions.
Teeter's teammates on the 1969 team were Gary Zeller, Willie Wise, Ron Gwin, Jim Nordrum, Dolph Pulliam, Rick Wanamaker, Willie McCarter, Larry Sharp, Al Sakys, Garry Odom, Don Draper, Jim O'Dea, Bob Mast, Al Williams and Dan Wicklund.
Teeter talked about three of his teammates.
"Willie McCarter was the No. 1 draft choice of the Los Angeles Lakers and played in the NBA for years. Willie Wise played for the Utah Stars of the ABA, was an all-ABA player and was selected as one of the 30 greatest players in that league. Dolph Pulliam was the best defensive player I have ever seen play the game. He held Lynn Shackleford of UCLA to four points in the semi-finals."
Maury John was the Drake coach. He was assisted by Dan Callahan and Gus Guydon. John left Drake after the 1971 season and moved to Iowa State, where Teeter had the opportunity to coach with him as a graduate assistant in 1973-1974.
"Lost in all the great things that Coach John accomplished was that he not only took Drake to the Final Four in 1969, but he led the team to the Elite Eight in 1970 and 1971," said Teeter. "It may have been one of the greatest coaching jobs in college basketball, taking three totally different teams that far."
McCarter was and still is Teeter's best friend.
"He was my road roommate and was in my wedding here in Algona," said Teeter. "I still talk to him each week about basketball. He now resides in Michigan."
Three of his Final Four teammates have passed away, Al Williams, Gary Zeller and Al Sakys. Teeter is very proud that all 17 players in Drake's team picture all graduated on time for Drake, a rarity on college teams today.
Teeter commented on the 2007-2008 Drake team.
"They are really fun to watch," said Teeter. "They truly are a team. They are not big inside. They shoot the three's from everywhere. They have won many close games and had a 21-game winning streak.
"Last Sunday in the Valley championship game on CBS, they said if you would write it up as a screen play, no one would believe you and that's true. They were picked ninth in the league, and Coach Davis even picked them sixth.
"They lost their top three scorers plus the coach and have two walk-ons starting. Adam Emmenecker is a truly amazing story. A walk-on at Drake who scored only four points a game in high school and was the MVP of the Valley."
Teeter saw one game this season when his former teammate McCarter was honored with a great selection, making the Valley's all-time team along with greats like Oscar Robertson, Wes Unseld, Larry Bird and Chet Walker.
"I think Drake got a tough draw in the tournament with Western Kentucky," said Teeter. "If they win, then they probably have to play Connecticut. The fifth seed is kind of where I expected them to be. I don't think the Valley got much respect with only one team getting in."
Teeter is a 1966 graduate of Algona High. He scored 1,191 points in his career and was a member of two state tournament teams, 1964 and 1966. He was a first-team all-state selection his senior year.
In 1964, Algona went 23-3 and placed third at the state basketball tournament. The Bulldogs beat Fort Dodge, lost to Cedar Rapids Jefferson and beat Dubuque Wahlert.
Members of the 1964 team were seniors Larry Helmers, Rick Slobe, Gary Naylor, Ken Egel, Keith Seely, Sig Wood, Brian Espe and Bruce Sundet; junior Steve Hardy, and Teeter was the only sophomore.
In 1966, the Bulldogs went 21-3 and lost to Ames 65-53 despite 29 points and 25 rebounds from Teeter. His teammates were classmates Danny Merryman, Brad Kraft, Dennis Breidert and Dave Walker; juniors Craig Espe, Tom Claude, Bill Boldridge, Steve Waller, Bob Farnham and Brooke Laws, and sophomore Tom Jones. The coach of both teams was Howie Stephenson.
Teeter was the guidance counselor at Algona High for 31 years before retiring three years ago. He now does admission work for Kirkwood College in high schools in Northwest Iowa.
His wife, Barb, is a retired English teacher and she works at H & R Block, a business that her sister owns. They are the proud parents of two sons, Donnie and Jason.
Donnie is an Iowa State graduate and played golf at the Ames school for four years. He married Angie Manske of Algona and has a 3-year-old boy named Drew. He is the golf course superintendent of the Fort Dodge Country Club.
The youngest son, Jason, is a high school chemistry and biology teacher in Annover, Kan., a suburb of Wichta. He is married and has a 3-month-old son, Clinton. He coaches freshman girls' basketball and golf, and he played basketball at Iowa State for two years for Coach Tim Floyd.
There are two interesting sidelights about the Teeters. Dale held the Algona school record for points scored for 30 years before Jason broke it. UCLA beat Dale's Drake team in the Final Four, and then 30 years later, Jason's Iowa State team lost to UCLA in the NCCA's.
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