After Darnell Valentine took Kansas and college basketball by storm his freshman season — leading the Big Eight in steals and assists and setting a single-season school record for most steals, assists and free throws made while leading KU to a final No. 10 ranking and 24-5 record — he entered his sophomore year with even greater hype.
Valentine, the 6-2 point guard, was named a preseason All-American by prestigious Street & Smith Magazine. Joining him on the team included Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Sidney Moncrief and Darrell Griffith. He was also part of a Sports Illustrated cover story talking about the scintillating sophomore class in college hoops with Magic donning the cover.
The headline of the SI Nov. 27, 1978 issue read:
A CLASS WITH CLASS
HERE IS THE NEW ELITE. THESE 10 DEBONAIR YOUNG GENTLEMEN ARE THE VERY UPPER CRUST OF THIS SEASON'S SOPHOMORES, A GROUP SOPHISTICATED SO FAR BEYOND ITS YEARS IT RANKS AMONG THE MOST SELECT CLASSES EVER
Sports Illustrated listed the top 10 sophomores, with Valentine making the first team, along with Magic (Michigan State), Gene Banks (Duke), Jeff Ruland (Iona) and Kelly Tripucka (Notre Dame).
“Guard Darnell Valentine has a record foes consider criminal,” SI wrote. “He's murder on offense, leading Kansas in both points and assists, and is a thief on defense, with 80 steals.”
With Valentine and 7-1 senior center Paul Mokeski returning, KU was even ranked No. 2 in one preseason poll. The AP poll ranked Kansas No. 5 while SI had KU No. 14. The consensus of preseason publications had KU repeating as Big Eight champions.
“Kansas basketball tradition is a familiar story. Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith and Wilt Chamberlain played there. James Naismith and Phog Allen coached there. The Jayhawks have won more games than any college team except Kentucky,” SI wrote. “But there is a less appreciated tradition behind the tradition—the ritual of unrealistic-expectations. Kansas is never supposed to lose, yet the Jayhawks have had three seasons of .500 or below in the past 10. Another rash of unreasonable forecasts is burdening this year's team, which has lost six veterans, including three starters, from the 1977-78 club that went 24-5. Nonetheless, one poll has Kansas second in the nation.
“That is expecting too much. For the Jayhawks to finish that high, 255-pound Center Paul (Big Mo) Mokeski will have to rampage like the Incredible Hulk. He has come close on occasion. In last season's NCAA regionals, the 7'1" Mokeski outperformed UCLA All-America David Greenwood, 18 points to 14 and 12 rebounds to 10. Unfortunately, Mokeski fouled out of that game and seven others and averaged just 23.3 minutes a start. At times this season his floormates will be four guards. Under these conditions, leading Kansas to the No. 2 spot would be a tall order, even for Mokeski. "Two things are important; that Paul get himself in terrific shape and stay out of foul trouble," says Coach Ted Owens. Mokeski wants to do more. "I'm going to have to rebound better and take over the scoring," he says. His frontcourt partners, Johnny Crawford, who averaged only 1.6 points a game last season before being declared scholastically ineligible, and Booty Neal, a 2.6 scorer, will do their best to lighten Mokeski's load. But their best is certainly going to have to improve.
“Kansas is stronger at guard. Darnell Valentine, a sophomore, led the Big Eight in steals and assists as a freshman while scoring a team-high 13.5 points per game. Wilmore (Little Mo) Fowler completes a formidable starting backcourt. Owens calls Fowler a "potential 55% shooter"; now that Little Mo has learned to pull up before taking his jumpers, he could hit his potential.
“But matching last year's record may depend mostly on freshmen. Fortunately Kansas has three of the nation's best in Tony Guy, a 51% shooter in high school; Forward David Magley, Indiana's Mr. Basketball last season; and 6'10" Mark Snow, who broke Bill Walton's shot-blocking record at Helix High in La Mesa, Calif. Only Guy is likely to help immediately. On occasion, Owens may even decide to use Valentine, Fowler, Guy and senior Brad Sanders at once, giving the Jayhawks a four-guard lineup.
“With its fast-break offense and pressure defense, Kansas will be as entertaining as ever, but success may turn more on how well the Jayhawks rebound off the defensive board. They will be tested early and often, with road games at Kentucky, Southern California, San Diego State and Michigan State. "A 20-6 record is the least we need for an at-large bid to the NCAAs," Owens said at a preseason team meeting. More likely, the Jayhawks will get an automatic bid by repeating as Big Eight champions. That is not too much to expect.”
Owens started Valentine and Fowler at guard, Guy at the three spot and Crawford at power forward, with Mokeski at center. This was a young team with three sophomores, a freshman, and one senior in the starting five. The Jayhawks would have to grow up fast to make some noise in the Big Eight and nationally.
It would not be easy, even with one of the most heralded players in the country in Valentine.
No. 5 KU won its first four games before a heavyweight showdown with No. 10 Kentucky, the defending national champions, at Rupp Arena in front of over 23,000 fans. The Jayhawks seemingly had the game won up by six points with 31 seconds left in overtime when disaster happened. KU made multiple mistakes, including calling a timeout when none were available. UK star guard Kyle Macy made the technical and the Wildcats won 67-66.
That loss would have lasting ramifications on the once Jayhawks’ promising season.
“It was an absolutely devastating loss,” Owens told John Hendel in his 1991 book, Kansas Jayhawks: History-making basketball.
“They just sobbed in the dressing room for 30 minutes after that. I couldn’t find the words to get them out of it. We were all devastated. What had looked like one of the great victories in Kansas history over a really good Kentucky team ended in a terrible defeat.
“That really hung with that young team,” Owens added. “I don’t think if it had happened to a veteran team, it would have been quite as bad, but we had a couple of freshmen in the lineup, a couple of sophomores and maybe one senior. It was a tough loss and I think it had a lot to do with the losses later in the year. I just don’t think there was that confidence factor. I just think there were too many young people and sort of that shadow of that earlier loss as Kentucky kind of was a blow to their confidence.
“It was a killer to our team.”
Valentine scored a career-high 27 points, while Mokeski grabbed eight boards.
KU then lost five of its next 10 games, including an 89-83 overtime defeat at USC on Dec. 21, 1978, when Valentine scored a new career-high 28 points. After a 66-64 overtime loss at Nebraska on Jan. 27, Kansas got hot, winning four of its next five games, including an impressive 88-85 win at Missouri on Feb. 7. The Jayhawks’ only loss during that span was at No. 14 Michigan State, which was hyped as the big nationally televised matchup with super sophs Magic Johnson and Darnell Valentine.
Magic got the better of D.V. and Kansas, winning big, 85-61. The Spartans would beat Larry Bird and Indiana State that year for the national championship. I recall Valentine stealing the ball once from Magic and how thrilled I was.
Guy, a very good defensive player — yet only a freshman — also guarded Johnson.
“Magic was so overwhelming that I said to myself, ‘What am I doing out here?’ He was just truly incredible,” Guy told me in 1999.
Fowler led KU with 18 points, while Mokeski had eight rebounds.
The Jayhawks won four of their final six games in regular-season play, finishing in a tie for second in the Big Eight at just 8-6. Their two losses came to Iowa State and Kansas State by two points each. One of KU’s wins came at home against Oklahoma (74-62) on Feb. 10, four days before Valentine’s Day. Apparently, OU was in no loving mood for KU’s own Darnell Valentine.
After Valentine stole the ball and sprinted downcourt for a layup, Oklahoma’s Terry Stotts “undercut him from behind, sending Valentine flying into the padded support for the goal,” reported the 1996 Crimson and Blue Handbook.
“Valentine was OK, but Owens lost his cool and rushed the Oklahoma bench. He was outraged because he believed that the KU guard had been the target of rough tactics around the league.”
According to the Wichita Eagle, the columnist wrote “the Kansas coach pushed his way into the Oklahoma bench area and was seen swinging his arm at OU coach Dave Bliss. There was some shoving before Sooners’ star John McCullough pulled Owens away. One of the officials, John Dabrow of Wichita, finally escorted Owens back to the KU bench. Owens was not dealt a technical foul. ...”
Owens relived that night on the Jayhawk Radio Network on Jan. 1, 2005 before KU’s game against Georgia Tech, when Valentine’s jersey was retired at halftime.
“I’ll never forget ... everyone got tired of him stealing the ball, so finally Oklahoma just decked him on the other end of the court,” Owens said. “Then I did a stupid thing, got into a little conversation with Dave Bliss. Darnell’s mother, Rose, called me and said, ‘I’m proud of you coach even though the Big Eight Conference is after you.’”
Valentine was unfazed. He still scored 19 points while Crawford also had 19.
After Kansas won its first two games of the Big Eight Tournament, Oklahoma blew KU out 80-65 in the championship game at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, ending the Jayhawks’ disappointing season at 18-11. So, after much hype and fanfare entering the year, Kansas was denied an NCAA Tournament bid. Hendel wrote that the Jayhawks had “seven of the losses by two points or less lost in overtime.”
It would be a long summer for Valentine and KU.
Valentine led the team in scoring at 16.1 points in 34.8 minutes per game (up from 26.2 mpg as a freshman), followed by Mokeski (14.1 ppg), Crawford (10.2 ppg), Fowler (9.2 ppg) and Guy (9.2 ppg.), who showed flashes of greatness. Valentine, who set a new school record with 91 steals (3.1 spg) and 170 assists (5.9 apg), was named first-team All-Big Eight for the second straight year and selected as a second-team Sporting News All-American.
However, he often had to do too much with this young team and his field goal percentage dipped from 48.1 percent as a freshman to just 44.3 percent this season. His field goal attempts increased from 10.2 his freshman season to 12.9 as a sophomore. Valentine’s free throw percentage, meanwhile, decreased from 74.1 percent his freshman season to only 68.0 percent as a sophomore, although his attempts increased from 4.9 as a freshman to 6.9 per game his sophomore season.
While Valentine had emerged as one of the best players in America and the best defensive guard in KU history, Guy lamented it was frustrating playing with him.
“I think that Darnell Valentine was a great basketball player, there’s no doubt about it. But Darnell did not have a lot of confidence in the guys he was playing with,” Guy told Mark Stallard in his 2005 book, Tales from the Jayhawks Hardwood.
“It was almost as if we had to prove to Darnell that we were worthy to be his teammates. I always found that interesting, in that you’re talking about a guy who was a great athlete, but he was just an okay basketball player. I thought he was a great athlete, you couldn’t help admire him as an athlete. But as a basketball player, he was just an average shooter. If you look at the overall statistics, it’s not like he lit the place up. He didn’t pass the ball a whole lot, to be totally honest. I was a shooting guard, and trying to get the ball of out of his hands was like pulling teeth.
“It was interesting, because it was almost like we had to prove that we could play.”
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