Bud Stallworth's childhood hoop dreams and his recruitment to KU

I first wrote about Bud Stallworth on Oct. 31, 2016. Now, I revisit this all-time KU great with another blog post. Stallworth, whose No. 15 jersey was officially retired in the hallowed Allen Fieldhouse rafters on Jan. 31, 2005, is one of only three players in school history to earn All-American honors on the floor and academically. One of the finest people I’ve ever met and a former great student of my dad’s in the KU School of Social Welfare, Stallworth was named the 1972 Big Eight Conference Player of the Year, when he averaged an eye-popping 25.3 points per game.

The Alabama native was a two-time all-league selection and named Academic All-American in 1971 and All-American in 1972.

Stallworth concluded his magical career as the No. 3 all-time leading scorer in school history with 1,495 points (now No. 23). He’s No. 1 all time at KU for most points scored in conference games with 389 (27.8 ppg in 1972) and owns the fifth highest scoring average in a season with 25.3 ppg in 1972.

His 50 points against Missouri on Feb. 26, 1972 during his final home game ranks second behind Wilt Chamberlain on the KU single-game scoring list.

In my three-hour interview with Stallworth in 1990, here’s his recollection of how his childhood hoop dreams all began and his recruitment to Kansas. In his own words:

...

“I first started playing probably before I was 5 years old. My first grade teacher asked all the students what they wanted to be when they grew up. I wrote on that piece of paper that I wanted to be a professional basketball player. I was in the first grade when I was 6 years old. I was serious about playing basketball early, and I’m still petty serious about the game. It was an opportunity for me growing up. I grew up in a real small town (Hartselle, Ala.). All the kids were about the same age that lived on my street and came to the school. I was involved with it by the time I was in the first grade. At that time, my school went from one to 12. It was that small. All the students were in one little schoolhouse. Athletics was our outlet. We didn’t have videos or Nintendo games. We played seasonal sports. In the summer, it was baseball. In the fall, football. In the winter, it was basketball. Basketball to me was year round. I could do that by myself. I could do it with somebody else. It didn’t matter. I had an opportunity. I was serious about it as long as I can remember.  

“At that time, growing up in Alabama, basically the only contact that I had with the level of basketball were the high school and small colleges in the area. My parents would take me to games sometimes. It was something that I saw on television that I felt was fun. It was something I wanted to do. I liked the game, just had that image that in my lifetime, that I could do that, that I could actually play professional basketball. Some people I guess want to grow up and be doctors. Some people want to be rocket scientists, and I wanted to be a professional basketball player. The good thing about my parents, and especially my father, he wouldn’t let that be my singular achievement. For me to even think about playing basketball, I had to first of all be involved in music, be involved in school —things I had to accomplish in those areas before I could even think about playing basketball. When I look back on that now, I’m thankful that he did that. 

“I played every day that it was possible for me to sneak and get a ball in my hands. Also at that time, the first gym that we had in my community was built in ‘63. So I was 13 years old before I had an indoor court to be playing on in a regular basis. It was kind of any time the weather was OK, which is basically summer to fall. And some of the winter was OK, we would go out if it was kind of cold and wasn’t that dreary out and play in the inclement weather. It was the only way to do it at that time. When you say when did I play, I guess it was every time I had a chance to get my hands on that ball. (Laughs.)

“We’re talking about a kid that was average size, a little above average size, but I knew how to get the ball up to the basket. A lot of kids were throwing it and couldn’t touch the rim, but I could get it up and in the basket. And I liked to do that. There were some baskets outside, I’d take my little ball out there and throw it up there and get it in. That was a thrill for me. When other kids were struggling just to get the ball up in the air, I was throwing it in. Whenever my parents looked for me, I was out there doing just that. They didn’t have to worry about me going anywhere, running around town. I was out there throwing that ball into the basket. When I wasn’t in school, I probably played for a couple of hours (a day). If I could get back out and play before it got too dark, I’d play a couple of hours again. The darker it got, the more difficult your shots got. Some people couldn’t see the rim. I got so good, I could always see the vision of the rim being there. We had to entertain ourselves that way. My parents wouldn’t allow that (playing in the middle of the night). I think that would have gotten me grounded from playing doing that.

 

“I played varsity basketball when I was in the seventh grade, so I knew I could play, but I didn’t have a measuring stick to say what level I could play on. I knew that I could put the ball in the hole since I was old enough to remember because that’s what I knew I could do. I just had that inner confidence that I could do that. The finer points of the game like playing defense and rebounding just didn’t interest me. I liked to score. (Laughs.) Actually in my community, I started playing in pickup games with older guys when I was probably 10, 11 years old. When I say older guys, I’m talking about guys who were either in high school or graduates of high school. We would meet in our little park and get chosen on teams to play. When other kids that were in high school were getting picked over, I was getting picked to play.

“My only vision of other players that were better than me were the professional players like Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor. They were doing some of the same things I was doing. I think I saw Earl Monroe play when I was probably in junior high school or going into high school. He was doing some things I couldn’t do. He could do the twist and the shake, and I didn’t have that down pat. But just coming up, running up the floor, jumping in the air, shooting, I had all that. I’ve had that since I was in the seventh, eighth grade. I could run, jump, and shoot the basketball. Like Jerry West, he would come down, he’d take stutter steps and pull up and shoot a straight jump shot. I could do that. When I saw Earl Monroe take it between his legs, dribble behind his back, twist and spin, that was a new move that I hadn’t accomplished yet. I got to cut Earl out as one of my favorites because I couldn’t do his thing. His thing to me was more, he was tricking people all the time. I wanted to beat them. I didn’t want to trick them. I just wanted to take over. Elgin Baylor, I liked the way he could hang, take it to the basket. He was about my size at the time. I kind of liked to think I was Elgin Baylor. I’d go out on the playground, do the hang, take people to the hole, shoot jumpers on them, learn all the different English moves you had with the ball. Jerry West, Oscar, those were some people (I emulated). 

 

“My size limited me. I couldn’t be Wilt Chamberlain; I wasn’t 7-feet. I didn’t like Bill Russell. I wasn’t that kind of player. He couldn’t score. (Laughs.) Years later, he was my coach in Seattle (SuperSonics), and I still didn’t like him. I still had this thought, ‘This guy couldn’t score.’ (Laughs.)  When you say idolize, I kind of would have thought I had an opportunity to be as great as he (Baylor) did doing what he was doing, plus he was in Ebony magazine and doing a commercial or something.

“... After that summer (in 1967) going into my senior year in (high) school, was the beginning of desegregation in the state of Alabama. In most cases, the first thing that people look out is how it can better their program. The athletes were considered the barrier breakers in the state of Alabama.  They were being selected because of their athletic skills and if they had good academics. They were being recruited to go and be integrated into the white schools system in the state of Alabama. This brought a whole new wave of notoriety to me and other black athletes in the state of Alabama, because now there was an outlet to go to the University of Alabama, the University of Auburn, and be considered a great person, break through the race barrier, all of this. But they wanted the creme de la creme to do that. I had all the credentials for that. I had the academics, and I had the athletic skills. That brought in a new wave of notoriety for me. All of a sudden, I’m getting the exposure in papers. I’m getting the interviews, I’m getting the recruitment deals all in the span of one year. I said, ‘All of this stuff was building up on me. If everybody thinks I’m this good of a player, I must not be too bad. Hey, I got a real shot now because I got people offering me money and cars and all this to make a decision just for college.’ They’re offering my parents things. High schools in the northeast section of Alabama were starting to call and saying, ‘We would move your family if you came to school here.’ That was a big change for just two years before when we were playing in our own little crackerbox gyms with only our fans there and no press. Now, we got the press. We got radio, TV, packed houses, integrated crowds, college recruiters. That was a big deal in 1967.  

“I had made the decision to stay at the school I was at, but the notoriety level there —the press, which makes or breaks anybody—the press that was coming was seeing a kid that nobody ever heard of throwing 40-plus points a game and doing it in a fashion that they hadn’t seen. I was 6-foot-5, but I was playing outside running up and down the court handling the ball. And that was different from basically high school players, who if they were 6-5 or over, they were playing in the middle. I was a little different kind of breed there. Even when I came out here to the Big Eight, KU never had anyone under 6-8 or 6-9 lead them in scoring. Most of their players were big centers that they walked the ball up and dumped it into the post, which was boring as far as I was concerned. Our freshman team, we’d come up and jack up anytime and anywhere. I think I had some impact on the philosophy on how this school has played their basketball in my career. We had big people on the court, but I had a little freedom to put it up when I wanted to, and that was unheard of I was told until my time.

“... My recruiting trip to the University of Alabama was the night they played LSU and they had Pete Maravich. All the assistant coaches were telling me, ‘If you come to school out here, you get a chance to play against Pete.’ I’m sitting here and I’m looking at Pete, whose throwing up every kind of shot you can think about. I said, ‘I don’t know if you’ve seen me play, but that’s nothing. I can do that. He’s going to have a chance to play against me.’ (Laughs.) That’s just the way it was back then. My senior year in high school, I was averaging probably 45 points per game. I was the first black player to play in the consolidated all-star game at the University of Alabama, won the MVP. We lost the game, but I put on a show down there that they hadn’t seen. I wasn’t living in kind of a bubble. I had played against the best that I knew about, and just from that standpoint, I was there. This guy (Maravich) was out there just throwing up a lot of shots, and I figured if I throw up as many shots as he did, I could get 40 points a game. That’s just the way it was. You’re young and you believe in yourself that much, you just have to go with what you feel, and that’s how I felt.

“Between my junior and senior year, I came to music camp out here (KU). The varsity for KU had just gotten beat and Texas Western had won the national championship. Most of the varsity was in summer school and living in Lawrence during the summer. Against my father’s wishes and just because I guess I had to have the ball in my hands at sometime during the day, instead of taking lunch when we’d have break during rehearsals, I was over at Robinson (Gym). That’s when all the guys would come over and play —Jo Jo (White), Vernon Vanoy, (Rich) Bradshaw, everybody that had been on the team. Jo Jo at that time was an All-American. A couple of other guys were All-American high school players on KU’s team. They had the status of being a major college player, and KU’s tradition is second to none, so that summer, I said, ‘Im out here playing with these guys. I’m just a junior in high school and I’m as good as they are. I was just as good as (White) was. He couldn’t do anything that I couldn’t do, which was score, run up and down the floor and win games. That summer, I said to myself, ‘If this is the best of all players in the country and I can compete with them, then I got a chance. I got a real legitimate chance to get to that level.’ Well, I guess some of the players felt the same way about me. Toward the end of music camp, coach (Ted) Owens called my counselor and asked for me to call. He said ‘some of these players that you’ve  been playing against said you’re a tremendous basketball player and we’ve never heard of you.’ I said, ‘Well, I went to a segregated school.’ It was small. In the 60s, Alabama was known as basically a football state. They didn’t care about nothing about basketball. 

“... To me, you got to be comfortable wherever you go. If I was going to spend four years anywhere and make this sacrifice to be competitive for an institution, I felt at least I owed it to myself to go where I felt comfortable. I just felt that (KU) was the place. I had met players on the team. My older sister had attended school out here. She liked it. They’re a nationally renowned basketball school and academic school. They had all he plusses. I felt that I could come here and make a mark for myself and probably win a national championship, which is all you can ask for. That’s the reason people go to college, they want to be the best they can be and win a national championship. I felt I could do all that at this school. I don’t know whether I would have come out here if I had not come out here on the music camp. They probably wouldn’t have recruited me. At that time, there were the recruiting wars going on per say in the south. The only visits I made were to the four schools —Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn and KU.  Cincinnati was recruiting me, but I was there and that was a big city. I didn’t really feel that comfortable. The most intense recruiting was done in the south and KU. I was probably the easiest person to recruit at KU, but from having the opportunity to spend a little time out here during that camp, but then when I had came back out on my recruiting trip, it was just, ‘I’m sold.’ I had this impression of it being what it was like to be recruited and go to school and have the opportunity again to play for a national championship, to be recognized as being one of the better players in the country. You got the exposure there. Some of the great players in history came through KU. (Wilt) Chamberlain came here. I just felt it was good for me at that time. Alabama’s program was just starting. It was basically (legendary football coach) Bear Bryant was there. Auburn had some minor success, but nothing on the scale at what I was looking at. The powerhouse in the SEC at that time was Kentucky.

“...The reason I had heard about (KU) before, my sister had come out there. But I followed college athletics and basketball because that‘s what I wanted to do. They were among the traditionally top teams in the country. Other than UCLA, who was winning everything at that time, KU was considered a good school in basketball. They were winning the Big 8 a couple of times. When you look at what I was looking at, I was looking at some really small options. Either going to a school in the south, which were only recruiting me, or going to a school which had the opportunity to win a national championship. That kind of eliminated some things right there, other than the cars, the money, and clothes, the money, that I would have probably got at other places. I just didn’t have the comfort level to go somewhere else.”

More from Bud Stallworth on the art of shooting the basketball:

“To me, you’ve got this rim, this circle. You got a sphere, this ball, and you have become accomplished at throwing this sphere in this circle with people on you who were moving at a high rate of speed. That’s a gift, that’s an art. That is an accomplishment. People talk about the kind of skills you need to accomplish something, you don’t tell me that’s not hand-eye coordination, the ability to judge distance, to judge speed. That is something that’s an accomplishment. A lot of people can’t walk and drop a piece of paper in a trash can. To me, I had mastered the whole thing of putting it in there.”

Calvin Thompson’s childhood hoop dreams and his recruitment to KU

In my last blog post, I wrote about the KU basketball legacy of Calvin Thompson, Greg Dreiling and Ron Kellogg. Now, I write more about Thompson and his early childhood hoop dreams and how he always wanted to become a Jayhawk. I got great mileage from Pony during our 90- minute interview at his home in 1999, some great candid information he shared with me.

The 6-6 high-flying guard was named a high school All-American by Basketball Times and Basketball Weekly, and was the most sought after player in Kansas in 1982 during his senior year when he averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds per game. Thompson led Wyandotte to a 22-1 record and third place in the Kansas state tournament. He shot better than 59 percent from field during his career and dished out four assists per game.

Here is Thompson’s recollections of his basketball life growing up in Kansas City and what brought him to Kansas. In his own words:

“Growing up, I was a little fat kid that wanted to be accepted by his peers so everybody was playing sports. I started shooting; I couldn’t run so I just started shooting. I would put marks on the ground and mark it good and just shoot, shoot, shoot it. Everybody wanted me on their team because I could score. I was in the fifth grade and I just started playing. And then eventually I got to running and losing weight and this and that. All my friends started to play Biddy Ball at a very early age, and I had some catching up to do. I started out late. But like I said, I would used to spend time shooting, and back then, I had to shoot well enough to be picked on somebody’s team to be accepted. Guys, now, they don’t practice on their shooting. I go out there 50 pounds overweight and I’m still going to shoot the ball.

“I always considered Nate Thurmond (a hero and 6-foot-11 NBA Hall of Famer). A lot of people didn’t know who Nate Thurmond is. My friend, whom I grew up with, he had given me Nate Thurmond’s nickname. I didn’t have any college heroes. My deal was I wanted to be the first to go to college in my family. I knew my family couldn’t afford to send me, so my deal was picking up a basketball and trying to earn a scholarship. My mother laughed at me, and that sort of hurt me. I wanted to get the last laugh. (My Mom said), ‘What do you know about a scholarship?' I was in the fifth grade and in my neighborhood, we didn’t talk about college. But I wanted to go to college. I didn’t have the desire to play professional ball afterwards or none of that. I just wanted to go to college. Looking back, she could have patted me on the back and said, ‘Yeah, baby.” But no, she laughed because growing up, they thought I was a comedian anyway, so she thought it was funny. You know, a little fat kid who had never played basketball in his life, here I’m telling her I’m going to go to college and play basketball and get a scholarship. 

“As a ninth grader, Cotton Fitzimmons (Kansas City Kings head coach), he invited me down to practice with the Kings. I started playing with those guys like Kevin Loder, who was a helluva jumper. I used to go at him, and dunk on him and Scott Wedman. They’re like, ‘Who is this kid?’  When I got their attention down there, Reggie King —I talk to him every day, he’s a good friend of  mine, Joe C. Merriweather, and Sam Lacey —they’re like, ‘You can play.’ Sam was funny.  He used to always tell me I was “child abusing Scottie Wedman.” I was like, ‘if I could do it to these guys, of course I can play in college.’

“Back then, all you’d hear in the news was Jayhawks.‘What’s a Jayhawk? I want to be a Jayhawk.’ So it was just seeing a Jayhawk everywhere and knowing it was close to home, I just wanted to be a part of it. Later on, I learned about the history. I committed when I was a ninth grader. Back then it was legal. I verbally committed as a ninth grader, and then again as a sophomore in high school. I said if KU wanted me, then I was going to go there from the very beginning. They sent me a  letter as a ninth grader. I said, ‘I’m going,’ so they didn’t have to recruit me anymore. As a 10th grader and 11th grader, Missouri’s coach Norm Stewart  and a couple of other coaches around the country had called my principal and said it wasn’t fair —the recruiting process — if I’m going to commit early. So why not deny my commitment and let some other players get seen and this and that. So he (principal) explained to me that although I thought personally that KU was my team — I didn’t want to waste anybody else’s time or my time and their money trying to get me to come on visits — I said, ‘I’ll deny my commitment but I’m going to KU, just so other players could get seen and coaches could still come in and visit and they could look at the other players.’ I had to go on record denying that I was going to KU, but they knew all along I was still coming.  

“They (other schools) still recruited me, but I never took a visit. A lot of my letters went unopened, and after they started sending money to all these recruits, I went back and started looking for money. I just never opened my letters. My mother had fun with all that stuff. She had trash bags full of letters and boxes full of letters from other schools. There were over 250 different schools. My deal was why go on a visit and waste somebody’s time and money if I know where I’m going. It was KU all the way.

“Now, I’m friends with a lot of the older players. But before then, I had to go there to learn the tradition  — the Jo Jos, and the Wilts, and the Morningstars, and Clyde Lovellettes and Black.  Growing up, I didn’t know about any of that. Darnell (Valentine) was locally from Wichita and Lynette Woodard was big back then. Darnell, they were our nemesis in high school, those Wichita schools. We ended up getting beat by Wichita West my senior year in the state tournament. I was familiar with Darnell and Aubrey Sherrod, and Xavier McDaniel, Cliff Levingston, Antoine Carr. Especially the Carrs, they were big in Kansas. I was familiar with them. I wanted to stay close to home. After becoming good in high school and becoming an All-American, I realized it was something special going on and I wanted my family to be able to come and watch me play. 

“I broke my ankle in the state high school tournament (my senior year). I was invited to a couple of (all-star) games, but I wasn’t able to play. I couldn’t even finish the state championship game. ...We couldn’t afford to go to camp.  The only camp I went to was KU’s camp, and that was because they were recruiting me. That was the only camp I ever went to. That was the only I visited I’ve taken. I was an easy recruit.”

More about Calvin “Pony” Thompson

Thompson will never forget what a KU alumnus told him when the Jayhawks were recruiting the hoops sensation from Wyandotte High School in Kansas City.

“’You’ll be a Jayhawk for life,’” Thompson recalled. “That meant a lot to me, and it still stands.”

He never looked back on his decision to attend KU.

After all, Thompson helped lead Kansas to the 1986 Final Four, where he was named to the All-NCAA Midwest Regional Team and concluded his career as the fourth-leading scorer in school history (now No. 20 with 1,548 points). With most of his shots coming from long range before the three-point shot, Thompson was one of the best shooters in KU history and shot a blistering 53.4 percent from the field for his career, including 56.6 percent as a senior.

He also brought the alley-oop dunk to KU. Watching Pony catch a lob pass by point guards Cedric Hunter and Mark Turgeon and throw it down was an electrifying sight to behold.

Moreover, he set a school record with 33 consecutive free throws, which stood for 21 years.

Thompson’s road to greatness got off to a tragic start when his dad, Horace Young, died of a heart attack in Allen Fieldhouse during his first college game. While it was a heartbreaking loss, Thompson was at peace knowing his dad was able to “come watch me” fulfill a childhood dream of playing college basketball.

Thompson rebounded from adversity and was selected to the All-Big Eight Second Team his freshman season in 1982-83, which he earned again as a sophomore. He ended his career fifth all time at KU in assists, ninth in steals, 19th in rebounds, third in minutes, and 13th in blocks. 

He ranks No. 5 in school history in career free throw percentage (82.1) and No. 7 for single-season free throw percentage (85.9 in 1984).

Despite taking a backseat his last two seasons behind stars Danny Manning and Ron Kellogg, Thompson wouldn’t have had it any other way. He was the consummate team player who didn’t care about individual statistics.

“All I cared about was winning,” Thompson said. “If I go back in college and change, then Kansas is not Kansas now. We’re not 35-4 (in 1985-86). If I listen to all of my friends and say, ‘You got to be selfish if you want to go pro. You got to quit passing the ball so much.’ I got the ‘most unselfish’ trophy award. But if I’m not that Calvin, then we’re not Kansas. I rather win as a team. If I wasn’t the Calvin I was in college, then we wouldn’t be the Kansas we were then and we wouldn’t have put Kansas back on the map.”

Thompson played his freshman season for coach Ted Owens and his last three years for Larry Brown. Among his highlights and career accomplishments were scoring 26 points against Michigan State in the 1986 Sweet 16 and career-high 30 points (15-20 FG) in an upset win over Oklahoma in the first round of the Big Eight Tournament in 1983.

Thompson loved playing for Brown, although they had some rocky times together, especially when Brown took the head coaching job in 1983 after Owens was fired.

 

“He came in and wanted to know who the (big man) was running things,” Thompson said. Thompson, who described himself as a “cocky, arrogant freshman,” spoke up.

“’Me,’” Thompson told Brown. “We needed a leader. I thought it was a good thing.”

Brown apparently felt otherwise.

“We got off on the wrong foot. (Things) weren’t very good at the beginning,” Thompson said with a chuckle.

“He said we were his stepkids and we were going to be really good when his kids came in,” he said. “So how does that look on us. ... (I’m) not going to sit back and agree with him.”

But Brown, Thompson, and the Jayhawks eventually saw eye to eye. 

“You see how good it got in 1986,” Thompson said.

Thompson said Brown wound up being a great influence on his life.

“He opened my eyes and prepared me for life after ball,” Thompson said. 

The KU basketball legacy of Calvin Thompson, Greg Dreiling and Ron Kellogg and the unfair business of professional sports

As Calvin Thompson, Ron Kellogg and Greg Dreiling were making their mark during their senior year at KU in 1985-86, KU coach Larry Brown spoke about their lasting accomplishments to the Topeka Capital-Journal.

“They’ve made a contribution to this program that will carry over for a long time,” Brown said. “They’ve helped us learn how to win again, and hopefully that will carry over. I feel special about these kids for what they’ve helped us accomplish. I don’t think you can replace them, but I hope we don’t have to. I just hope we can continue to build on what they’ve done.”

The super senior trio, who were recruited by Ted Owens, helped put KU basketball on the map again during their careers after two straight losing seasons by Owens cost him his job. Thompson, Kellogg and Dreiling helped lead KU to the 1986 Final Four under Brown, their first national semifinal appearance since 1974. In their swan song against Duke in the Final Four at Reunion Arena in Dallas, where KU lost 71-67, Kellogg led Kansas with 22 points on 11 of 15 field goal shooting. Thompson added 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Dreiling recorded six points and six rebounds.

These seniors helped lead KU to the winningest season at the time in school history at 35-4.

During the previous game in the Elite Eight versus North Carolina State at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Dreiling dominated inside with 19 points and 12 boards. Then, in the Sweet 16 against Michigan State, Thompson was the hero in his hometown with 26 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Brown, who spent the majority of his coaching career in the NBA and ABA, spoke about the three seniors’ chances of making the NBA during the 1985-86 season on his Hawk Talk radio show.

“I think Greg is a definite. I think he’s going to go first round and I think he’ll probably go in the top 15 picks. He’s just made so much progress and they need big guys, and he’s a very very conscientious hard working kid,” Brown said.

“Ronnie and Calvin, it’s a little tougher. At their size, that’s probably a position that has the most gifted kids all over playing and trying for spots. They both I think have the ability. They both have the desire. They’re going to have to improve their ballhandling tremendously. I think they shoot the ball well enough and they’re good kids. They have to get with the right team, a team that needs their particular play. If they can work hard and improve their ball-handling skills, their chances will go up considerably.

“I hope they’ll all make it,” Brown added. “I think they’ve made tremendous improvement. Ronnie and Calvin, most people look at them as big guards. I think in order for them to make it as pros, they’re going to have to work on their overall game, but they’ve shown so much improvement in the last two or three years that I’m confident that they both will make it. Greg, everybody feels he has a chance to be a center in the NBA. I certainly do. He works hard. He’s got great character. He’s getting better all the time. I don’t know if they’ll step in and start. I doubt that will happen their rookie year, but I think they all have a chance to be pros for a long time.”

Thompson finished his illustrious career as KU’s fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,555 points, while Kellogg completed his magical career as the school’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,508 points. Playing just before the three-point line was implemented (the shot went into effect in 1986-87), both are regarded as two of the best outside shooters in KU annals with Thompson shooting a career 53.4 field goal percentage, including a scorching 56.6 percent his senior year. Kellogg, who never saw a shot he didn’t like, blistered the nets with a career 53.2 field goal percentage, including 55.2 percent his senior season and an even more eye-popping 57.6 percent his junior year.

Dreiling, who played three years at KU after transferring from Wichita State, improved tremendously throughout his career and completed his Jayhawk days as the 10th all-time leading scorer with 1,209 points and sixth all-time rebounder with 650 boards. Dreiling currently ranks No. 7 all time at KU in career field goal percentage (57.2).

With such impressive talent and NBA aspirations, their pro careers were met with major obstacles and adversity after leaving KU. Brown’s agent, Joe Glass, wanted the three seniors to sign with him. Instead, Kellogg, Thompson and Dreiling inked with different agents.

“We got a bad rap,” Thompson said. “The Glasses (Joe and son Keith) told me and Ronnie and Greg that if we didn’t sign with him, that we wouldn’t play in the league.”

Thompson said they were “blackballed” and rumors spread that they had bad attitudes.

“People don’t know but it was a good run,” said Thompson, who had a very successful career in the CBA and overseas.

Thompson was selected in the fourth round by the New York Knicks (No. 71 overall pick, first selection in fourth round), while Dreiling was a second-round pick by the Indiana Pacers (No. 26 overall and second pick in second round). Kellogg was also drafted in the second round by the Atlanta Hawks (No. 42 overall and No. 18 pick in second round) but was traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Thompson said he was at first excited to be headed to the Big Apple and reunited with former KU assistant coach and then-Knicks aide Bob Hill.

“I thought New York was the perfect fit for me because they needed some shooters,” Thompson said in an exclusive 90-minute Where Are They Now? interview at his home in 1999.

However, his time in New York didn’t end happily. Mysteriously, Thompson was placed on injured reserve and the only player in camp not to play in any games despite wowing everyone in practice with his skills. 

“(I) kicked everyone’s butt,” Thompson said.

Thompson said that Hill “told me the truth” ... and “came into my hotel room after they had made a decision to get rid of me and told me, ‘Hubie thought that you were Larry’s (Brown) boy, and he doesn’t like Larry. He was drafting you to screw Larry.’  

“It was always rumored that Larry was going to take Hubie Brown’s job in New York and become coach, and so he figured he would draft his boy to screw him over. I said (to Hill), ‘Did he know that I’m not Larry’s boy?’”

That didn’t matter. Hubie Brown, now a TV pro basketball analyst, was making his own statement by cutting Thompson. 

“He drafted me to get back at coach Brown,” Thompson said.

That put Hill and Thompson in a tough spot.

“’He (Hubie Brown) told me if I (Hill) said anything to you, he would fire me,’” Thompson said Hill told him.

Despite not making the Knicks, Thompson learned from the experience and became even hungrier about the game.

“The New York camp is probably the best thing that could have happened to me,” Thompson told the Lawrence Journal-World on Sept. 6, 1986 after signing with the CBA’s Topeka Sizzlers.

“It opened my eyes and made me see what was going on. I’ve been through it now, and it’s made me grow as a player and as a person.”

Thompson, who was the first rookie selected to play in the CBA All-Star game, wound up having a 

very successful career as an explosive scorer for two seasons in the CBA and seven years in Europe, including two seasons in France and five years in Israel. 

He said playing in Israel was a remarkable experience. Thompson, who was having marriage problems at the time, lived his first year in the Nazareth Mountains.

“I loved it,” Thompson said. “The first thing I did when I got to Israel was swim in the sea of Galilee. I figured if Jesus could walk across the water, I could swim in it. It gave me a sense of peace in my life to be up in the mountains and see all the history that we learned about in Sunday school and in the Bible. That allowed me to breathe and live again, to appreciate life and not dwell on the negative that was happening.”

Kellogg didn’t have nearly the same success as Thompson after leaving KU. After acquiring Kellogg in a trade on draft night, Lakers general manager Jerry West said the former KU star “might be the best shooter I’ve ever seen.” Despite such high praise, Kellogg didn’t make the Lakers and never played in the NBA. He played in the CBA, though never came close to matching the successful career he had at Kansas. Kellogg was a poor ballhandler, and according to a former teammate, had to “start all over” once his college career ended.

“(Kellogg) thought he had it made,” the teammate said. “He wasn’t prepared. Kellogg didn’t have the mentality. Ronnie would break plays (at KU) if his number wasn’t called.”

Despite being “blackballed” by Brown’s agent, Dreiling wound up with a 10-year NBA career with the Indiana Pacers (seven years), Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers, where he was a solid role player and enforcer.

Dreiling posted career averages of 2.1 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game while starting 94 of 474 games. He shot 46.7 percent from the field and 64.9 percent at the free throw line. His best season came in 1990-91 with Indiana when his former KU assistant Bob Hill served as head coach. Dreiling averaged career highs in points (3.5), rebounds (3.5), games (73), starts (42) and minutes (14.1).

The former McDonald’s All-American (he was regarded as one of the top three centers in his high school class with Patrick Ewing and Stuart Gray) totaled 1,014 career points, 1,018 rebounds and 137 blocks.

Dreiling, whose last year came in 1996-97 with Dallas, played in four playoffs, where he started five of nine games (all five starts in five games came with Indiana in 1991) while averaging 1.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

According to Baskeballreference.com, Dreiling made $2,627,500 during his career with his most earnings coming in 1992-93 with Indiana, when the former KU star made $650,000.

In the 1994-95 Rick Barry’s Pro Basketball Bible, here’s how Barry graded Dreiling’s performance and also how he evaluated him. He was an unrestricted free agent and unsigned at press time.

First, the grades.

Scoring D

Shooting B

Free-Throw Shooting C

Defense B

Defensive Rebounding B

Offensive Rebounding C

Passing C

Ball Handling C

Intangibles A

Overall C-

From Barry: “You want scoring? Dreiling will not give you scoring. Eight-year vet’s highest scoring average was 3.5, the only time he’s chalked up over 3 a night...If he’s going to score, it will be on a rare 15-footer, the occasional putback (thought he’s not a particularly effective offensive rebounder), or off the pick-and-roll...What Dreiling brings to the table are his six fouls. Not reluctant to hit guys coming down the lane. Yup, he’s foul prone. He’s a banger, though not a shot blocker...He won’t get you beat with his passing, nor will he beat you with his passing; indeed, he rarely touches the ball on offense. Sets good screens for jump shooters. Can catch the ball...Character, work ethic and attitude all are first-rate.”

“In Sum.”

“Give the man credit. He has lasted eight years with marginal ability on both ends of the court. Knows his role and knows his limitations. Makes for a solid third-string (not a back-up, mind you) center.”

In Barry’s 1995-96 Pro Basketball Bible, when Dreiling was with the Cavs, here’s his grades and report. 

Scoring D

Shooting D

Free-throw Shooting D

Defense C

Defensive Rebounding B

Offensive Rebounding D+

Shot Blocking C

Passing D

Ballhandling D

Intangibles B+

Overall D+

“A good season for Dreiling is when he has more points than personal fouls. Guess that makes last season a good one. He scored 110 points and and committed 108 hacks in 483 minutes of 58 games...Scout: “He’s not much more than a big stiff whose greatest asset is that he takes up space.” ...He’ll battle people in the post and block an occasional shot, but he’s a big-time hatchet man. In nine seasons, he has 934 points and 858 personal fouls. Zero speed...Get serious...What floor game? For a veteran of nearly 10 seasons, he too often panics when he gets the ball. “The only thing worse,” said one coach, “is if he tries dribbling once he’s got it.”...There are a couple of plusses here (intangibles). He’ll set a decent pick, but forget getting him the ball if the action calls for a pick-and-roll. And he’s a decent practice player.” 

“In Sum”

“A few years ago, when he played with the Pacers, Dreiling squawked about not getting enough playing time. He’ll be 32 in November and the squawking has ceased. He may be able to squeeze out another year or two in the NBA. If not, Europe beckons.”

Despite these critical comments by Barry, I was always a fan of Dreiling and thought he was a very hard worker and extremely conscientious. He worked with a dance instructor at KU to improve his footwork. How many college athletes would ever do that? He made great strides at Kansas after a sensational high school career in Wichita, where he was larger than life and dominated due to his sheer size.

I rooted for him in the NBA and saw three of his games, including an exhibition game in Topeka with the Pacers and two regular-season Pacer games at Market Square Arena, including one contest during 1991 Final Four weekend, where Dreiling and Indiana battled against Golden State and Paul Mokeski.

I believe Dreiling should be lauded and praised for having a 10-year NBA career with such marginal talent. And it also certainly didn’t hurt that he was white. During his Hawk Talk radio show in 1988, here is what Larry Brown said about Dreiling and white privilege:

“When you’re 7-foot and white, the chances of you playing in the NBA for a long time is really highly probable, and I think he’ll play for a long time.”

Tony Guy is my all-time favorite Jayhawk

Former KU standout Tony Guy is definitley my all-time favorite Jayhawk. And I’m not talking about just what I remember about his basketball exploits. As good as player as he was (and I thought Tony was a great one), he is even a better person. More than any other KU basketball player, I believe Tony Guy has made the most profound impact on my life.

I first met Tony on a memorable afternoon at my parents’ house in the summer of 1982, after he had graduated from KU and was preparing for the NBA Draft. 

But first some background.

Tony’s KU sponsor family was the Pucketts, who lived two houses down the street from us in Lawrence. Tony would often shoot baskets in their driveway, and one day, my dad approached Tony and they developed a friendship. My dad and Tony played racquetball many times that summer at Robinson Gym, across the street from Allen Fieldhouse, where Tony created his hardwood magic for four years. I remember my dad driving me and Tony to one of their games in his old little white volkswagen with Tony’s 6-6 frame cramped in the front seat. I watched them play, and even got in a few points with Tony one game, finding it quite difficult to have much success against him since he was so tall and had great reach.

After the game, Tony invited me to shoot hoops with him sometime. In one of my life’s deepest regrets, I never took him up on that offer. I was a very quiet, shy and introverted teenager and just never went over to t the Puckett house and shot baskets with him. That would have been a thrill of mine if I did take Tony up on his offer.

My late and forever hero dad, Goody, arguably the most popular, beloved and legendary professor in KU School of Social Welfare history, was a great racquetball player and 57 years old at the time he played the 22-year-old Guy in all those games. My dad, a wily veteran racquetball player who loved the game and would win tournaments into his 60s against college students, had the experience over Tony and he would usually beat the former Jayhawk star. Tony obviously was so much more athletic, quicker and faster than my dad, but my father was a master at positioning on the court and knew where to get the best angles to hit the ball off the wall. 

But as my dad recalls, the more they kept playing, Tony really improved his racquetball and started beating my dad some games. My dad said Tony was the perfect gentleman on the court, mild mannered, didn’t get upset or anything. He basically played racquetball the way he played hoops at KU -- poised, calm, and always in control of his emotions.

I’ll never forget the first day I met Tony. One day my friend and I came to my parents’ house and saw Tony’s car in the driveway. I got really nervous since I was about to meet my childhood hero, that stage in my life during the summer after my sophomore year of high school, when Tony and his fellow teammate David Magley would be my last two KU basketball heroes. I was getting older and would soon no longer idolize these great future Jayhawks I saw play.

But at that time, I viewed Tony as somewhat larger than life and I was giddy with anticipation of meeting him. When I stepped inside my home, Tony did not disappoint. He got up from the chair, warmly said hello and began to talk about how racquetball was helping his lateral quickness, and how he was running five miles daily preparing for the NBA Draft. Tony was pure class, genuine, humble and full of grace. He met all of my expectations and more of what my childhood hero would be like.

Because of Tony Guy, he helped bring my dad and I closer together and I’m forever grateful to him for that. My dad and I would often talk about his racquetball games with Tony, giving me the full scoop. And I will never forget that magical and priceless moment when I hugged my dad inside Allen Fieldhouse for the first and only time in the Phog during a thrilling overtime game against Kentucky on Dec. 12, 1981, a great team that KU could never beat.

I was standing up, turned to my left towards my dad, and gave my father a huge, tight embrace. I wanted to hold onto that hug forever; I didn’t want to ever let go. I’ll remember that feeling forever.

All because of Tony Guy.

Tony had just hit a key jumper from the top of the key in overtime, maybe tying the game or giving KU a lead. The crowd went completely wild and I was full of chills; I just acted spontaneously and hugged my dad after that shot swished through the net.

Unfortunately, KU lost to Kentucky that cold December night, 77-74, but the memories of embracing my dad after Tony’s thrilling shot remain as rich, emotional, and clear as ever.

In 1999, 17 years after Tony played his last game at Allen Fieldhouse and was drafted in the second round by the Boston Celtics, I drove up to Kansas City to his State Farm office to interview my childhood hero for a Where Are They Now? interview for Jayhawk Insider Magazine. I immediately showed Tony a picture of my dad. Tony remembered my dad quite well. He said it was people like my dad, sociology professor Norm Yetman, and others he met at KU who cared about him as Tony Guy the person and not Tony Guy the basketball player, that made his college years so special. The interview lasted nearly an hour with Tony talking to me about his favorite KU memories, of battling Magic Johnson and then Michael Jordan during Jordan’s first college game at North Carolina, and about the importance of being a good father to his kids, a good husband, and how vital it is for today’s parents to be there for their kids, to be good role models for them. No other KU athlete or former athlete had talked to me the way Tony did that magical afternoon. That's what made him all the more special in my eyes.

It was a wonderful and very meaningful man-to-man, heart-to-heart talk between us. I was no longer the impressionable teenager wowed by Tony’s basketball skills, but a 33-year-old man with a completely different perspective on life. I greatly appreciated Tony opening up and sharing his private thoughts with me. And as it turns out, his favorite memory during his KU years involved a defining conversation he had with Yetman, a talk that changed Tony’s life. I told Tony that Norm had been my adviser at KU and helped me with my 82-page honors thesis my senior year about racial participation and integration in KU basketball history.

A small world, indeed.

Before I ever met him, Tony Guy was always one of my all-time favorite KU players. But just from knowing him a little bit in the the summer of 1982 and meeting and talking to him again in 1999, and seeing what a great, genuine, and caring person, father and husband he is, I can now say that Tony Guy is, without a doubt, my all-time favorite Jayhawk.

So here is that Where Are They Now? story I wrote on Tony in 1999 for Jayhawk Insider. I added some additional information for this story I wrote 20 years ago. I have such fond memories of the time Tony spent with me for that interview. It’s been said the greatest gift someone can give you is their time and knowledge, and Tony gave me both.

...

Tony Guy doesn’t hesitate when asked about the most favorite memory of his Kansas basketball career. Ironically, he talks not of his 36-point explosion against Arizona State in the 1981 NCAA Tournament. Instead, Guy recalls a conversation he had with his sociology professor Norm Yetman, which changed his life forever.

Guy, just a sophomore at the time, was walking with Yetman on campus one day when the professor gave his student some worldly advice.

“He said, ‘Tony, this is a neat place to got to school. You’re a neat basketball player. And who knows what’s going to happen to you in the future. The most important thing you can do for Tony Guy is to get the most of this experience as possible — meaning you need to graduate and you need to get a degree.’"

Guy, who views Yetman as a “surrogate father,” thinks about their conversation daily now 20 years later.

“What Norm was trying to tell me was that ‘a lot of people you’re going to come into contact with are going to like you because you’re Tony Guy the basketball player. I just want you to know that I care about you because you’re Tony Guy the person. Tony Guy the person will carry you much further than Tony Guy the basketball player ever will.’”

Guy then smiled and laughed and said Yetman told him lightheartedly: "I've seen you play. You can't jump."

Guy has had a very rich and fulfilling life since graduating from KU in 1982 with a degree in personnel administration and earning Academic All-Big Eight honors. After being drafted by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the NBA Draft, Guy was released and spent a year in the CBA. He then married and played professionally in Switzerland for one season.

Guy, who had never fully recovered from a preseason leg injury his senior year at KU, decided to retire from basketball and enter the job force. He worked on his master’s degree in educational administration at UMKC and served as the assistant men’s basketball coach. He was then offered a job as an insurance agent at State Farm in 1987. Guy has been with the company ever since.

Suddenly, the telephone rings in Guy’s downtown Kansas City office.

“Good afternoon. State Farm. Tony speaking.”

After a few minutes, Guy smiles and congratulates his client. It seemed the gentleman had just gotten married and called Guy to add his wife as a driver on their car insurance. Guy said he receives great satisfaction helping others develop peace of mind.  

“I think everything I stand for, this company is about,” Guy said. “It’s a neat feeling to be working for a corporation who values the same things you value. Just taking care of people’s needs is important.”

Away from the office, Guy keeps busy sharing quality time with his three kids and wife, as well as playing golf and doing speaking engagements on behalf of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

“I’m having more fun now than I’ve ever had in my entire life,” he said. “I guess the lesson I try to share with the younger guys playing is there’s a lot of life left after basketball. The bottom line is all that matters is, ultimately, what type of fathers and husbands we become. ...To be quite honest, my kids don’t know nor do they care about any of my basketball exploits. And that’s the way it ought to be. But they do care if I’m a good father and a good husband.”

 

Guy could certainly tell his children about his many basketball exploits in college. However, Feb. 4, 1979 wasn't exactly one of his better days. Guy now recalls this game against Michigan State his freshman season, when he had the dubious honor of guarding Magic Johnson.

“Magic was so overwhelming that I said to myself, ‘What am I doing out here?’ He was just truly incredible.”

Guy learned from the experience against Magic and developed into a Playboy Preseason All-American selection his senior year. KU’s first game that season happened to be against North Carolina and some freshman guard named Michael "Mike" Jordan on Nov. 28, 1981. Just as Magic did to Guy over two years earlier, the Towson, Md., native and former McDonald’s All-American took Jordan to school with his wide array of playground moves.

“I had a real good first half,” Guy said. “I remember I was at the free-throw line and (James) Worthy  was yelling over to Mike: ‘Hey, don’t go for his ball fakes.’ He was really coaching Mike on how to defend and guard me.”

Unfortunately, KU lost that game and finished the season 13-16, one year after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16. Guy played in pain the whole year after developing a calcium deposit in his left leg during preseason conditioning. He hurt so much he couldn’t sleep at nights.

“Nobody knew it,” Guy says now about the injury. 

Guy, who would have been the 16th selection in the 1981 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers had he gone pro after his junior year (Portland told KU teammate Darnell Valentine they wanted to take him and Guy with their 15th and 16th picks), said he never thought about leaving school early.

“There is no doubt in my mind that had I played in the NBA, the quality of my life wouldn’t have been richer than what it is today,” Guy said. “Things normally work out for the best.”

A Closer Look at Tony Guy

Years at KU: 1978-1982

Education: BGS, 1982. Personnel Administration

Career Notables: School’s No. 5 all-time leading scorer after leaving KU. Now No. 23 (1,488 points)... Preseason Playboy All-American his senior year...Scored career-high 36 points in leading KU past No. 2 ranked Arizona State in the 1981 NCAA Tournament (13-15 from the field while earning NBC Player of the Game)...Academic All-Big Eight in 1982...Second-team All-Big Eight 1980-81...Co-captain 1980-81 and 1981-82...Co-winner of Phog Allen MVP team award in 1981 and 1982...Led KU in scoring his junior year at 15.8 ppg and in assists (103) his senior year...Team-high free throw percentage in 1980 (78.5) and 1981 (77.6)...No. 10 in career starts (115 out of 117 games) and tied for No. 12 in consecutive starts (72).

Family: Wife, Jerri, and three kids (daughters: Courtney, 13 and Morgan, 5, and son, Clay, 5).

Since Leaving KU: Guy spent one year in the CBA with Maine and Wyoming before playing professionally in Switzerland in 1984. He then worked on his master’s degree at UMKC and served as assistant men’s basketball coach before being hired by State Farm in 1987.

Currently: Guy is an agent for State Farm.

Hobbies: Golf and spending time with his family.

Favorite KU Memories: Guy, who wasn’t known for his vertical leap, relives the time he dunked the ball from just inside the free-throw line against Arizona State in the 1981 NCAA Tournament. “I’m in the air and I thought to myself, ‘Tone, you’re on national TV, and you’re about to fall flat on your face in front of millions of people. ... I just keep going and going, and thinking I’m going to get to the bucket. And I get to the bucket, and the place just goes off.”

On the Jayhawks Today: “I think that those kids play with an enthusiasm and togetherness that is unparalleled. We didn’t have it when I played. There is more of a one for all and all for one attitude.”

More about Tony Guy

I believe Tony Guy is one of the greatest and most underrated players in KU history. If not for playing injured his entire senior season, the lean 6-6, 200-pound Guy would have ranked higher in the school record books. Still, he finished his magical and illustrious career as the fifth-leading scorer in KU history (now No. 23). And Guy sits just outside the top 20 in career assists with 327 and just outside the top 12 in steals with 161.

His best year came his junior season in 1980-81, when he helped lead KU to the Sweet 16. Guy, who was finally moved to his natural position at shooting guard, averaged a career-high 15.8 ppg and shot a deadly 53.7 percent from the field. Guy and All-American Darnell Valentine formed one of the nation’s best backcourts, and they complemented each other exceptionally well. Valentine was the feared and master penetrator, while Guy was a sharp shooter from 20-feet out who could also create his own shot. I absolutely loved Tony’s lean-in jumper and all his ball fakes. Except for leaping ability, Tony had no weakness on the court. He could simply do it all--pass, dribble, defend and shoot. He was quick and could drive to the basket, as consistent and steady as they come on the court. Amazingly, he started all but two games of his four-year career. He was just a pure joy to watch and brightened my childhood immensely.

Guy ranks tied for third in KU annals with most steals in a game (with nine other Jayhawks, including Valentine and Danny Manning) with seven against K-State on Feb. 17, 1979. Those seven steals are also tied for second for most steals in a conference game.

Guy arrived at KU in 1978 as only KU’s second McDonald’s All-American behind Valentine. Tony, who was a unanimous high school All-American, had a legendary prep career at Loyola High School in Towson, Md., where he helped lead his team to three straight Baltimore Catholic League tournament titles (1976-78) Guy, who teamed with Baltimore’s first McDonald’s All-American Pete Budko (he went to North Carolina to play for coach Dean Smith), was Baltimore’s second McDonald’s All-American and is still his high school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,499 points.

A three-year starter for the Dons, Guy’s teams during that time went an impressive 78-19. Loyola ranked No. 2 in the state in final polls both his sophomore and junior years. Guy, the team captain his senior season, led Loyola in scoring (22.9 ppg), rebounding (11.1 rpg) and assists (3.6 apg) his senior year with a career-high 39 points that season and career rebounding high of 18 both his junior and senior seasons.

Guy earned the prestigious honor of being named to the BCL’s first Hall of Fame class on May 19, 2011.

On pressboxonline.com, here is what Keith Mills said about Guy at that time.

“One year after Budko arrived at Loyola, he was joined by Tony Guy, the magnificent 6-foot-6 do-it-all swingman, who scored 1,499 points during his four-year career and was also named to the BCL all-tournament team three years in a row.”

"Tony would be the prototype in the game today," former Calvert Hall coach Mark Amatucci once said. "If he wanted to stay outside, he could. If he wanted to go inside, he could. He could shoot from 20-25 feet and he could also go right by you. He was a fantastic player."

And most and far more important, a truly “fantastic” human being.

Tony, thanks eternally for the memories -- both on and especially off the court. You will aways have a special place in my heart!