Part of this blog originally appeared in Jayhawk Illustrated.
Bernard Malamud wrote in “The Natural” that “without heroes, we are all plain people, and don’t know how far we can go.”
Heroes show us the way, the unlimited possibilities we find in our heart, mind and soul. I certainly had heroes growing up in Lawrence, including those KU basketball players whom loomed larger than life for me as a bright-eyed kid whose life revolved around Jayhawk hoops 365 days per year.
I can vividly remember those magical fall afternoons at Park Hill Park on the asphalt court practicing basketball with my friend Lance in eighth grade and learning how to transform from a set shooter into a jump shooter as I’d sling my 10-foot jumper to the goal in front of the free throw line while pretending to be John Douglas. “The Franchise,” who once scored 46 points against Iowa State, had the perfect shot, a release so effortlessly and so smooth. After a while of practice, I finally got the strength to find the net.
I was so thrilled to see my shot tickle the twine and hoped my hero would be proud.
I also idolized Darnell Valentine and emulated him in every way. I wore my socks high like D.V., I shot free throws using his distinctive style, and tried to play relentless basketball just like him while competing against my taller friend Phillip in one-on-one battles. As Valentine entered the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers, I bought my beloved dog Snoopy Trail Blazer dog food and used to jog in place at home while looking at Valentine’s framed picture of leading a fast break. I jogged a little faster, raised my legs a little higher, my heart raced a little faster, as I drew inspiration and inner strength from my hero.
I put Douglas and Valentine on a pedestal. To me, they could do no wrong.
But what about the Kansas basketball players over the years like D.V. and “The Franchise.” Who were their heroes growing up? Who did they pretend to be while honing their game? I've always enjoyed asking former Jayhawks who they idolized in their childhood wonder years, who they pretended to be while hooping on the playground.
In this two-part series, we'll look at nine former Jayhawk standouts as they talk about their childhood heroes.
DARNELL VALENTINE (1977-81)
A four-time first-team All-Conference selection (only Jayhawk to accomplish that feat), a three-time Academic All-American and a 1981 All-American, Valentine was a legendary point guard who led KU to the Sweet 16 his senior year in ‘81. “The Penetrator” ranks first all time at Kansas in career steals and free throws made. He was arguably the best defensive guard to ever play for Kansas.
Valentine, who grew up in Wichita, idolized star NBA guards like Jo Jo White and spent many hours watching professional games on the tube with Goose Doughty, a mentor for many kids in the city.
“To this day, I can remember sitting in his house, watching NBA games on television,” Valentine told Jeff Bollig and Doug Vance in their 2008 book, “What it Means to be a Jayhawk.”
“He would always comment on the play, pointing out mistakes and bad coaching decisions. His favorite comment was, ‘That was a rookie move.’ He’d be all fired up, and we would just sit and laugh. ... I liked watching the NBA to see how the best players did it. I go back to the days of Hal Greer, Archie Clark, Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Nate Archibald, and Jo Jo White.”
White, the former KU star and Boston Celtics Hall of Famer, was Valentine’s favorite.
“I loved Jo Jo’s game,” Valentine said. “He was so smooth. He would come back to KU in the summer and play with us. He was amazing. Here he was, a person who had been in the league for 10 years, and he was coming back and playing with us every day. He kept in such good shape. He looks like he could play today. He was a person I emulated. What I appreciated is he was so committed to helping us develop as players and people. I never got a chance to play against him because he retired just as I was entering the league.”
MARK TURGEON (1983-87)
This confident 5-10 point guard with braces from Hayden High School in Topeka, Kan., convinced KU coach Larry Brown to offer him a scholarship after a standout prep career, where he guided Hayden to a 41-1 record his junior and senior seasons, including a 25-0 record during his senior year.
Turgeon, who was an all-league, all-city and all-state selection at Hayden, was named MVP of the Kansas Basketball Classic and Pizza Hut Classic.
Entering his freshman season, the KU basketball media guide wrote that he was “considered by Brown to have all the tools to become a great point guard.”
Turgeon was co-captain his junior and senior seasons and part of the rebirth of Kansas basketball under Brown, helping the Jayhawks drive to the 1986 Final Four. Turgeon, now the head coach at Maryland who led the team in assists his freshman season with 138 (No. 3 on single-season freshman list), currently ranks No. 12 at Kansas in career helpers with 437 while tied with several players for most games played in a season (39 in 1986).
John Hendel, in his 1991 book, “Kansas Jayhawks: History-Making Basketball,” wrote that Turgeon “used to play mock games pitting Kansas against Notre Dame and took time to imitate the Jayhawks of the time such as Paul Mokeski, Ken Koenigs, and Clint Johnson. He idolized Darnell Valentine."
“I used to be Darnell,” Turgeon said. “I used to try to shoot free throws like Darnell and do everything like Darnell. We had a puppy and we named it D.V.”
TERRY BROWN (1989-91)
Brown could light up the nets in a hurry as very few Jayahwks ever have. A phenomenal three-point shooter and high school All-American from Clyde, N.Y., the 6-2 guard exploded for a career-high 42 points against North Carolina State on Jan. 5, 1991, when he made the most three-pointers (11) ever in a game by a Jayhawk. Brown’s 111 threes in 1990-91 was also a school record for a single season, which stood for 27 years before Svi Mykhailiuk broke the mark with 115 threes in 2017-18. Former KU coach Roy Williams once said Brown, who played on the 1991 Final Four team, was one of the best shooters he’d ever coached.
Brown idolized his older brother growing up.
“My brother played. He was like the big basketball star up in the New York area,” Brown said in a 2003 interview. “That’s kind of what got me into playing basketball because I wanted to be a big star like him playing. Sonny Barnes was his name. He was four years older than me.
“Up in New York, I used to practice on my own for like six or seven hours (a day) sometime. I was probably in seventh grade. I used to practice in the rain, in the snow, and after football practice. I told myself I wanted to develop a shot that’s hard to block. I started shooting like that (behind my head) every day, just shooting around until I got it to the perfect shooting form. That’s pretty much where I came up with that shot because it’s hard to block. The only way you can block it is from behind, probably like 80 percent of the time you block it from behind, they’re going to call a foul.
“That’s pretty much all I shot when I practiced, like three-point shots or far from the basket. I’d run home and get my ball and go out there and practice until the sun went down. There was a playground near my home.”
BOOTY NEAL (1977-81)
A great long-range bomber from Oxon Hill, Md., Neal got the attention of the Kansas coaching staff
after an impressive showing in the preliminary game of the Capital Classic his senior year of high school. The 6-5 guard became a huge fan favorite in Allen Fieldhouse with his deep shot.
Neal’s heroes growing up were sharpshooters Rick Mount and Pete Maravich.
“(They) were sort of the two guys I’d sit at home and watch when I was in junior high school,” Neal said in a 2001 interview. “I used to love watching them. They shot the jump shot.”
Neal admits he “had the deep shot in boys club” at age 12.
“You just keep putting it up,” Neal said. “I don’t know how many shots a day, it was just constantly in practice. You just do the same things. You take the same shot. You take your favorite shot. My favorite shot was shooting from outside. l loved the wings, but when I was in boys club, I was able to kind of shoot from anywhere — top of the key, off the side, deep corner. Then when I got to junior high school (and emulated Mount and Maravich), it got ridiculous.
“Then when I got to high school, it got totally ridiculous. I had 50 points in one game, I had 30 at halftime. The freedom to know you’re going to play and you’re that team leader, that puts a lot on your shoulders. Michael Sweetney (former Georgetown star) graduated from my high school. He came along and broke a lot of my scoring records.
“In the neighborhood, they still talk about who was the best player. They tend to get my name out sometimes.”
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