KU BASKTEBALL TIMELINE
1960: Coach Dick Harp’s team rebounded from an 11-14 season in 1959 to go 19-9 and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Bill Bridges, who had 30 rebounds against Northwestern, teamed with Wayne Hightower as two of KU’s leaders. 1962: In what many consider the “game of the decade,” KU beat rival Kansas State in four overtimes at the Big Eight Holiday Classic in Kansas City. Reserve Jay Roberts’ shot at the buzzer won the game. In April, former Jayhawk Wilt Chamberlain set an NBA record by scoring 100 points. Ted Owens Era: 1966: Jo Jo White was ruled out of bounds while making what would have been the winning shot against eventual NCAA champion Texas Western in the regional final. KU finished
23-4 and won the Big Eight regular-season title. 1967: Led by Rodger Bohnenstiehl and Jo Jo White, Kansas finished 23-4 and ranked third in the nation. The Jayhawks claimed the Big Eight Conference title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 1968: Coach Ted Owens’ team advanced all the way to the finals of the postseason NIT, where it lost to Dayton, 61-48, at Madison Square Garden. Behind junior All-American guard Jo Jo White, Kansas finished 22-8. Also in 1968, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, named for Dr. James Naismith, opened in Springfield, Mass. The University of Kansas has 16 representatives in the Hall of Fame. 1969: Kansas registered the 1,000th win in school history by beating Oklahoma State, 64-48, on Feb.
3, 1969. The Jayhawks finished the season at 20-7, earning a bid to the postseason NIT. 1971: Led by the one-two scoring punch of Dave Robisch and Bud Stallworth, Kansas cruised to a 27-3 overall record, a perfect 14-0 mark in the Big Eight and a Final Four berth. Kansas lost to UCLA in the national semifinals at the Houston Astrodome. 1972: One year after playing in the Final Four, Kansas struggled to an 11-15 mark. However, Bud Stallworth’s 50 points against Missouri still ranks as the most points ever scored by a Jayhawk in a conference game. 1974: Coach Ted Owens’ team came from seven points back with 3:19 remaining to beat Oral Roberts on ORU’s home court. The win sent Kansas to the Final Four for the second time in four seasons. The Jayhawks finished at 23-7, including a 13-1 mark in the Big Eight Conference. 1978: Freshman Darnell Valentine led the Jayhawks to a 13-1 mark in the Big Eight Conference and a 24-5 record overall. During the season, KU played Kentucky in Allen Fieldhouse on the day KU grad Adolph Rupp died.
Phog Allen stands in front of the Fieldhouse that bears his name. Allen Fieldhouse opened in 1955. Allen was able to coach just over one season in the Fieldhouse before he retired.
1981: Kansas won its first Big Eight Conference postseason tournament title by beating Kansas State, 80-68, in the championship game. Senior Darnell Valentine, an AllAmerican, and junior Tony Guy led the Jayhawks to a 24-8 record and
In 1952, LaVannes Squires, a graduate of Wichita’s East High School, became the first African-American to play at Kansas.
the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Larry Brown Era: 1984: North Carolina graduate Larry Brown took over as the sixth head coach in Kansas history, replacing Ted Owens. Brown’s first Jayhawk team won the Big Eight Tournament title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 22-10 record. 1985: Danny Manning, KU’s most heralded freshman since Wilt Chamberlain, made an immediate impact for the Jayhawks. Manning averaged 14.6 points per game and was the Big Eight Newcomer of the Year. Manning helped lead Kansas to a 26-8 season.
Charlie B. Black
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