Herb Nobles was one of my childhood heroes, a smooth shooting and slender 6-7 forward who could shoot, rebound and block shots with the best in the Big Eight. My memories of him are kind of vague since I was only 9, 10 years old when I saw him play, but he still left a lasting impression with his hardwood magic at Allen Fieldhouse, where I attended games with season tickets with my Dad since 1973 until 1998, when I began covering KU basketball for 20 years.
I thought so highly of Herb that I named my softball team after him, a genuine tribute to my childhood hero who could do no wrong on the court. I put Herb on a pedestal as I did all my childhood KU hoop heroes; he was larger than life to me.
Herb is kind of a forgotten player in KU annals since he played just two years and on some poor and mediocre teams during his career at Mount Oread after transferring from Johnson County Community College. KU went just 13-13 his first year in 1975-76 before improving the following season, going 18-10 with Nobles the second-leading scorer behind John Douglas at 14.8 points per game and leading rebounder at 8.2 rebounds per contest. Nobles, who blocked six shots against Oklahoma, also averaged 1.7 blocks per game (48 blocks).
He led the team in blocked shots his junior season with 38 (1.5 blocks per game), while averaging 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
An East St. Louis, Illinois, native, Nobles arrived at KU after a highly decorated career at Johnson County Community College. Inducted into the the JCCC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, Nobles is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,463 points. He led JCCC to back-to-back 28-win seasons and two conference titles. His freshman year, Nobles led the Jayhawk Conference in scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage, averaging 23.3 points, 12.2 rebounds while making over 57 percent of his shots. He again the led the conference in scoring and rebounding as a sophomore, averaging 26.5 points and 13.5 rebounds a game. He left JCCC earning two all-conference and all-region selections and a team MVP honor. Until JCCC switched to Division II, he was the only player to earn two all-region honors.
After leaving KU in 1977, Nobles was a sixth-round draft pick by the Detroit Pistons (124th overall selection). On Sept. 14, 1977, Nobles signed a multi-year contract with the Pistons. Eight days later, Detroit waived him. I’ve tried researching his whereabouts and even called him once (non-working number), but failed to find any information on him.
That is, until 2013, when a basketball writer from Belgium named Bert Larsimont contacted me via email after reading my blog on Rick Suttle, who starred at KU from 1972-75. He sent me a team picture with Suttle and Nobles in it from the late 1970s/early 80s with the Belgian historic club CEP Fleurus. I was thrilled to see my childhood heroes Nobles and Suttle in the picture, playing in Belgium about 35 years ago. That’s all I know about Nobles after he left KU; he’s never attended any of the Kansas basketball reunions.
I learned I’m not the only person who loved Herb Hobles’ game before the Legend of the Phog exhibition game at Allen Fieldhouse in September 2011. A KU fan named “Jaybate” posted this comment on KUsports.com before the contest:
“I am going to come out of the weird closet on this and say: I want to see Herb Nobles play in this game, though I suspect he is, to(o) old now to get up and down the floor. Herb Nobles is for me kind of KU's Dennis Rodman--a remarkable mid sized player who was too weird by half even for the strange years he played during.
Herb Nobles seemed just a little crazed, but always in a good way. Herb had a style all his own. His moves were like no one else's. His hair was ahead of its time. His body language was ahead of its time. His game was maybe ahead of its time.
Herb Nobles could do things with a basketball.
Herb had hops like nobody's business.
Herb Nobles apparently stoned into short periods of attention span remains intermittently one of the best forwards I have seen at KU.
And he would have been in those days hardly alone on his teams, if he were El Fumarando.
All bad habits work for some players and not for others.
It is rumored that Brandon, Chalmers, Mario, and Sherron (I always wondered if smoke were at the bottom of his weight problem) and others sang La Cucaracha and they won a ring.
I have always secretly felt that Herb might have fit in with the ring team a bit better than the teams he actually played on.
Self always encourages the go get a basket guys to improvise once the opportunity comes to them. Herb could improvise with a basketball like Robin Williams with a stand-up routine.
And Self has always said he likes characters, and Herb was perhaps the ultimate character of all time to wear a KU jersey. Scott Pollard, bless his spacey little heart, seems like a Presbyterian deacon compared to Herb Nobles. Herb was so naturally unorthodox he did not have to morph his appearance at all to attract attention.
It is my belief that if Scott Pollard ever met Herb Nobles, Scott would say, ‘Whew, that dude makes me feel like Pat Sajak.’
My hunch has always been that had Herb been smoke free, at least on the floor (note: again, no one but Herb could say for sure if he walked the dog, or not), he might have been more consistent and been pretty highly regarded among KU's players.
Hence, I want to come out and say, Herb, if you are out there and reading this, I would love it and be proud, if you showed up, suited up, and played even just a minute or two, on behalf of all past characters that have played for KU.
There really were strange rangers before Scott Pollard at KU. And they really were just as lovable as Scott.”
I learned much more about Nobles’ game and personality after reading this tribute comment from “Jaybate.”
Above all, Herb Nobles: I will never forget you! Once a Jayhawk, Always a Jayhawk!
