It’s been said perhaps the greatest gift you can give someone is sharing your knowledge and time. Nolen Ellison, one of the greatest players in Kansas basketball history, one of the greatest educators America has ever produced, and one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, definitely shared his knowledge and time with me during his lifetime. He also constantly called me by my first name during our talks, something all successful and kind people do. A person's first name has been called the most beautiful word in the world, and I always appreciated Nolen for repeatedly referring to me as "David." The last time we talked in April 2025, he even asked me the names of my beloved late parents. I told him: "Goody and Shirley."
Nolen, one of my true heroes, sadly passed on June 12, 2025 in Rosevile, Calif., at age 84. I got the devastating news two days later from Murray Anderson, a friend and colleague of Nolen’s and someone I met with for three hours at Panera restaurant in Lawrence a few months earlier. I was deeply pained and stunned over Nolen’s death; we just had a two and half hour phone call in April and he was full of life and vigor.
I first talked to Dr. Nolen Ellison on a Saturday March morning in 2002 at 9:30 for 90 minutes, which was a Where Are They Now? interview for Jayhawk Insider. He spoke about his KU experience, his life after basketball, and all he humbly accomplished in his professional career. I’ve thought a great deal about Nolen since then and especially since his passing.
I told him at the time about my 82-page honors thesis on racial participation and integration in Kansas basketball history at the University of Kansas, that my Dad was a professor of social welfare at KU, and that he attended the famed March on Washington in 1963. Nolen said, “There’s a reason you called me.” He also urged, “You need to do more with this than Jayhawk Insider.”
Nolen, who talked about mentoring me that morning, was one of seven African American players on head coach Dick Harp’s revolutionary 1960-61 team, a squad that I became fascinated with after doing extensive research and writing my senior honors thesis in 1988.
Nolen told me during our interview he became a starter the fourth game of the season (against Michigan State), replacing Dee Ketchum, who injured his toe. Nolen never relinquished his starting position the remainder of season and his career, becoming the fourth black starter for Harp’s Jayhawks in 1960-61, a decision that broke the “gentlemen’s agreement,” an unwritten code about never starting more than three black players/playing more than three at one time. KU was a forerunner nationally in the recruitment of the Black athlete, led by their idealist and progressive young coach Harp. This was before Loyola of Chicago made history starting four black players in winning the 1963 NCAA title and then when Texas Western, with its all-black starting lineup, beat all-white Kentucky (Rupp's runts) for the 1966 national championship.
Nolen (a Wigsman High School All-American at Wyandotte and two-time All-Big Eight player) and I met again in 2007 for three hours as I drove with giddy anticipation from my home in Lawrence to his house in Kansas City, Kan., where we then departed in Nolen’s car to the nearby Legends at Panera. He treated me to lunch while his older brother and former KU teammate, Butch, a Sumner High School graduate and JUCO All-American at Kansas City Kansas Community College. joined us during a large part of that talk, where Nolen and Butch shared their memories of playing for Dick Harp and many other topics. It was an afternoon I’ll never forget.
While we talked briefly a few times after this, I’m saddened that we didn’t connect and I wasn’t more active in reaching out until Nolen emailed me in March of 2025 after Murray had read my blog post on KU’s 1960-61 team and shared that with Nolen. I then soon saw Nolen and his lovely wife and junior high sweetheart, Carole, at a Zoom call at 11 a.m. that Murray initiated. Nolen, who smiled when saying he was "spry" at his age, talked for an hour that day, again sharing his time and knowledge with me. It was so great to see and talk to him after all these years!
I attended his memorial service in Kansas City, Kan., on August 9, 2025 at Thatcher Funeral Home, which was a beautiful tribute to this great man and his extraordinary life. Nolen, I treasure our time we shared together. I’m also forever grateful you took such a keen interest in me and my thesis (I made a copy for him), telling me in April you had recently re-read it and even calling me your “hero” many years ago, a comment that deeply, deeply humbled me. I know countless people viewed you as their hero, including me, and your legacy will always be a rich one for making a profound difference on people’s lives and society!
RIP.
Here is that 2002 Where Are They Now? story on the great and legendary Dr. Nolen Ellison with a few updates.
It was, quite simply, two of the sweetest events in Nolen Ellison’s life.
Flash back 40 years ago to Dec. 29, 1962 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. In one of the greatest Big Eight basketball games ever, Ellison’s Kansas Jayhawks upset Kansas State in a four-overtime thriller, 90-88, for the Big Eight Holiday Tournament Championship. It was a magical evening for senior Ellison, who scored a career-best 32 points and dished out nine assists while playing the full 60 minutes. Remarkably, he tied the score at the end of each of three overtimes, and made the game-winning assist in the fourth OT.
“It was obviously the game of my career,” Ellison recalled recently from his home in Kansas City, Kan. “I got married the next day. My anniversary makes me remember that particular game. … Dick Harp (KU head coach) evidently thought I was doing the job out there on the court that night. That’s a game that will always stand out in my mind. Obviously, because of the anniversary, we get the chance to annually sort of commemorate that.”
Former Jayhawk teammate Harry Gibson will never forget Ellison’s commanding game, which one publication called at the time “arguably the most phenomenal performance ever by a Jayhawk.”
“He wouldn’t let the team lose,” Gibson told the Kansas City Star. “Every time we had a critical juncture, he made a key play.”
Indeed, he did. Ellison’s play that evening defined his sterling character and extreme competitiveness — both on and off the court. Yes, he was one of the best KU players of his generation, a two-time All-Big Eight selection (1962-63) who finished his memorable career as the No. 5 leading scorer (1,045 points) in school history (now No. 38). But Ellison achieved even greater heights after graduation from Mount Oread.
He eventually went on to become the president of a couple of urban community colleges in the country, and retired over a year ago as an endowed professor at UMKC. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Citation for outstanding contributions at KU in 1983, and in 1988, the Miller Co. identified Ellison as one of 12 outstanding educators for its "Calendar of Great Black Educators in the 20th Century.” Ellison credits his older brother, Butch (a KU teammate), junior high coach Jack Van Treece and Wyandotte high school coach Walt Shublom for helping him strive for greatness.
“(They) instilled this question clearly in my mind, in my motivation in athletics that was really part of the same motivation in life, that is to be the best “ Ellison said. “That issue came out clearly in that ‘62 game I’d like to believe that’s a part of my character and whom I am. “
The Kansas City native could do it no other way. Ellison, who was the first player in Kansas school boy history to play on three consecutive state high school championship teams, came to KU with great expectations. After coming off the bench for the first three games his sophomore year (1960-61), Ellison started the rest of the season. He averaged 7.9 ppg for Kansas, which went 17-8. It was a deeply talented team with people like 6-6 All-American center Bill Bridges and 6-8 forward Wayne Hightower.
“Those guys were phenomenal players,” Ellison said.
Unfortunately, KU struggled in Ellison’s junior and senior years. Without a legitimate big man, KU wound up going 7-18 in 1961-62 and 12-13 in 1962-63. Despite the losing records, Ellison flourished. He averaged 18.1 ppg during his junior season and 15.8 ppg his senior year. A quick guard who could shoot outside and take the ball to the hole, Ellison was also a defensive stopper. He only wishes his last two seasons would have been more successful.
“I missed playing with the truly big guys, and the truly big guys are what KU and every other team has needed to win the big games and national championships,” Ellison said.
Yet, he savors his time at KU and the relationships he built with former teammates and head coach Dick Harp. Ellison, 62, said he and Harp had an “exceptional relationship,” built in large part on their strong belief in racial equality and justice. A pioneer, Harp was an idealist with a deep social conscience. He recruited black athletes to Kansas at a time when the doors were closed in many programs throughout the country. Ellison was one of seven black players on the 1961 team, a number which was just unheard of in that era.
“Dick Harp was a wonderful human being,” Ellison said. “He was a good coach and a terribly tolerant coach who helped carry KU basketball into the 21st tradition, both with the recruitment of Wilt Chamberlain and opening for KU the real era of integrated basketball. He was a good shaper, molder of men, and he had a representative record there at the university.”
After graduating in 1963, Ellison was drafted in the fourth round by the Chicago Zephyrs (No. 29 overall pick). He turned down a professional basketball career to enter the educational arena. Ellison first taught at Sumner High School in Kansas City for five years. A lifetime activist, Ellison was then elected to public office on the first board of trustees in Kansas City, Kan., where he served for a year and a half while also working in the city planning department. After Martin Luther King was assassinated in April, 1968, Ellison decided to change directions and pursue his doctorate degree. He received a Ph.D. at Michigan State University in 1971, and a year later became president of Seattle Central Community College. At just 31, he was one of the youngest college presidents in the country.
In 1974, Ellison became the president and chancellor at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. He enjoyed 18 years of service there before returning to Kansas City in 1991. After dividing his time as a visiting professor in urban affairs at UMKC and as a consultant to the Samuel Rodgers Community Health Clinic, Ellison took an appointment at UMKC as a Schutte professor of urban affairs. He was the Schutte chair from 1994 until his retirement in 2001.
It is certainly an impressive resume for Ellison and “kind of rounds out I think an interesting life of a young kid born in 1941 before World War II in Kansas City.” Ellison has worked tirelessly over the years trying to make a difference for young people.
“The belief that change in society that goes all the way back to early civilization, has rested upon our ability to provide the kind, I think, of spiritual growth and educational opportunity for citizens,” Ellison said. “The fact is my commitment to education as a life work has been in the sense a wanting to help and work with other young people to give them the same opportunity in life that I had.”
The former Jayhawk standout is now at peace back home in Kansas City. Ellison stays busy with volunteer work (outreach ministry programs, among his efforts) and is active in his Trinity African Episcopal Church. He looks back with great fondness over his college career, and, of course, that unforgettable four-overtime classic against K-State in 1962. Ellison was part of an underdog team that night who “who knew what it meant to sacrifice and win.”
Off the court, he feels blessed that he married his junior high sweetheart at KU and that he and his brother were the first two graduates of his family.
“I think the crowning achievement for me when I really look back on it, I was absolutely elated to walk out of the University of Kansas in four years with a degree and with the athletic achievements that I had, and with the prospects for the future,” Ellison said. “The university experience for Nolen Ellison and his young family at the end of my senior year was nearly storybook in character. I think that’s why the transfer of something called achievement, character, personal outlook on life, all that stuff that shapes who an individual is, I think that all came together for me at the university, and I’m thankful to the university for the experience.”
A Closer Look at Nolen Ellison:
Years at KU: 1959-63
Career Notables: All-Big Eight in 1962 and ‘63...Career-high 32 points on Dec. 29, 1962...Led team in free throw percentage in 1962 (81.1)...Member of Big 8 Holiday Tournament Championship team in 1962-63...Ended career as No. 5 leading scorer in KU history (now No. 38)...captain of 1962-63 team.
Family: Wife, Carole, sons Marc, 40, Steven, 37, and four grandchildren.
Education: 1963, B.S. Education (history and psychology); 1971. Ph.D. Higher Education and Leadership. Michigan State.
Since Leaving KU: Ellison taught at Sumner High School in Kansas City for five years before being elected to public office on the board of trustees, where he served for a year and a half while also working in the city planning department. In 1968, he went to Michigan State to pursue a master’s and doctorate degree. He was president of Seattle Central Community College from 1972-73. In 1974, Ellison became the president and chancellor at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. He enjoyed 18 years of service there before returning to Kansas City in 1991. After dividing his time as a visiting professor in urban affairs at UMKC and as a consultant to the Samuel Rodgers Community Health Clinic, Ellison took an appointment at UMKC as a Schutte professor of urban affairs. He was the Schutte chair from 1994 until his retirement in 2001.
Currently: Ellison is retired and living in native Kansas City, Kan.
Hobbies: Reading and watching sports.
Favorite Memories: Playing with his older brother, Butch. “We were only the second brother team to play at the same time at KU. That was really kind of a special occasion for me as I reflect back on my KU years. We were the first and only black brothers that played there during that period of time, and came early on the front end of minority players there at the university. That sticks out in our minds. We talk about it today an awful lot, the desegregation of colleges and universities and athletics. That’s the kind of distinction that will probably be there forever.”...”The opportunity to be enculturated in the KU tradition after Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Bridges, Ron Loneski. The football greats like John Hadl, Doyle Schick, Curtis McClinton, Burt Coan. I think when I arrived at KU as a freshman to see Allen Fieldhouse and know you were going to play, these were the impressions that really motivated and spurred me on to want to make a contribution at the university.”
On the Jayhawks Today: “Roy Williams is a wonderful coach. He continues to recruit wonderful kids, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed at some point that his wonderful coaching and wonderful kids are going to end up with another national championship.”
2 comments:
Another fantastic article by David Garfield that chronicles and celebrates a great KU athlete and inspiring human being!
Thanks so much for the kind words. Deeply humbled. Nolen Ellison was definitely a true inspiration! My hero forever!
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