Darnell Valentine led KU to a magical season as a freshman in 1977-78

Darnell Valentine, the prep phenom from Wichita Heights, took a recruiting visit to North Carolina with fellow high school sensation Al Wood from Gray, Georgia, during his senior year. Valentine could see himself playing for legendary coach Dean Smith and the Tar Heels, a school with such rich tradition that was competing with Kansas for Valentine’s services.

“I was feeling very comfortable at North Carolina, and Lafayette (Norwood, Valentine’s coach at Heights) and I said, ‘Let’s go back to Wichita and sit down and gather ourselves and make the decision,’” Valentine recalled before the KU-Georgia Tech game on Jan. 1, 2005 in Allen Fieldhouse, where his jersey was retired at halftime.

However, everything changed for Valentine and KU when head coach Ted Owens soon made Norwood his assistant coach and the first full-time African-American assistant in KU basketball history.

“A week later I believe or somewhere in that space of time, they brought him as a staff member,” Valentine said. “It certainly laid things in Kansas’ favor.”

So Valentine picked KU instead of Smith and North Carolina while Wood chose UNC. D.V., a tenacious defensive player, was expected to have an immediate and profound impact after two down seasons for Kansas (13-13 in 1975-76 and 18-10 in 1976-77).

Valentine and Norwood were — and have always been — extremely tight.

“Lafayette, I don’t know if he adopted me or I grabbed his leg, but we’re attached,” Valentine said. “His family, we’re still very close.”

A reporter asked Valentine if he would have gone to Wichita State had the Shockers hired Norwood as an assistant coach.

“That’s a good one. I think he would have done very well, but I probably would have gone to North Carolina,” Valentine said. “Oh, Dean Smith and the tradition of North Carolina and the players that were there. It’s a phenomenal program, a phenomenal program. Phil Ford (star point guard) was a senior, I would have had the opportunity to learn and expand my game. That would have been incredible.”

But Valentine certainly has no regrets about becoming a Jayhawk.

  

“It’s something that I’ve never looked back on,” he said with a smile. “I’m 300 percent sure that it was the right decision to me.”

Valentine started from day one for that great and magical 1977-78 team, which was ranked as high as No. 5 nationally and finished at 24-5, losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 2 ranked UCLA. Joining Valentine in the starting lineup were senior guards Clint Johnson and John Douglas and junior Paul Mokeski and senior Ken Koenigs up front. Senior forward-center Donnie Von Moore and freshman guard Wilmore Fowler were invaluable as the team’s Super Subs. 

That squad, which had seven players average over 20 minutes per game with Douglas a team-high 27.8 mpg, had very good chemistry after some tough years, but throughout Valentine’s career, his extremely close and unique relationship with Norwood hurt team unity. Norwood once had a picture of Valentine in his office, which upset Owens. Ted told Norwood to take the picture down and told his assistant that if he’s going to have a picture, make it a team picture.

Valentine and Norwood were always inseparable at KU, apart from the other players and coaches. Max Falkenstien, the legendary KU announcer, wrote about this in his 1996 book, Max and the Jayhawks:

“In fact, it was a strange coach-player relationship. They were always together. In airports, hotels, they were generally in tandem, separated from the rest of the team. I always questioned whether this was a good situation for team unity, but we never talked much about it.”

A source inside the Kansas basketball program at the time told me Norwood’s salary was being paid by KU boosters in Wichita. This source called these boosters the “mafia.” While Norwood was taken care of, he had other issues to worry about.

“It wasn’t all peaches and cream when I took the assistant coaching job at the University of Kansas,” Norwood told the Johnson County Community College Campus Ledger on April 17, 2014. “It just wasn’t popular to always have black coaches at that level, so I ran into obstacles of opponents and even some of our own fans.”

While Norwood tried his best to do his job with fellow assistant Bob Hill and coach Owens, KU was having a dream season. This was a balanced, senior dominated team led by a freshman phenom in Valentine with four players averaging in double figures that season. KU was paced by Valentine (13.5 ppg), followed by Douglas (12.7), Keonigs (11.1) and Von Moore (10.7), while Mokeski averaged 9.3 points and Fowler 7.0 points per game.

Each player had its role and performed it to near perfection. Valentine was the playmaker, defensive stopper and scorer; Douglas, who sacrificed his game (team-high 19.2 points per game as a junior last season as an honorable mention All-American), was very athletic who could score and defend taller players; Johnson was a defensive scrapper who never saw a loose ball he didn’t like; Koenigs was a smooth shooting 6-10 forward and good rebounder; Mokeski added great size at 7-foot who could score and defend in the low post, rebound and block shots; and Von Moore was a great shooter who could rebound and block shots off the bench. Fowler, meanwhile, added outside scoring. He was a prep phenom from Palmetto, Florida, who the Detroit Pistons considered drafting out of high school.

The high-powered Jayhawks won seven of their first nine games (eclipsed century mark in three of the first four games) with only losses to No. 1 ranked Kentucky and No. 4 Arkansas. KU then caught fire winning its next 17 of 18 games with the only defeat at Nebraska (62-58).

Leading KU’s charge was Valentine. Falkenstien wrote about his great addition:

“Although he was just one year removed from high school, Valentine was an instant hero. He arrived at Kansas and played an extraordinary role from the start. He was a tremendous athlete and was impressive in all phases of the game.”

I vividly remember going to the games at Allen Fieldhouse with my dad and getting chills knowing I was watching the No. 5 ranked team in the country and watching my heroes like Valentine, Douglas and Von Moore. To this day, that squad remains one of my all-time favorite KU teams.

KU won the Big Eight title (13-1) and all roads look paved to opening the NCAA Tournament in Allen Fieldhouse, where Kansas was expected to win the Big Eight Tournament and become the automatic qualifier in the NCAA Midwest Region. All the ‘Hawks would then need was to win two games to advance to their first Final Four since 1974.

Koenigs, a two-time Academic All-American, a longtime doctor in Springfield, Massachusetts, and one of the smartest players in KU history, raved about KU’s team chemistry.

“I think we all got along well,” he told me in a 2001 interview. “That whole season kind of fell into place. There were some good guys on that team.”

But heartbreak happened in the semifinals of the Big Eight postseason tournament in Kansas City at Kemper Arena, when K-State upset KU 87-76. Kansas had already beaten the Wildcats three times that season, but on this night, the fourth win was not the charm.

“It is very tough to beat your arch rival four times in a row, especially in that day and age,” Keonigs said.

So instead of being the automatic qualifier and having homecourt advantage in Allen Fieldhouse, the 24-4 Jayhawks were shipped to Eugene, Oregon, for a first-round matchup against heavyweight UCLA in the West Region.

It would be a tough test to get out of the first round. But KU held a 10-point lead in the second half with nine minutes left and seemed in command when Valentine picked up his fourth foul. Owens then had a huge decision to make.

“Ordinarily, I would have substituted for him, but the momentum was ours and I couldn’t allow the UCLA guards to take over the game,” Owens wrote in his 2013 book, At the Hang-Up. “I decided to leave him in the game...and on the very next possession of the ball, he was called for a charge. I must have looked like the dumbest coach in America--and I might have been. But if I had to do it over, I would do the same.”

Without Valentine in the game, the Bruins rallied and won 83-76. And just like that, KU’s magical season — a year where the Jayhawks had the talent to make the Final Four — was now over.

“I thought it was a great season,” Koenigs said. “It kind of ended abruptly.”

Valentine finished the season against UCLA with 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting and 1-of-2 from the free throw line in 29 minutes. He added six assists, three rebounds and one steal. Mokeski led KU with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Von Moore, who posted eight points and four boards in 21 minutes, was so disgusted in the loss that he went to California with Clint Johnson and spent two weeks with Johnson’s brother before returning to Lawrence.

That loss still pains Von Moore all these years later.

“Especially after we were killing them, it was disaster,” Von Moore told me in a 2000 interview. “All those seniors. ... We lost to UCLA and had to go home.”

Von Moore was angry at Valentine and Owens. He implied D.V. was a very selfish player.

“Darnell got something he didn’t deserve. He was one of the reasons we lost the UCLA game,” Von Moore said. “He tried to have a personal one-one-one contest with Hamilton (Roy, star UCLA point guard). Darnell had two or three charges trying to take the man. Ted let him do it. It changed whole momentum and led them back in. (He got in) foul trouble. (It was) stupid, so pissed off. We could have went somewhere with all the players we had.  

“They put the game in (Valentine’s) hands,” Donnie added. “Other than Darnell bringing the ball up the court, no shot. Had no jumper, no real overall game. He was just Darnell Valentine who had the ball all the time.”

While Von Moore’s college career came to a bitter end, Valentine’s magical career was just getting started. He had an outstanding season and established himself as one of the best freshmen in the country with the likes of Michigan State’s Magic Johnson and Duke’s Gene Banks. 

The star point guard was named first-team All-Big Eight (along with Koenigs) and set a school record for steals (80), free throws made (106) and assists (130) in a season. His 13.5 points per game was also the highest of any freshman in KU history.

While Von Moore was extremely critical of Valentine, Koenigs loved playing with him.

”I think he was one of the final steps that helped us set it over,” Koenigs said. “His addition to that team was big. It was kind of a key issue and a key component. He blended in pretty well. Obviously, Darnell brought a lot to the table and helped finish off the picture and make a great contribution.”

Ken Koenigs starred on and off the court at KU

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I had a wonderful Where Are They Now? interview with former KU standout Ken Koenigs in February 2001 for Jayhawk Insider. Koenigs was a smooth shooting 6-10 forward and one of the smartest players to ever wear the crimson and blue.

A two-time Academic All-American in 1977 and ‘78, the Goddard, Kan., native became just 

the second player in KU history to receive the prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Award after his senior year in 1978.

While he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fifth round after an impressive senior year, Koenigs declined a career in pro basketball to pursue his dream of a medical career.  He’s been a doctor (gastroenterologist) in Springfield, Mass., since 1988.

“I always liked science,” Koenigs told me. “I think I’m a people person and I like the ability to combine and help people and interact, and use science in that clinical background.” 

Koenigs has fond memories of his KU career, where he excelled academically and on the hardwood, earning first-team All-Big Eight honors his senior year while averaging 11.1 points per game and pacing the team with a 60.3 field goal percentage. He savors the relationships he built with teammates like Paul Mokeski and roommate John Douglas, KU head coach Ted Owens, his chemistry teacher Clark Bricker (he won four HOPE awards for outstanding teaching) and Chancellor Archie Dykes.

Koenigs grew up listening on the radio to Jayhawk heroes like Jo Jo White, Rodger Bohnenstiehl, Roger Brown and Dave Robisch.

Koenigs, who “bled crimson and blue,” and whose dad went to KU, admitted his tough sophomore (13-13) and junior seasons (18-10) ”wasn’t always the greatest times,” but said his career “ended on a high note” with the great 24-5 1977-78 team, which won the Big Eight championship (13-1) and was ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation.

“I thought it was a great overall experience. Great memories. (It was a) dream come true,” Koenigs said about coming to Kansas. “It kind of worked out as I hoped it would.”

Here is my Where are they Now? story on Dr. Ken Koenigs.

...

Ken Koenigs remembers quite well those late night hours burning the midnight oil studying in the science and law libraries at the University of Kansas.  He even found refuge hitting the books in hotel bathrooms during road trips so he wouldn’t “keep anybody else awake.”

 

And then there were those long bus rides with his KU basketball teammates back from Stillwater, Okla., where he’d return at 3:30 a.m. in time for a cat nap before rising for his 7:30 morning chemistry labs.

“You’d come back on Thursdays and do that and then go to practice,” Koenigs recalled recently from his home in Longmeadow, Mass., where he has a private medical practice in nearby Springfield.  “You were pretty dead by the time the day was over with.”

But the 6-10 smooth shooting forward and chemistry (pre-med) major endured.  Koenigs was an Academic All-American in 1977 and ‘78, and became just the second player in KU history to receive the prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Award after his senior year in 1978.

“It was hard making the adjustment, especially my freshman year,” Koenigs said about balancing hoops and academics. “I think in the end it prepares you for med school, because you had to develop the discipline and work ethic.”

Koenigs not only excelled in the classroom, but on the hardwood as well. After two solid years in 1976 and ‘77, he blossomed as a star  player his senior year.  Koenigs, a co-captain that season, made All-Big Eight and led the team with an amazing 60.3 field goal percentage. It was a dream season for Koenigs and Kansas, which went 13-1 in the Big Eight and finished the year 24-5.

“It was a good team that got along well together,” Koenigs said. “Things kind of clicked. There were some good guys on that team. Obviously, Darnell (Valentine) brought a lot to the table and helped finish off the picture and made a great contribution.”

Unfortunately, KU’s season ended abruptly with a first-round loss to UCLA in the NCAA Tournament.

“You’d like to have made it all the way, or at least made it a little farther,” Koenigs said.

Koenigs, who actually played in the NABC All-Star game at the Final Four, was eventually drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers.  After an impressive showing in rookie camp, Koenigs decided to forgo veterans camp and follow his high school dream of becoming a doctor.

“It was a long-held goal, and that was pretty much my priority,” he said.  “I never thought I’d be good enough to play in the NBA. I was somewhat of a late bloomer and had a very good senior year. It was only at that point where I thought I’d might do it, but that was never my primary goal.”

After graduating from KU Medical School in 1982, Koenigs spent the next  five years at Yale for his residency and fellowship, where he specialized in gastroenterology. In 1988, Koenigs moved to Massachusetts and opened up a private practice in Springfield.  

He’s been there ever since.

The former KU standout said one of his biggest thrills recently was inviting Roy Williams’ Jayhawks to his house for Thanksgiving dinner when the team was in Springfield for the Tip-Off Classic in November, 1998.

“That was a great experience,” Koenigs said.  “Coach Williams has been unbelievable in keeping (ex-KU) players involved and having these reunions and banquets and really keeping everybody in the Kansas family. ... He’s always been very gracious. I think that’s one of the great things about him.  Even if you weren’t a player who played for him, you still feel like you’re part of the program.”

 

Koenigs biggest kick of the evening was when his son, Thomas, got into a “heated” air hockey match with Lester Earl.

“The puck flies off and hits Matt (assistant coach Doherty) in the head.  Now that Matt’s the head man at North Carolina, Tom’s claim to fame is that he about knocked him out with a air hockey puck,” Koenigs said with a laugh.

Dr. Koenigs, indeed, finds lots to laugh and smile about these days knowing just how far he’s come since those long nights quietly studying chemistry equations in motel restrooms throughout the Big 8 conference.  

"It’s an interesting phenomenon to finally get where you want to be,” he said. “I’m very satisfied with what I’m doing and where I’m at.” 

A Closer Look at Ken Koenigs:

Years at KU: 1974-’78

Career Notables: All-Big Eight in 1978...Two-time Academic All-American in 1977 and ‘78... Led team in free throw percentage in 1976 and ‘77, and topped squad in field goal percentage in 1978 at 60.3.

Family: Wife, Laura M. Pinkston (she’s a pediatrician in adolescent medicine) and children: Thomas, 15, Maria, 13.

Education: 1978, B.A. Chemistry; 1982, M.D. (KU School of Medicine)

Since Leaving KU: After receiving a M.D. from the KU School of Medicine in 1982, Koenigs spent the next five years in Yale completing his residency and fellowship. In 1988, he settled into a private practice in Springfield, Mass. 

Currently: Koenigs is a doctor (gastroenterologist in private practice in Springfield).

Hobbies: Skiing, golf, basketball.

Favorite Memories: close-knit 1978 team and special relationships with teammates like Paul Mokeski and roommate John Douglas...Playing in Allen Fieldhouse: “That’s an experience you don’t get in any lifetime.”

On the Jayhawks Today: “They’re having a great year.  They’re certainly in that top 10.”

Recalling my childhood hero and former Jayhawk star John “The Franchise” Douglas

John Douglas is one of my all-time favorite Jayhawks. There was just something magical about this 6-2 slender and athletic guard. He had the perfect shooting form, and when his shot swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse, I thought it was the most beautiful sight in the world.

As a very impressionable 11-year-old kid growing up in Lawrence, John was my childhood hero. I put him up on a pedestal; for me, he simply could do no wrong.

This was especially the case that memorable night at Hilton Coliseum on Feb. 16, 1977. I remember pacing in my bedroom as I listened to my favorite announcer Tom Hedrick broadcast that thrilling KU game against Iowa State. I was so nervous and hanging on each basket. Douglas was unconscious this night, scoring a career-high 46 points, still the third-most points in a single game in KU history behind legends Wilt Chamberlain and Bud Stallworth.

He shot 19 of 30 from the field and also had nine rebounds.

Here is how Chuck Woodling of the Lawrence Journal-World wrote about John’s scoring exploits that night.

“John Douglas did everything but put a drum on his back, a harmonica in his mouth and cymbals between his knees here Wednesday night. Douglas was one-man band, all right, scoring 46 points to help the Jayhawks escape cellar-dwelling Iowa State, 91-89, in overtime.”

Four KU players fouled out, with seldom-used reserve Chris Barnthouse tipping in a missed 20-footer by Douglas at the buzzer for the game-winning bucket in OT.

Hedrick recalls what Barnthouse said on the bus afterwards.

“’Today, John Douglas and Chris Barnthouse combined for 48 points. Of course, John had 46 and I had two.’ Everybody laughed. They couldn’t quit laughing.” 

I absolutely loved Hedrick’s nickname for John, “The Franchise.” I’d get chills hearing Hedrick calling him “The Franchise” on the radio and watching Douglas perform his magic in Allen Fieldhouse. He was a bright spot on the 18-10 Jayhawks in 1976-77, Douglas’s junior year after transferring from Calhoun (Ala.) Community College, where he holds numerous scoring records and led his the Warhawks his freshman season to a  27–3 record and a No. 3 national ranking. Douglas averaged 19.2 points per game for KU and was named All Big-Eight and Honorable Mention All-American.

With the arrival of freshman sensation Darnell Valentine the following season, Douglas sacrificed his game for the betterment of the team and averaged 12.7 points per game. He still could do it all on offense and defense, always drawing the opposing team’s small forward in KU’s three guard lineup with Clint Johnson and Valentine.

While he didn’t have unlimited range, Douglas could knock down the 20-foot jumper with consistency and was quick and could dribble and drive to the hoop. For me, he was so smooth and poetry in motion. I never wanted him to leave Kansas and I'd get mad at Valentine for not passing the ball to John on the fast break. I wanted my childhood hero to score all the points, just as he did his previous season. John helped lead KU to a No. 5 national ranking and a 24-5 record that senior year, one of the most underrated teams in school history.

While John’s college career ended with a devastating loss to UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, he was drafted in the sixth round by the New Orleans Jazz in 1978. Douglas played two years in the CBA for Montana under head coach George Karl, competing for championships in 1981 and 1983. John ended up playing for the Los Angeles Clippers with Kobe Byrant’s dad, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant in 1981-82. Douglas played in 64 games, averaging 7.0 points per game while playing just three games the next season.

John then embarked on a long, successful career in Europe, playing in Italy and France.

“He was a scoring machine up there,” said Ken Koenigs in 2001, Douglas’s teammate and roommate at Kansas.

Koenigs told me that John became “very worldly” and “very polished” in Europe.

“It was good to see his growth and where he’s gone now,” Koenigs said.

Koenigs has very fond memories of Douglas from their days at Kansas. But Koenigs did have one little problem with his former roommate.

“I never got a phone message the entire year. He was not a good answering machine,” Koenigs told me with a chuckle. “A great roommate, but not very good at passing along the phone messages.” 

I had a lifetime thrill with having John in my sociology of sport class at KU when I went back to school in the summer of 1989 or ‘90 (I forget the exact year) after graduating with honors in 1988. John returned to KU finishing up his B.S. degree in education (he also ended up receiving a master of science in education at North Alabama). It was great talking to John and getting to know him a little bit in class. He was very nice and kind to me, and I even played in a pick-up basketball game with him one night at Lawrence High School, along with guys like Terry Brown and Bud Stallworth. That was indeed a memorable night.

After his playing career ended, John has had a very successful career in coaching. He led his alma mater, Calhoun Community College, to a 32-4 record in 2000 and runner-up finish in the NJCAA national tournament. He is only the second coach in the history of Alabama Junior Colleges to have coached in a national championship game. The Warhawks were picked as the preseason No. 2 team in the nation in one preseason publication the following year; a team that had only been in Division 1 the first year they made their national championship game appearance in Hutchinson. 

A three-time Coach of the Year winner, Douglas was selected to be a court coach with the USA Olympic Team in 2000.

Douglas has also been head coach at Fort Valley State and Lawson State Community College in Birmingham, Ala., and also served as coach of the Magic City Court Kings (summer of 2005) and Druid City Dragons (summer of 2006) in the World Basketball Association. 

Douglas helped resurrect the Lawson State program, coaching the team to a 46-16 record his first two years after LSCC recorded just an 8-20 mark a year prior to his arrival. Lawson State won the Alabama Community College Conference championship in 2005. 

Douglas, who began his long coaching career as an assistant at Calhoun Community College, has also served as an assistant coach under his older brother Leon, a two-time All-American at Alabama and longtime NBA veteran, at Tuskegee Institute and Miles College.

Above all, John “The Franchise” Douglas is a winner who left me lasting memories at KU that I will cherish forever. I first learned to shoot a jump shot in eighth grade at Park Hill Park while pretending to be him. That jump shot helped me make my eighth grade team, a huge accomplishment at my size (5-foot-2 at the time), despite not completing full tryouts due to an injury. I guess I impressed my coaches with my abilities and jump shot, all thanks to my inspiration and my childhood hero John Douglas.

John, I will never forget you. Thanks for the memories! You left an indelible impact on my life.

1977-78 KU Team Took Jayhawk Fans On A Magical Ride

Nobody can ever replace my first true Kansas basketball love. That was the 1974 Final Four team, which captured my heart, soul and imagination as I fell in "love" with players like Rick Suttle, Dale Greenlee, Roger Morningstar and Norm Cook. But after winning its second-straight Big Eight title in 1975 and then suffering two seasons without an NCAA berth, the 1977-78 squad became my second love as an 11-year-old growing up in Lawrence and remains one of my all-time favorite Jayhawk teams.

With veteran players John Douglas ("The Franchise"), Clint Johnson, Ken Koenigs, Paul Mokeski and Donnie Von Moore returning from an 18-10 team the previous year, I knew KU could be pretty good. But with the addition of freshman phenoms Darnell Valentine and Wilmore Fowler, I thought the Jayhawks could actually be great.

Valentine was KU’s first McDonald's All-American from Wichita, a 6-2 do-everything point guard who led his Heights team to an undefeated season his senior year (the 1977 Wichita Heights team is arguably the best prep squad in Kansas history), while Fowler from Palmetto, Florida, was one of the top three high school guards in the country behind Magic Johnson and Valentine, a deadly outside shooter and phenomenal leaper. 

Fowler was so talented that fans would line up three hours before his prep games seeking autographs, and the Detroit Pistons considered drafting him out of high school, something relatively unheard of in that era. Wilt Chamberlain even called his house trying to recruit him to KU.

I remember taking the short walk up my street on 27th Terrace to the first day of school that year at Broken Arrow as a sixth grader and talking to my friends like Clark about the excitement of Kansas basketball with the heralded additions of Valentine and Fowler, and how much of an impact they could make on Jayhawk hoops in 1977-78 as one of the best backcourts in the land.

I surely thought this could be a magical year.

Despite those two fab newcomers, KU wasn't perceived as a national contender, or even a Big Eight leader for that matter.

"We were not even picked in the top three or four in the league that year," then-KU coach Ted Owens said in John Hendel's 1991 book, "Kansas Jayhawks: History-Making Basketball."

"Kansas State was heavily favored to win the league. They had a great team. They had Rolando Blackman and Curtis Redding, out of New York who was an excellent player, and a backcourt player, Mike Evans. They had a terrific basketball team and they were heavily favored.”

KU needed to make a strong run at the league title to help Owens' job security. He was on the hot seat after the 1977 season.

“He’s the best coach in the Big Eight,” Douglas said in a wire story. “He shouldn’t be fired.”

Owens and KU made a statement with a 121-65 season-opening victory over Central Missouri State. Kansas won its first five games, eclipsing 100 points three times and scoring 99 points against Fordham in the second game.

But KU fell at home to No. 1 and eventual NCAA champion Kentucky, 73-66, in a hard-fought game on Dec. 10. The Jayhawks rebounded and easily beat Saint Louis at home and then ORU in Tulsa before losing another contest at powerhouse Arkansas, 78-72, a team which would earn a Final Four berth and featured the famed “Triplets” in Sidney Moncrief, Marvin Delph and Ron Brewer.

The Jayhawks then entered the Big Eight Holiday Tournament in Kansas City, crushing Missouri and edging Oklahoma for a battle against KSU in the title game. KU trailed by 12 points at halftime before surging in the second half for a big 67-62 victory. Senior Von Moore, one of my favorite players (I once named my city-league softball team after him) who overcame a life threatening illness earlier in his career, came up big with 20 points and was named the tourney's MVP.

Kansas built its winning streak to eight with five more victories, capped off with another big win over the previously Big Eight unbeaten Wildcats at home, 56-52, on Jan. 21. The crimson and blue fans showered the showboat Redding with hot dogs when he was introduced, a foreshadowing about how Von Moore and the Jayhawks would be treated in Manhattan in the rematch.

Finally, KU lost to Nebraska, 62-58, in Lincoln four days later, but still stood at 15-3 overall and 5-1 in league play. However, Owens knew he needed to make some changes.

“Defeat is often difficult to swallow, but out of trials, a coach makes adjustments that, many times, led to future success,” Owens wrote in his 2013 book, “At the Hang Up.”

“We decided to quit juggling our lineups and committed to a set starting team and a rotation off the bench. Ken and Paul started inside, backed by Donnie Von Moore, while John Douglas, Clint Johnson and Darnell Valentine started on the perimeter, backed up by Wilmore Fowler. Others also filled the bench, including Milt Gibson, Brad Sanders, Booty Neal, Mac Stalcup and Scott Anderson.”

The Jayhawks responded with the new lineup by winning their next eight games to close out the regular season. I can remember how excited I was sitting with my dad at Allen Fieldhouse in Section 2, Row 4, Seat 3 just watching the squad warm up before the game and knowing I was witnessing the No. 5 ranked team in the country. I got chills thinking about that and seeing my heroes like Douglas, Koenigs and Von Moore lead the 'Hawks to such a memorable season.

I put them on a pedestal; to me, they could do no wrong.

Except one player. While Valentine was doing an outstanding job as floor leader, I always got mad at him for not passing enough to Douglas on the fast break. Douglas became my hero and captured my imagination the previous year, especially when he exploded for 46 points at Iowa State (that still stands as the most points scored by a Jayhawk on the road) and finished as KU's leading scorer at 19.2 points per game. He was my favorite player on the 1978 team and I wanted him to score most of the points. But I still liked Darnell, and he would eventually become my all-time favorite Jayhawk after Douglas left Kansas.

This was basically an eight-man team with seven players averaging from Valentine's high of 26.2 minutes per game to Fowler's 22.1 minutes per contest. Owens kept people happy by dividing the minutes so equally, and even Sanders contributed as eighth man averaging 3.0 points in 10.0 minutes per game.

The parts meshed well; this was a balanced and close-knit team with four players averaging in double figures. Valentine was the star who paced the team at 13.5 points and set a freshman record with 130 assists and 80 steals. The 6-2 Douglas, who was adept at guarding bigger players, ranked second in scoring at 12.7 points per game, while Koenigs averaged 11.1 points and led the team with a 60.3 field goal percentage. Von Moore, who was a great sixth man, averaged 10.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while Mokeski (9.3 ppg, team-high 8.5 rpg) could be a force as well.

Johnson, a fearless hustler who never saw a loose ball he didn't like, chipped in 8.2 points while gunner Fowler averaged 7.0 points per contest.

As good as KU was, opponents tried to shut the Jayhawks down. KU was a victim of abuse when it visited Manhattan on Feb. 11 for a nationally televised contest against KSU. Hendel wrote:

"As an answer to the hot-dog bombardment in Lawrence, Kansas State students came up with a dig of their own. Several students showed up in monkey suits and, during the Kansas introductions, pelted the court with bananas and chickens, which had been painted blue. The game was delayed more than 20 minutes while the fruit and fowl was cleaned off the floor."

A classy Von Moore was the students' prime target. Donnie told me in an interview in 2000 that the K-State students even called him "ape man," and he was so distraught he doesn't recall scoring a point that game.

“It was like total shock,” Von Moore said. “To me, it was racist. It was cruel and mean spirited. You wouldn’t think educated, college people would stoop to a level like that in response to people throwing a couple of hot dogs, saying a player is a hot dog, then turning it around and saying you got a gorilla or ape playing on your team and throwing bananas.”

The move by K-State didn't help its cause; KU beat the Wildcats for the third-straight time that season, 75-63, with Douglas and Fowler scoring 18 points each. Kansas then beat Iowa State and Nebraska at home before clinching the Big Eight title (13-1) with a win at Colorado. This marked Owens' sixth Big Eight crown and the 35th conference championship since Kansas started league play in 1908.

“What a season it had been,” Owens wrote in his book. “A team picked to finish fourth in the league won the league instead and only lost a total of three games to date. Two of those losses came against Kentucky and Arkansas, teams ranked in the top five that would advance to the Final Four.

“Looking ahead, realizing the dream of winning a national championship was a real possibility with first and second round games in Wichita, the regional games in Allen Fieldhouse and the Final Four in St. Louis.”

However, at 23-3, KU still had some unfinished business looming with the Big Eight Tournament. After beating Colorado, 82-66, on Feb. 28, Kansas lost its first game to KSU that season in the semifinals, 87-76, as the Wildcats outscored KU by 15 points from the free throw line.

It was a heartbreaking loss for me, Owens, the Jayhawks and all KU fans. I remember listening to that game on the radio in our living room with Tom Hedrick calling the contest, and hearing Douglas miss a crucial 10-footer in the final minutes or so before we fell to the Wildcats, just realizing what a great opportunity we had slip away.

"We beat Kansas State three times," Owens told Hendel. "Beat them in the (holiday) tournament and beat them two other times. Kansas State finished fourth, they had a very disappointing year for them (18-11). It's just tough to beat a good team four times in a year.

"Everything was laid out perfectly for us,” Owens added. “All we had to do was win the Big Eight Tournament (and advance to Wichita and Allen Fieldhouse)... If there was ever a situation laid out perfectly from a geographic standpoint, from the standpoint of having great fan support, it was that year."

Unfortunately, the pesky Wildcats stole the party.

"They just put a wonderful game together, which they were capable of doing," Owens said. "And we just did not have a great game.”

The NCAA didn’t seed teams then, so sent the Jayhawks out to Eugene, Oregon, to begin tourney play against Pac-10 champion UCLA, while MU, which won the Big Eight Tournament, got placed in Wichita with just a 14-15 record.

"We walked through the Big Eight. We lost that one league game and we lost in the Big Eight Tournament," Koenigs told Hendel. "Had it been set up the way things are now (with seeding), we probably would have gotten a Midwest (regional), which was actually in Lawrence, but because then we got knocked out by K-State, we ended up going out west."

Owens added:

"Five of the top 10 teams in the country were in the Western Regional--UCLA, Arkansas, North Carolina, New Mexico, and us. It was loaded with great teams.”

Still, the Jayhawks headed into the Big Dance with confidence knowing they were playing well and had the stellar Valentine at point guard.

"I honestly don't think that we had a cohesiveness as a group as maybe when Darnell came," Koenigs told Hendel. "That was probably the most cohesive year. We all got along very well together.”

Koenigs talked more about Valentine and the team chemistry to me in a 2001 interview.

“It was a great team,” Koenigs said. “Things kind of clicked. There were some good guys on that team. Obviously, Darnell brought a lot to the table and helped finish off the picture and made a great contribution.”

While I wished KU opened the tournament in Wichita, I was still hyped about playing the tradition-rich Bruins in the first round. Although UCLA was a strong team which featured future NBA star forward Kiki Vandeweghe and boasted a strong backcourt with Roy Hamilton and Ray Townsend (the brother of longtime KU assistant Kurtis), I thought we could beat John Wooden’s squad and make a run to the national championship.

 

My dad and I had lunch before the game at a Chinese restaurant in Lawrence, bonding together while discussing topics like whether Von Moore could play in the NBA. We frequently talked about the chances of KU players making the NBA, and I know we were both rooting for Donnie.

"We'll know more after the UCLA game," my dad said in reference to how Donnie would play against the Bruins.

“Yes,” I said in agreement.

Owens prepared for the big game by calling some coaching friends and getting a scouting report on UCLA.

“Of all things, my friends said, don’t let UCLA get its running game going,” Owens wrote in his book. “To be certain that we stopped their transition game, I decided to send only our two big guys in for offensive rebounds and keep the three perimeter players back to try and disrupt the break. I made sure our big guys, Ken, Mo and Donnie, understood that the responsibility for offensive rebounds fell entirely on them. Our preparation went well and our practices were uplifting. The team had not lost their hopes of a national championship, even if the road was much rockier after the loss of a home-state, home-court advantage.”

Owens called the first half a “classic” as KU worked its own transition game and led 45-42 at halftime. But the Jayhawks got a rough break when Valentine was whistled with his fourth foul with nine minutes left as KU led by 10.

“Ordinarily, I would have substituted for him, but the momentum was ours and I couldn’t allow the UCLA guards to take over the game,” Owens wrote. “I decided to leave him in the game ... and on the very next possession of the ball, he was called for a charge. I must have looked like the dumbest coach in America— and I might have been. But if I had to do it over, I would do the same.”

With Valentine out of the game, the Bruins rallied and won, 83-76.

“We played well, for the most part, and scored 12 more points from the field than they did, but the Bruins had a 27-8 advantage at the line,” Owens wrote.

Not only did KU lose with the great foul disparity, but the game was also marred with legendary TV announcer Curt Gowdy mispronouncing many of the Jayhawks’ names.

I was choked with emotion afterwards. My dad tried to talk to me about the game at dinner, but I was in tears and speechless. I always felt pain when a season came to an end, but this was different. We were such a powerful and dominant team, and to see it end like this in the first round was just hard to grasp. It was — and remains — one of the saddest days of my life.

I thought we had the special players to win a national title.

For seniors like Koenigs and Von Moore, they took it especially hard.

“You’d like to have made it all the way, or at least made it a little farther,” Koenigs told me. “This was a team that could have gone far."

Von Moore found the bitter defeat even more heartbreaking.

“Especially after we were killing them, it was disaster,” he said. “We could have went somewhere with all the players we had,” added Von Moore, who felt bad for the fans and seniors.

Angered and upset, Von Moore didn't return to Lawrence with the team after the UCLA loss, but went with Johnson to stay with Clint's brother for two weeks in California before heading back to KU.

I didn't get over the loss for weeks. But after a while, I could look back on the wonderful season and take comfort in the many great memories I felt that year watching my beloved Jayhawks. And I wondered if I would ever see a KU team like it again.

This was indeed a very special squad. Valentine and Koenigs were named All-Big Eight, while Valentine was also the league's newcomer of the year (he later played nine seasons in the NBA). A dedicated student, Koenigs was a celebrated two-time Academic All-American who was the second Jayhawk ever to receive the NCAA Post-Graduate Award (he’s been a longtime doctor in Massachusetts).

Douglas, meanwhile, played part of two seasons in the NBA and enjoyed a long career overseas, while Mokeski had a 12-year NBA career.

Talent. Chemistry. Rebounding (KU outrebounded foes 41.2 to 32.9). Balance. The Jayhawks truly had it all.

"It was a great year," said Owens, who was named National Coach of the Year by Basketball Weekly.

"I think the '78 team and probably the '66 team, even though they didn't make the finals, they were every bit as good as the Final Four teams those years. They were teams, in my opinion, that had a legitimate chance of winning the national championship because they were good, and the other thing is because nobody had a (Kareem Abdul) Jabbar or (Bill) Walton at that time."

Owens added in his book: “The memories of the 1977-78 team have remained a source of joy for me, even if the thoughts of what might have been remain.”

I, too, am full of joy when thinking about this team, which I firmly believe is one of the best and most underrated Jayhawk squads of all time; it just happened to get an unlucky draw in the NCAA first round.

To Ted Owens, Darnell Valentine, Clint Johnson, John Douglas, Ken Koenigs, Donnie Von Moore, Wilmore Fowler, Paul Mokeski, Brad Sanders, and all the other players and assistant coaches — thanks for the magical, beloved and enduring memories.

I will never forget you.