1973-74 Jayhawks were a Team: Coach Ted Owens and players planning a 50-year reunion to celebrate their time in the spotlight.

This story was published in KU Today & Tomorrow (2023-24 edition) about the 50th anniversary of the miracle 1973-74 Final Four Jayhawks, the "Comeback Kids." Thanks so much for my kind editor Jean Teller for giving me the go-ahead with this pitch and story. The 1973-74 Kansas basketball team was my first KU hoops love, and the memories of my childhood heroes like Rick Suttle, Norm Cook, Roger Morningstar, Dale Greenlee, Danny Knight, Tommie Smith and Tom Kivisto have stayed with me forever. This team, even though I was only 7 years old at the time, taught me to believe in miracles, that anything possible can happen. KU and head coach Ted Owens responded from a dismal 8-18 season in 1972-73 season and showed true toughness, tremendous chemistry, and most important, a beautiful brotherhood that remains strong 50 years later. A special thanks to my friend and childhood hero Dale Greenlee for a wonderful 90-minute interview reliving the joys of yesteryear. Dale is one of the kindest and most personable individual I’ve ever met!  I’m so grateful for Dale and the time he shared with me during this story, and also with our interviews and talks over the years. Dale sent me a highlight video of the 1974 and 1975 seasons in 2009, which proved invaluable to this story for its exclusive insight and some great quotes by Owens.

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On a beautiful July day in Indianapolis, Dale Greenlee has finished playing nine holes of golf (two birdies) with his daughter, Julie, who’s visiting from Atlanta. He’s looking forward to his 70th birthday in a couple of weeks.

 

Greenlee, branch manager in industrial sales for FCX Performance, treasures Julie’s birthday gift — an autographed basketball of NBA legend Julius Erving — as he thinks back 50 years ago and reflects on his 1973–74 Kansas basketball Final Four team (23–7). He and his teammates staged the most dramatic comeback in school annals and one of the biggest turnarounds from the previous season (8-18 in 1972-73) in NCAA history. The 1973-74 team was the first team in 23 years to earn a Final Four berth after a losing season.

 

“It seems like yesterday, especially when the NCAA Tournament starts,” Greenlee says. “It’s like it’s been a few years; the memories keep flooding back. I see Kansas playing in the tournament and think, ‘Oh my gosh, it wasn’t that long ago we were there, but it was.’ It makes you feel young when you watch KU. I think (Coach) Bill Self could put me in and maybe I could get one shot. I couldn’t guard anyone anymore.”

 

The Return Season

Greenlee, one of the fiercest competitors in KU history and once called the league’s “best pure shooter,” was a sophomore in 1972–73, playing on the team that lost every close game — a “season of challenges.”

 

The returnees completely “redoubled our dedication in the offseason ... to become a better basketball player,” and the “effort and quality of play in practice was better.”

 

With the top four scorers returning and the additions of sweet-shooting 6-foot-6 community college transfer Roger Morningstar and 6-foot-9 high school star Norm Cook, KU was still picked by area media to finish fifth or worse in the Big Eight.

 

KU coach Ted Owens, now age 93, was named Big 8 Coach of the Year five times during his tenure at KU. He started senior co-captain Tom Kivisto and Greenlee as guards, Morningstar and Cook as forwards, and junior center Danny Knight, with “Super Subs” 6-foot-10 Rick Suttle (team-high scorer in conference play) and 6-foot-4 Tommie Smith, who all gave instant spark when they rotated into play.

 

“The Comeback Kids” first routed Murray State, 103–71, during which Cook (Big 8 Freshman of the Year) had a magical freshman debut with 21 points (10–10 FG); then the team won a huge home battle with No. 10 Kentucky, 71–63.

 

“That was critical to our confidence,” Greenlee says. “We’re thinking, ‘We can play with anybody.’” 

 

After next losing at No. 3 Indiana, Greenlee says, “We played pretty well (going forward).” However, after losing to Colorado, 73–71, on December 26, 1973 — KU’s second straight loss — Kivisto told John Hendel in his 1991 book: Kansas Jayhawks: History-making Basketball,  that doubt crept in and he called a team meeting.

 

“We decided we’re going to go with some kids … who worked hard … (and) have a little bit of fun,” Kivisto said at the time.  

 

KU won 14 of the next 16 games, including a pivotal 72–71 win at Iowa on January 2, 1974. Kansas (0–7 in road games the previous season) finally won a close road game and against a Big Ten foe.

 

“This game made our season,” Kivisto said. He was an All-Big 8 and Academic All-American that year.

 

The close wins and tremendous team chemistry continued with five players averaging in double figures for the first time in school history. Knight was the team-high scorer at 12.4 points per game. Kivisto, a prep All-American, was the consummate leader who sacrificed scoring to help everyone.

 

“Tom was our most valuable player,” Greenlee says, “… and never happier when giving an assist.”

 

Playing on a “team without a star,” Greenlee remembers that “nobody cared who scored. We played like brothers. We were really a tight group, watched out, and cared about each other. We hung out off the court, my comrades in arms. You worked, practiced, traveled with, that’s a lifetime experience.”

 

Greenlee has warm memories of living with teammates at Jayhawker Towers, attending KU football games, and visiting the homes of Owens and assistants Sam Miranda and Duncan Reid. The coaches viewed the team as “family.”

 

The Big Eight Title

On March 6 at Allen Fieldhouse in what the Wichita Eagle termed “The Game of the Year,” KU beat K-State, 60–55, clinching the Big Eight title. Students stormed the court, the KU team cut down the nets, and the players were carried off the court. 

“We’ve won a lot of championships, but this means more than any we’ve ever had,” Owens said in the jubilant locker room.

 

“We went up on the Hill afterwards,” Greenlee says, where 7,000 fans celebrated at midnight. “Nobody wanted to sleep. It felt as if you almost won the national championship because you had to win the conference to get into the NCAA Tournament.”

 

The best was just beginning.

 

After KU beat Creighton, 55–54, in Tulsa during the Jayhawks’ opening game (they received a bye in the first round), the Kansas team went up against the high-scoring Oral Roberts squad for the Midwest Regional title on ORU’s home court, the Mabee Center, which remains “The Game” in Tulsa.

 

ORU led 81–74 with 3:19 left. The Jayhawks scored the last seven points to tie the game in regulation and went on to win 93–90 in overtime.

 

“We had a season when we’d come back a lot,” Greenlee says. “I’ll never forget the timeouts. I’d look at Kivisto. He’d look at me, we’d look at Roger, and Rick and Norm. We figured we’d do what we had to do to get back in it.”

 

The Jayhawks were overjoyed afterwards. Owens called the victory against a great team on its homecourt the “gutsiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

 

“You’ve climbed the next mountain,” Greenlee says now. “The first mountain was winning the conference. (Now) you’re standing at the peak of the mountain and ... moving on to the Final Four.”

 

In the 1991 Hendel book, Kivisto said, “It was as talented Final Four group, with the exception of our team, as there ever was in a Final Four.” The rosters of the Final Four teams included numerous future first-rouned NBA picks as as well as future Hall of Famers Bill Walton and David Thompson. The Final Four wasn’t near the huge media event it is today, so there was just a small sign at the Holiday Inn at Greensboro, North Carolina, where the Jayhawks were staying, that read: “Welcome, Kansas Jayhawks.” 

 

On March 23, No. 6 KU played No. 3 Marquette in the undercard game in Greensboro, while No. 1 N.C. State took on No. 2 UCLA in what was billed the “Dream Game.”

 

“We were thrilled to be there,” Greenlee says. Newspaper headlines used “Mystery Team” to describe Kansas.

 

After KU led 24-23 at halftime, Marquette coach Al McGuire directed his players to a full-court press on Kivisto and Kansas lost 64-51. In the 1991 book, Owens said, ‘We did not have a lot of other ballhandlers except Tom Kivisto, so what they did was full-court pressed and trapped him. It was good strategy on their part. They trapped him and took the ball out out of his hands and put the press of ball handling on other people…”

 

 The Jayhawks fell against UCLA in the consolation game, 78–61, after leading by eight points at halftime.

 

Even with both losses, the KU players felt immense pride though. Owens said later, “This team probably gave as many thrills and excitement in the great history of Kansas basketbalI. It was this kind of unity, spirit, and togetherness which made us such a great team.”

 

The Brotherhood

Greenlee says the team’s brotherhood remains strong.

 

“Definitely for life,” he says. “That’s not something that changes.”

 

The squad regularly comes back for reunions and is planning a 50-year reunion in Lawrence this season. Greenlee talks to his close friend Morningstar every week and speaks to to other teammates on a regular basis. He also keeps in touch with Owens. He says his former roommate Tommie Smith still calls him “roomie,” and the team has a group text.

 

“You slide right back into the relationships (at reunions),” Greenlee says. “There’s that feeling of joy, warmth, the hugs. You’re right back where you were in 1974.”

 

Greenlee can’t hold back his emotions when expressing what that miracle comeback season 50 years ago meant to him and his lifetime “brothers.”

 

“It was one of the greatest moments of my life,” he says. “I believe we had as good a group of guys that ever wore Kansas on their chests. I’m proud to have been part of that group.”

 

1973–74 Basketball

Overall Big 8                 Home    Away     Neutral Post-Season        NCAA Tournament

23-7      13-1, First          12-1      7-3        4-3        2-2                    2-2, Final Four

 

Note: This KU team had its 50-year reunion on Jan. 5, 2024 weekend. The 1973-74 Final Four Jayhawks were honored at halftime on James Naismith Court, when No. 2 KU played TCU at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 6. Hunter Dickinson scored with 3.4 seconds remaining, lifting the ‘Hawks over TCU 83-81. It was a great day to honor those (and my) beloved Jayhawks of 50 years ago! Thank you Coach Owens and all my heroes from that 1974 team. You made my childhood so might brighter and you are in my heart forever! Not only were you the consummate TEAM, you are great people. That's what counts in the end.

Dale Greenlee still believes in miracles

Here is the Where Are They Now? story I wrote on Dale Greenlee in March 2000 for Jayhawk Insider. We had a great interview. It's always a thrill to talk to one of your childhood heroes, and that's what happened to me on this night. I was so elated and humbled when Dale wrote me a thank-you card about the article after it was published. That meant so much to me! I have his card posted on my wall at home; it serves as daily inspiration. Thank you for your kindness Dale and for sharing your stories and memories with me. I will always be grateful to you for that!

By David Garfield

The miracle game is indelibly etched in Dale Greenlee’s mind.

Greenlee, the former Kansas standout guard, will never forget KU’s stunning comeback overtime win (93-90) against Oral Roberts on March 16, 1974. The victory gave Kansas a berth in the Final Four against Marquette.

KU trailed 77-68 with 4:49 left in regulation before rallying and beating ORU on its home floor (Mabee Center). Greenlee, who finished with 18 points, made a layup and some key free throws to help send the game into overtime.

“Teams just didn’t come back like that,” Greenlee said of the era without a time clock and no three-pointers. “I’d look at (Tom) Kivisto. He’d look at me. We’d look at Roger (Morningstar), and Danny (Knight) and Rick (Suttle) and Norm (Cook). We didn’t feel we were out of the game. We figured we’d do what we had to do to get back in it.”

Destiny was on KU’s side as well. A sign painted on the Mabee Center floor said: “Expect a miracle.”

And KU did all year.

“We pretty much had a season when we’d come back a lot,” said Greenlee, now the branch manager for Simco Controls in Indianapolis, Ind.   

It was a miracle year (KU went 23-7 and won the Big Eight championship) for a team that finished just 8-18 the previous season. The Jayhawks, who had all five returning starters back in 1974, were bolstered with the addition of junior college transfer Roger Morningstar and super frosh Norm Cook.

“It seemed that there was no one player that had a real consistent year (1972-73),” Greenlee said about one of the greatest turnarounds in NCAA history. “I bet coach (Ted Owens) had 20 different lineups trying to find a combination. ... My junior year (73-74), early on in the season we pretty much had a set starting five. We knew who we were.”

KU, which had five people in double figures (Knight led the team at 12.4 ppg), had a strong identity and was a “really tight group. We kind of watched out for each other. Coach once said, ‘We played like brothers.' No one really cared who scored.”

 

Greenlee finished third on the team in scoring at 11.8 and led the team in field goal percentage (49.9). One Big Eight coach actually called him the “league’s best pure shooter.” With Kivisto dishing assists at the point (school-record 18 against Nebraska on Dec. 29, 1973) and Greenlee at shooting guard, the two formed one of the best backcourts in the conference and arguably the smartest tandem in the country.  

Greenlee (a high school valedictorian in a graduating class of 700 at Guilford High School in Rockford, Ill.) and Kivisto were named Academic All-Big Eight that year. 

“I’ve always felt if players are smart, it just makes the game so much better,” Greenlee said. “We’re able to pick up things quicker, run the offense better and change defenses up.”

And then there were those unforgettable off the court memories. Greenlee recalls the time Suttle came late to practice one day. As punishment, the team made Suttle sing his high school song.

“He said, ‘I don’t know it,’ so we said, ‘Pick a song.’ He leaves the room and comes in singing “Hello Dolly.” Here’s Rick, 6’11, and he’s waving a handkerchief like Louis Armstrong. He had us roaring. He always kept you loose.”

Kansas, which lost to Marquette in the Final Four, struggled to find its identity without Kivisto at the beginning of 1974-75. However, KU (19-8) did win its last eight of nine games before losing to Notre Dame, 77-71, in the first round of the Midwest Regional.  

“I’ve not been much of a Notre Dame fan since,” Greenlee said.  “Doherty (Matt, the former KU assistant and current Fighting Irish head coach) is making it tough. We’re almost big Notre Dame fans now. ... I’m almost having to revise my 25 years of hatred.”

After graduating with a business degree in 1975, Greenlee spent a year working at Lawrence Savings before returning to his native Illinois. He’s been employed in industrial distribution since then for three different companies, most recently Simco Controls in Indianapolis, Ind. (his family to Indianapolis in 1990). Greenlee, who loves being involved in the goal-oriented side of sales and management, constantly uses sports analogies to his employees and reflects back to KU’s stunning win against Oral Roberts 26 years ago. 

“You never give up,” he said. “There are always situations that look hopeless, but if you keep working hard, good things will happen.”

A basketball junkie, Greenlee is growing accustomed to living in Big Ten country. His oldest daughter, Mandy, is a cheerleader at Indiana and youngest daughter, Julie, plays soccer at Purdue. In fact, Mandy asked her dad a few years ago if he’d like her to attend Kansas.

“It would have been nice, but distance wise, it’s very nice having both of my girls within an hour and a half of home. It gives my wife and I a chance to go to all of their activities.”

Greenlee’s family is very dear to him. His wife, Linda, is currently battling cancer and “doing fantastic.” Greenlee, who was a tough and fierce competitor at Kansas, calls Linda “probably the strongest person I’ve ever known.”

 “It’s not something, obviously, anybody would choose to do (radiation and chemotherapy), but when you do it, you face it with a positive attitude and just beat it like you would Kansas State or Oral Roberts.”

He adds softly: “We believe in miracles.”

A Closer Look at Dale Greenlee:

Years at KU : 1971-75

Career Notables: Member of 1974 Final Four team....Academic All-Big Eight in 1974 and ‘75...89.6 free throw percentage in ‘74 ranks No. 2 in KU history...No. 3 all-time career free throw percentage leader at 83.2.

Education: B.S. Business Administration, 1975

Family: Wife, Linda; daughters, Mandy, 21 and Julie, 19

Since Leaving KU: Greenlee spent a year working at Lawrence Savings before moving to native Illinois. He’s been employed in industrial distribution for three companies, most recently Simco Controls in Indianapolis. His family moved to Indiana in 1990.

Currently: Greenlee is branch manager for Simco Controls.

Hobbies: Basketball and golf.

Favorite KU memories:  “Beating K-State for the conference championship two years in a row (1974 and ‘75).”...Going to the Final Four in 1974: “We were thrilled to be there.”...Playing against legendary coaches like John Wooden, Bobby Knight and Adolph Rupp.

On the Jayhawks Today: “Roy Williams has done a fantastic job. ... KU graduates their players; it’s a quality program. There’s probably five major colleges that have that type of tradition.” 

Roger Morningstar helped lead KU to magical 1974 Final Four

You never forget your first love, the one that took your breath away and captured your imagination forever. Roger Morningstar was one of my first “loves” and I cherish the memories of him playing in Allen Fieldhouse as a bright-eyed 7 and 8-year old kid growing up in Lawrence who had season tickets with my dad since 1973. Roger was an instrumental part of the dream 1974 KU Final Four team, which was nicknamed the “Comeback Kids.” That team stole my heart and I’m forever grateful for my childhood heroes like Roger, Dale Greenlee, Tom Kivisto, Norm Cook, Rick Suttle and Danny Knight for giving me such pure joy and brightening my childhood.

That team had a magical run to the Final Four, going 23-7 after an 8-18 finish the previous season, one of the greatest comebacks in college basketball history. KU won the Big Eight Championship before winning thrilling games against Creighton (55-54) and Oral Roberts (93-90 OT) in the Midwest Regional to advance to the Final Four in Greensboro, N.C., where they fell to head coach Al McGuire and Marquette, 64-51.

And I cried after that loss, a familiar refrain for me whenever KU’s loss ended the season for me growing up. That 1974 Final Four team had superb team chemistry and everybody knew their role. These guys have kept in close contact with each other over the years, and sadly, Knight and Cook have since died. Knight died at such a young age at 24, while Cook passed at 53. Assistant coaches Sam Miranda and Duncan Reid have also passed, while team manager Chuck Purdy died at age 58.

Since I was so young, my memories of Roger are kind of vague. But I remember him as a great long-range shooter, along with Greenlee. He would have been tailor made for the three-point shot, if it had been in effect back then. And Roger also played with great emotion and passion. With the junior college transfer Morningstar and freshman sensation Cook joining the team, KU was able to rebound after a dismal season in 1972-73 and advance to college basketball’s pinnacle --the Final Four.

With a last name like Morningstar and his fabulous play, how could I not fall in “love” with him.

Here is what longtime Lawrence Journal-World columnist Bill Mayer wrote about Morningstar on Dec. 3, 1973 after he played his first college game at KU, a 103-71 rout over Murray State on Dec. 1.

“Morningstar gives the Jayhawks something they’ve needed badly for a long time, a shaker, a guy who sizzles around like the Tazmanian Devil in pursuit of Yosemite Sam. He moves all the time, with the ball or without, on defense, at both ends of the court. He and Cook make things happen.”

I used to live out my Jayhawk childhood hoop dreams playing mock Nerf basketball games in my bedroom with KU vs. Kentucky, KU vs. Marquette, KU vs. UCLA, KU vs. Notre Dame, and so on. I’d entertain myself giving the play by play as I passed the Nerf ball to myself. "Kivisto to Greenlee to Suttle, over to Morningstar." Then, I’d fling my nerf to the hoop.

Swish!

I’d then mark two points by Morningstar’s name on a sheet of paper and continue the game. More times than not, KU would win the games against these powerhouse teams. It was my mock Nerf basketball games, after all, and I had all the power in the outcome.

Roger indeed made things happen on the court. And so did his son Brady, who played from KU from 2006-11. It was a great thrill to me to cover Brady for four years (he redshirted his sophomore season) and write stories about him. He is such a nice guy and true gentleman, and I could tell he was raised great by his parents, Roger and Linda. I’ll never forget when I first met Brady before he began his freshman season. I smiled, said hello, and told him I remembered watching his dad play at Kansas.

Brady was a true glue guy and make all his teammates better. He had “happy feet,” as coach Bill Self said, and was one of the best defenders of the Self era. I’ll never forget when Brady first checked in to the game during his first exhibition contest in 2006. I immediately got chills with an instant flashback of his dad playing in the Phog. It was a surreal experience for me. Brady hit a three-pointer that game, and I was overjoyed for him and his family. I interviewed him for a couple of minutes after that game and asked him how he was adjusting to KU and helping fellow freshmen Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins get acclimated to KU. Brady was very kind and pleasant to me.

I was lucky and fortunate enough to interview Roger in 2001 for a Where Are They Now? interview for Jayhawk Insider. It was one of the most enjoyable Where Are They Now? interviews I ever did, having the chance to interview my childhood hero. We met at his Sport 2 Sport complex, which he owned at the time. It was a wonderful and memorable interview, as Roger told me about his high school and junior college days, his fond memories of Kansas, his kids, and what he’s been up to since leaving KU. 

A sixth-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics, Roger told me he "wanted nothing more in the world than to play in the NBA." While that didn’t work out, he’s had a very successful business career and currently owns Morningstar’s New York Pizza in Lawrence.

I’m always happy and delighted when I see Roger in Allen Fieldhouse and always enjoy his emails throughout the years. He will always have a special place in my heart, as will all his former teammates that I’ve just grown to love more dearly as I’ve gotten older.

You just never forget your first love.

In this blog post, I recall Roger’s recollections of his early high school and junior college career and his recruitment to KU, as well as re-publish my Where Are They Now? story in 2001. I even write about Roger’s childhood heroes.

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“I wasn’t highly recruited at all. I was from the Chicago area. Of course, high school basketball in Illinois and especially in the Chicago area, is pretty tough--very competitive. I was one of those kids that developed late physically. I grew almost four inches after I got out of high school. My senior year, the fact we were 4 and 20, and the fact that I was a skinny little 6-2, 160 pound kid that was on a bad team didn’t fit well with what college recruiters were looking for. I still had this burning desire to play basketball in college. One of the other coaches in the conference that we played in in Chicago, had a friend, or an ex-player actually, who was an assistant junior college coach. He had called and said something about me. The next thing I know, I got a call from this Olney Central College, which was about four and a half hours south of Chicago. I went down there and just hooked up with a bunch of kids who I had never knew of before. We had a good team, no real great players, just a really good team. We were all freshmen except for one kid. We had a really good season and played in the finals of the state tournament, which enables you to go to to Hutch out there for the national tournament. Actually, not the state, but the regional, which more or less boiled down to a state tournament for the junior colleges in Illinois. We played really well, but didn’t make it. 

"The next year we came back and were all sophomores. We did make it that time. By the time my freshman year was over, I was 6-6 and weighed about 190 points or so. That changed the outlook on my basketball career. Again, we went to the regional tournament (sophomore year) and this time we won the thing and came out to Hutch to play. By that time, I had a few more opportunities to take a look at and decided that Kansas was the right place for me. Coach (Sam, KU assistant) Miranda was instrumental in recruiting (me). He was from Illinois. He recruited Illinois. Our whole team (at KU), we had one kid from Kansas --Danny Knight. The rest of the team was all from Illinois, which was pretty interesting.  

“There wasn’t a whole lot of recruiting. I’m a little bit old school in that I’m big on tradition and just the fact you come out to play in Allen Fieldhouse in front of 17,000 people. Wilt Chamberlain, Jo Jo White. Dave Robisch, Bud Stallworth, on and on. Phog Allen, James Naismith, the whole deal. It didn’t take much to convince me that this would be a great opportunity. ... Olney Central College, (Olney is a) town famous for white squirrels. It has albino squirrels all over the place.

“It was funny. I had a real strong run late (in high school). Like our last five games, I scored a lot of points and played well. I don’t know what happened. It just kind of fell that way. I had a coach by the name of Rex Hughes, who was an assistant coach at the University of Nebraska for Joe Cipriano. They called late. Of course, I was goo goo over the whole thing. (They said), ‘We want you to fly out and take a visit and all that stuff.’ I had nobody wanting me to visit anywhere, except this little junior college so I thought, ‘Man that would be great.’ He said, ‘We’ll  have a ticket in the mail to you in the next couple of days. You ought to have it and we’ll see you.’  Every day, I was blown out of high school. The mail came to our house about 11:00, and at 10:45, I had a study hall or something. I was blown out of high school  going home checking the mailbox. It didn’t come. It didn’t come. It didn’t come. It didn’t come. Seven or eight days later, I still don’t have  it, and I’m wondering  what the heck is going on. So the next day I go to the mailbox, and there’s a letter--a big Cornhusker logo on the envelope. And I’m jacked up. I ripped the thing open and instead of a ticket, it was a letter explaining why they didn’t have any interest anymore. A couple of the other kids that they were looking at, they didn’t think they were going to get, had committed and therefore there wasn’t a need for me at that time. It’s your typical basic kick in the gut for a young kid.

“It served me as great motivation that at least somebody had taken notice. ... At least I got a nibble at the major college level. Now can I turn that into actually doing it? I didn’t come here (KU) for any revenge factor or anything. It was kind of fun. Coach Cipriano was a fiery, the two years I was here, I never saw him finish a game in Allen Fieldhouse. He was thrown out all the time. He was a great, great guy, really fiery. I had a little fun jabbing him from time to time because I always seemed to have decent games against Nebraska. That was just about it as far as opportunities. Nebraska, again, that faded quickly. That was kind of a late deal. If I’m thinking right, timing wise, that was probably in late April, which is real late when it gets down to recruiting purposes. In fact, this is really funny. He (Miranda) watched a game that I played in. I happened to be a junior at that time. We played a team that was extremely good in Illinois, Aurora East High School. On that team was a future teammate of mine here at the University of Kansas, a kid named Tom Kivisto. Tom was one of the absolute best high school player I had ever seen. His dad was his coach. The Kivisto family in basketball circles in Illinois was legendary. So, Aurora East beat us 110-58, I believe. They just crushed us. Coach Miranda watched that game, but he had no idea who I was. Of course, that was the year earlier. I was even scrawnier at that point as I was as a senior. He was very familiar with Dundee. The town I’m from, had years ago had pretty steep tradition in high school basketball in that area. At the time period which I went to school there in the late 60s and early 70s, we were kind of downtrodden.

“We (Olney Central Community College) had a team very similar to what I ended up on here at the University of Kansas. We had about seven kids who knew their role and played hard. We were successful from a won loss standpoint. That’s what helped. The other thing from a personal standpoint that helped me a lot, by being a late developer, when I was younger, I had to play guard and handle the ball a lot. When you grow from 6-1 to 6-6, you don’t forget those ballhandling skills. So now all of a sudden, I was a little bit more of an asset because I was a big guard in college as opposed to a little tiny kid. I think that had some bearing on their recruiting and the fact that Kansas had just come off a weak season. They were 8-18, so what I was looking forward, of course, was an opportunity to play. At that time, the good teams around the country bring in maybe one junior college player every few years. You had to almost pick your spots to  make sure you would go to a school that was the type of school you wanted to go to because you’d fit in and you were going to play because you had two years left. Kansas just seemed to be a really good fit at the time, just with the personnel that they had and what they had coming back, and at my size and my position. Plus, I always wanted to play with Kivisto, and that was going to give me an opportunity to do that also. I had a very very strict junior college coach, and thank goodness for that. I had a bagful of  letters and opportunities. He told me you’ll pick four places to visit and that’ll be it. So I went to the University of Maryland on a visit because my dad lived out there at that time, and they had really good teams at that point, too. I went to Wake Forest, another team in the ACC. I went to Texas A&M because I’d never been to Texas before, and I came to Kansas. The one trip I had that I was trying to talk coach into taking, I ended up once I was out here and decided to come here, there was no sense in taking any more trips. I canceled a trip to the University of Minnesota, which I thought was a good basketball school at the time. That’s where I ended up taking a look at. Kentucky really didn’t take junior college players. I’d say they were looking at the best players in the country from a high school standpoint year in and year out. I’m a role player. I’m the type of player who needs to find his role and fit into a spot and do a few things. I was not certainly the type to carry a team. Maryland was a top-10 team at that time. John Lucas, Tom Roy, Owen Brown---they had Mo Howard. They had some good players, and that’s when Lefty Dreisel was kind of trying to build Maryland into the UCLA of the East.

“I was blown away (first impression of Lawrence). The only time I had ever been to Kansas was when we drove from Olney straight across I70 to Hutch. We came through at night. We left in the afternoon after class. By the time we got over here to Lawrence, it was dark. Everyone’s sacked up. You got eight kids to a station wagon, bags packed and all that stuff. So when I wake up, we were in Hutch. The next day, I ‘d get up, there was wind blowing, there was sand blowing. Everything was flat. It just looks like a typical midwestern town, and I didn’t think much of it. I had a wonderful experience at Hutch--the fans and the attendance at the tournament and the way we were treated and all that stuff was unbelievable. It was my first taste of some sort of national type tournament. When we left, we were on such a high after we finished third. We were so excited. When we left, we drove from Hutch back through here. I didn’t really notice anything. It was during the day but we didn’t stop in Lawrence. You can see, well, there’s the University.  It’s on the Hill. I didn’t think much of it. Then, a few weeks later, I came out to visit and I was blown away by the beauty of the campus, by the rolling hills, the whole thing. It was just a very cool visit."

Roger also talked to me about his childhood heroes growing up.

“I had three guys who I felt really impacted me mentally from a basketball standpoint. They all came kind of at different times. John Havlicek was one. I just absolutely loved the way he played. Everything. Nothing fancy. He just got it done  Of course, I’m a longtime Bulls fan, not because of their six championships, but because of basically Jerry Sloan. I just loved Jerry Sloan.  He was the toughest, nastiest guy that I had ever seen play. He was very good. And then, a guy that I didn’t see much because the media attention wasn’t there early but has the most astonishing record I think in all of college sports, and that’s Pete Maravich. What he did with the basketball, he started all the kids doing those ballhandling drills, all that stuff today that we all do in our camps, clinics, and programs, just par for the course. He invented. Of course, scoring 44 points a game for three years is just the most remarkable thing. That and John Wooden winning 10, 12 NCAA championships just is mind-boggling.”

By David Garfield (Jayhawk Insider, 2001)

Roger Morningstar wasn’t exactly destined for stardom after finishing his high school basketball career on a 4-20 squad in Dundee, Ill. As Morningstar says, “being a skinny little 6-2, 160 pound kid on a bad team didn’t fit well with what college recruiters were looking for.”

Heck, Morningstar was just recruited by two colleges — Nebraska and Olney Central Junior College in Illinois. After Nebraska lost interest, Morningstar settled in at Olney, where he grew four inches his freshman year.

“That changed the outlook on my basketball career,” Morningstar said.

Suddenly, major colleges throughout the country began recruiting the sweet shooting 6-6 swingman. After narrowing his choices to four schools (Maryland, Wake Forest, Texas A&M, Kansas), Morningstar decided to become a Jayhawk. He admits he was an easy recruit and “blown away” by the campus beauty during his recruiting visit.

“I’m a little bit old school in that I’m big on tradition and just the fact you come out to play in Allen Fieldhouse in front of 17,000 people,” Morningstar said. “Wilt Chamberlain, Jo Jo White, Dave Robisch, Bud Stallworth, on and on. It didn’t take much to convince me that this would be a great opportunity.”

With Morningstar and freshman Norman Cook joining a talented Kansas team, the Jayhawks made one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college basketball history. KU, which went 8-18 in 1972-73, improved to 23-7 the following season and won the conference championship and earned a berth in the Final Four. Morningstar said the team chemistry was superb.

“Rick Suttle might have been our best player, but he came of the bench,” Morningstar said. “He did that willingly. He just said, ‘Hey, if I’m more effective coming off the bench, that’s what we’ll do.’ It was that kind of attitude that everybody had.”

And Morningstar won’t soon forget KU’s journey to the Final Four. KU won two thrilling games against Creighton (55-54) and Oral Roberts (93-90 in OT) in the Midwest Regional to advance to Greensboro, NC. KU, which trailed ORU by nine points with just under five minutes remaining and by seven with 3:19 left, rallied and and eventually won the game in overtime.

“It’s one of those typical things where you just never give up,” Morningstar said.  

While Kansas bowed to Marquette (64-51) in the Final Four, Morningstar savors the memories.

“It was a big deal to us,” he said. “We knew we were talking about a national championship, but it wasn’t near the big media deal it is today. We stayed at a little Holiday Inn in Greensboro, NC. There was a little sign out front: ‘Welcome, Kansas Jayhawks.’   

A lethal long-range marksman and fiery battler, Morningstar finished the season second on the team in scoring (12.3) and probably first in floor burns.

“I kind of was more of an emotional type player,” he said. “I never really had a problem shooting it. I don’t know if I ever saw a shot I didn’t like. Tom Kivisto had a very nice ability to get you the ball where you were open and where you could shoot.”

After concluding his college career in 1975 (KU won the Big 8 again, but lost to Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament), Morningstar was eventually drafted by the Boston Celtics in the sixth round. 

“I wanted nothing more in the world than to play in the NBA,” Morningstar said. 

However, his dream ended when he was released by Boston. Morningstar then opted to play one season overseas in Holland before returning to Lawrence in 1976. Morningstar, who soon accepted a job with Converse, worked 20 years with the organization in Denver, Chicago, and Boston. Morningstar advanced his way up from sales rep to vice president of sports marketing, where he handled sponsorship opportunities and contract endorsements for pro players in all sports.

Longing for Lawrence, Morningstar decided to return to his college home in 1994. After commuting to Boston for 18 months, Morningstar quit Converse and opened up Sport 2 Sport in Lawrence in 1996.

“We (he and his wife, Linda) both always said the place we want to retire is in Lawrence,” Morningstar said. “We just decided to turn the timetable up a little bit. It’s a kind of town where you want to raise a family. ... There’s a lot of great friends.”

Morningstar loves owning Sport 2 Sport, a multi-purpose recreational facility which has club sports and programs for pre-schoolers to high school age. He spends his time coaching youth and developing sports programs that help kids become better athletes.

 

“It’s seeing a kid start in our Roy Williams basketball club when he’s a kindergartner and watching him develop into a very good player on one of our club teams three or four years down the road,” Morningstar said. “I think the fact this does allow kids an opportunity to focus a little bit more and become as good as they really want to become has been very meaningful.”

When he’s not working at Sport 2 Sport, Morningstar stays busy operating his own radio show and watching his kids participate in sports. He is at peace with himself after coming full circle in life since first arriving at Mount Oread 28 years ago.

“For me to see my kids doing some of the same things that I did here is very cool,” Morningstar said. “I feel extremely fortunate to have been associated with this school and the town of Lawrence.”

A Closer Look at Roger Morningstar:

Years at KU: 1973-75

Career Notables: Member of 1974 Final Four team...Finished second on team in scoring in ‘74 (12.3) and ‘75 (11.1)...Career-high 28 points vs. Nebraska on Dec. 29, 1973.

Family: Wife, Linda, and “three great kids” — Jamie, 20, Linsey, 16, and Brady, 15.

Education: 1975, B.G.S. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Since Leaving KU: Morningstar played one season in Holland before embarking on a 20-year career with Converse. He then opened Sport 2 Sport in Lawrence in 1996.

Currently: Morningstar is the owner of Sport 2 Sport.

Hobbies:  Watching his kids participate in sports. 

Favorite Memories: “Probably the overall thing that I cherish the most is the group of guys I played with. Just about all us stay in touch and we get together for Roy Williams’ reunions.”...Winning two conference championships and going to the Final Four. “If you didn’t win the conference, you didn’t go to the tournament. We were excited and that was a big thrill. That’s still something we look back on as a team and think, ‘Hey, a Final Four and two conference championships isn’t a bad deal.’”... First KU-K-State game in Lawrence on March 6, 1974. “Man, I was just blown away. I had never heard noise like that.”

On the Jayhawks Today: “I absolutely love them. I’m definitely more of a fan than a critic. Whatever he (Roy Williams) feels needs to be done, ought to be done in my opinion. ... Obviously, he’s done an extremely good job. I think every year, they’re within a break or two of going all the way.”

A tribute to former Jayhawk great Norm Cook

A heartfelt tribute to my childhood hero Norm Cook. A high school All-American from Lincoln, Illinois, Cook starred at KU from 1973-76 and later was a first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics after going pro after his junior season. Cook played in 27 games for the Celtics and Denver Nuggets from 1976-78. After battling paranoid schizophrenia for most of his adult life, Cook died at age 53 on Dec. 22, 2008.

...

It was a night to remember for Norm Cook, and one that is indelibly etched in Jayhawk lore. Playing his first game at KU against Murray State on Dec. 1, 1973 in Allen Fieldhouse, all the bright-eyed 6-9 freshman forward did was go 10 for 10 from the field for 21 points while also grabbing nine rebounds.

A star was born.

“I wasn’t even thinking about it. I was a little nervous before the game, but I forgot about it,” Cook told the Lawrence Journal-World afterwards.

His dazzling and commanding performance left fans, teammates and the media all gushing.

“Cook is the quick, big talented forward with finesse who can shoot, rebound, assist, block shots, can do it all, to be brief. He has all it takes to be a superstar by the time his four KU seasons are wrapped up,” Journal-World columnist Bill Mayer wrote.

Cook’s 10 shots without a miss in a game is still a KU record (tied with Danny Manning), and his 21 points were the most by a Kansas freshman in his debut game since Xavier Henry broke the mark with 27 points in his first contest as a Jayhawk in 2009.

Cook was an instrumental reason why KU made the Final Four that 1973-74 dream season; the Jayhawks finished with a 23-7 record, a dramatic turnaround from the previous season’s 8-18 mark. With Cook starting from day one, he earned Big Eight Freshman of the Year honors, averaging 11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He led KU in scoring three games and tied for team lead in another, while pacing the ‘Hawks in rebounding seven contests and tying for team high in an eighth game.

Cook had 11 points and seven rebounds in KU’s 55-54 victory over Creighton in the NCAA Tournament opening round while posting 10 points and seven rebounds in KU’s 93-90 overtime win against Oral Roberts in the Midwest Regional Finals.

While his scoring average dipped to 10.3 points as a sophomore and field goal percentage slipped from 49.5 percent his freshman season to 44.4 percent, Cook averaged a team-high 8.2 rebounds while blocking 35 shots (No. 2 on team) and helping lead KU to its second-straight NCAA Tournament in 1975, where the Jayhawks lost to Notre Dame and star player Adrian Dantley in the first round.

Cook was rewarded for his efforts by being named to the U.S. Pan Am Games team that summer in Mexico City, where he shined under Washington head coach Marv Harshman. Playing with future NBA Hall of Famer Robert Parish and All-Star Otis Birdsong, Cook was USA’s gold-medal winning team’s (9-0) fourth-leading scorer at 10.8 points per game, ranked third in rebounding, tied for second in assists, and ranked second in free throws made. He exploded for 24 points in the United States’ opening-game 102-63 blowout over Argentina.

While Cook was creating a buzz with his game in Mexico, he was also toying with the idea of turning pro. The Utah Stars and one other ABA team wooed him with offers to jump to the league and forgo his final two years at Kansas. In the Oct. 28, 1975 issue of The Spokesman-Review, it was reported that Cook had a four-year contract offer worth $150,000.

Cook spoke to Harshman about his situation during the Pan Am Games.

“Norm is one of nine kids. He talked it over with me for quite awhile,” Harshman told The Spokesman-Review. “I couldn’t advise him not to take the money. Finally, he said, ‘I’m gonna go back to Kansas and then I’m gonna play in the 1976 Olympics.’”

Cook had a career year as a junior, averaging a team-best 14.8 points and 7.9 rebounds as a co-captain while earning first-team All-Big Eight honors. He, though, could not carry KU alone as the Jayhawks stumbled to a 13-13 record.

After three marvelous years, Cook declared as a hardship case for the NBA Draft. He concluded his career with 1,004 points and 624 rebounds in 83 games. Cook, who wasn’t selected for the Olympics, currently ranks No. 60 all time at KU in career scoring and No. 25 in career rebounding.

The NBA champion Boston Celtics, who coveted Cook since seeing him star at the Pan Am Games, selected the former KU standout with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round in the 1976 NBA Draft, seven spots higher than future Hall of Famer Alex English of South Carolina.

Celtics head coach Tommy Heinsohn was thrilled to get his man.

‘‘He’s a shooter, a scorer,” Heinsohn told the Associated Press on June 9, 1976. “He's a good, quick forward, and a pure forward. We had a chance at the same time to draft Earl Tatum of Marquette, who is also a scorer. But Cook is bigger and more fundamental. He played at a school that uses a slowdown offense, but Jo Jo White learned under the same coach and he adjusted quite well.”

Indeed, White did. White, Boston’s first-round draft pick in 1969, was an All-Star and had just earned MVP of the NBA Finals.

The AP story reported that “assistant Coach John Killilea said Cook was wooed last summer by two American Basketball Association clubs, but the Celtics apparently convinced the 6-foot-9, 210-pound forward to stay in school another year.”

“I don’t say we were the ones who convinced him not to sign," Killilea said. “But both Jo Jo and I urged him to stay in school another year, to better prepare himself, to mature a little more. We kept telling him that if he didn't sign, he stood a good chance of being drafted high in the NBA this year.”

That chance had now become reality.

“What we wanted was somebody who could put the ball in the hole,” Heinsohn said. “With (Don) Nelson retiring and not knowing what to expect at this point out of (John) Havlicek, he's the kind of player we need.”

Two months later as the Celtics were preparing to open rookie camp, Heinsohn was still excited about his top draft pick. In an Aug. 18th UPI story, the wire service reported that “the enigma is Tom Boswell, last year’s top draft choice. Heinsohn swears Boswell is not another Steve Downing, that he does have special talent and that he will round into a tough cornerman. However, the Celtics picked up many of the same qualities in 1976 top choice Norm Cook of Kansas. He comes recommended by White, a former star at Kansas who has seen him several times, and by Providence coach Dave Gavitt, who called Cook the best player in the 1975 Pan American Games. Heinsohn also has seen Cook twice and likes him very much.”

Cook seemed poised to have an impressive rookie season. However, dreams die hard as Cook barely played in 1976-77, averaging just 2.5 points and 5.5 minutes in 25 games. In the 1978 edition of The Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball, here’s how one writer labeled Cook’s performance that season:

“Still another first-round pick that’s fizzled. Played pattern ball at Kansas where his career average was only 12.1 and never caught onto the running game at Boston. Loves to shoot, but never knew when to pass. A member of the All-Bench team after logging exactly 125 minutes in an injury-free season. Impressed Celtic scout John Killilea when he was named MVP in Pan Am Games. Has a reputation as a shooter, but made only 37 percent. Also, his attitude was not the best. Will never make All-Practice team and sometimes loses track of time. Doesn’t seem to have the desire to succeed.”

I was devastated when I first read those words about 40 years ago. Norm was my childhood hero; I put him on a pedestal, and he could do no wrong. I thought he was destined for great success in the NBA. Instead, he was labeled as a bust who would go down as one of the worst first-round picks in Celtics history.

Cook, who scored four points (2-2 FG) in three minutes in his lone playoff game with Boston, was cut by the Celtics after his rookie season. He was then signed by the Denver Nuggets and head coach Larry Brown on April 7 the following season in 1978, playing just two games before being released four days later.

And that was it. His NBA career was suddenly over. In 27 games with Boston and Denver, Cook averaged 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in 5.5 minutes per contest, while shooting 37.3 percent from the field and 52.9 percent at the free throw line. He totaled 65 points, 30 rebounds, 10 steals, six assists and 148 minutes.

Cook next played briefly overseas and then settled back in his hometown of Lincoln, Illinois, where he married and had children, including a son named Brian, who would become a standout 6-10 forward at Illinois and first-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2003 and nine-year NBA player.

When I think of Norm Cook these days --- and I do pretty much every day -- it is with a mixture of sadness and joy. I am saddened that he died too soon at age 53 and pained that his life was destroyed by mental illness; he battled paranoid schizophrenia most of his adult years and suffered alone until his death after slipping into a diabetic coma. Perhaps the first signs of his mental illness came when he played for Denver, telling his teammates that he thought someone was following him.

I cried that December night in 2008 when I read about Norm’s death. It was tears of a life cut much too short, tears of what my childhood hero had meant to me growing up as an impressional boy in Lawrence, and tears of all the years Norm battled with his devastating illness.

While I’m sad about what happened to Norm shortly after leaving KU, I try to choose to remember the joy and great times I had watching him play in Allen Fieldhouse as a kid and living out my childhood dreams while I attended games with my dad. I can still close my eyes and see him swish his patented 18-foot jump shot from the baseline by the KU bench, sweet memories that I’ll hold on forever.

I’d like to think, after so much pain, he’s finally at peace, free at last. As his Final Four teammate Roger Morningstar told me after Norm died, his old friend no longer has to fight his demons.

“This is God’s way of helping him,” Brian Cook told the Orlando Sentinel on Dec. 31, 2008 after his dad’s funeral. “He doesn’t have any worries anymore. He doesn’t have any schizophrenic episodes or paranoia.”

“I’m not saying I don’t want him here now ... but he’s in a better place,” Brian added. “He’s in his right mind now.”

...

I interviewed Morningstar in 2001 and Cook’s former KU teammate Dale Greenlee in 2009 about their thoughts and memories of Norm. Here is what they told me.

“We just saw about every day in the papers around the town of Olney (Illinois, where Morningstar starred in junior college) what Norman Cook and what Lincoln (Community High School) had done,” Morningstar said. “They had a great team (30-1 in 1972-73, one of the best squads in Illinois prep history). He was just killing people (22.8 ppg, 11.8 rpg, high school All-American, one of top 15 players in the country by Street and Smith Magazine). He was extremely talented, very quiet and aloof, Norman. Very soft spoken. Never got jacked up too much emotionally, just kind of showed up and played. I’d say he was more sensitive than not. Any time you’re out on the floor swinging elbows and trying to compete, you can’t be too sensitive to do that kind of thing. Norman again was very quiet. He was close to his mom. He dad was actually murdered when he was young -- when he lived up in Chicago. He was a good, kind, good kid. Great player.

 

“He’s had more problems on the mental illness side that’s caused him to do the things that would put him in jail from time to time. Never been a hard-core criminal. He’s got a terrible case of schizophrenia. He’s never been the same. Norman had a brother who played at Duke. There’s some athletic talent in his family. It’s heartbreaking to see what has happened to him. I don’t think it’s getting any better actually. I think it’s getting a little bit worse. It’s impossible to communicate with him. We all feel bad about the circumstances, but that’s kind of the way it is. The last time I spoke to him was the 100-year anniversary that Roy (Williams) did here (in 1998). I was in charge of getting our team back here since I’m local and around. I sent off a bunch of stuff and called him. I got a return call. It was a little mysterious. It was after the event had happened, and it was Norman. It was a little bizarre, but he at least was talking and kind of knew what was up. He was actually out--he’s been in and out--in Illinois, they call it the state hospital. I guess it would be something similar to Menninger over here in Topeka. This was during the time period when he was actually out. To be real honest, I haven’t heard over the last eight or nine months, whether Norm’s in and out or how he’s doing.”

And then there were Greenlee’s recollections.

“Norman was probably one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet,” Greenlee said. “Norman was a quiet, when you first meet him, he was a very quiet unassuming person. And for him to have that tremendous talent and be so unassuming was really amazing. It would be amazing now, but really even amazing back then. No bravado with Norm, no I’m the best. Six-nine, could shoot from 20-feet out, obviously first-round draft choice of the Boston Celtics. A lot of us would be kind of full of themselves if they had that kind of ability, but Norman really wasn’t. He was a very, very regular guy; he had kind of a quiet, unassuming person for having that kind of God-given talent.”

Greenlee said Cook and the Jayhawk players were quite close.

“We all lived in Jayhawk Towers. We lived together, we practiced together, the lives were really closely intertwined,” Greenlee said. “He played bass, he had a bass guitar. To the consternation of some of his roommates, he played maybe later at night than we wanted. Again, a good person. He was not when many people went pro early, Norman left after his junior year. Kind of the tragedy of that, he may have needed one more year of maturity. If he stayed at Kansas one more year, he needed that kind of big brother, someone to guide him and did not have that at that point of time. That’s why the unfortunate things happen, but just a tremendous talent. We were blessed to know Norman.”

Greenlee related that mourners at Cook’s funeral shared “similar stories” about what a good, quality, genuine and humble person he was.

“Guys that he had grown up with, they would talk about going fishing with Norm, playing ball with Norm, and just kind of hanging out,” Greenlee said. “Again, their comments were very similar in that he was not looking to be the spotlight, he wasn’t looking to be the focal point. Would help you if you needed some help to do whatever, but he really wasn’t full of himself, and that’s a quality, boy we all should take every day.”

Greenlee said people at the funeral also talked about Cook’s mental illness.

“Unfortunately Norman had some mental challenges and had tried to work through some of those. We all have demons in our lives, and unfortunately some are greater than others, and some are attacked in different ways,” Greenlee said. “Every person who got up and spoke, he had some relatives and friends, coach (Duncan, Cook’s high school coach and then his assistant coach at Kansas) Reid got up and gave a wonderful, wonderful talk at the funeral. He talked about Norman as a high school player. Duncan would take him to the gym, and he would work for hours on footwork. He was talented, but there were things he needed to develop, and Norman would do whatever he said. Coach Reid came to Kansas with Norman, he knew him probably the best of those with us during the Kansas years. Norman was a people pleaser, a good person and he expressed the sadness that obviously Norman had passed at such an early age. When you pass away in your 50s, that’s certainly very short in today’s life span.”

Cook’s fabulous debut KU game was a also a topic of conversation at the funeral.

“(We) talked about that. Here he is, first college game, goes 10 for 10 and scores 20 (21) points,” Greenlee said. “None of the rest of us ever had a game like that in our lives at any level. Unless you go 2 for 2, I had some games when I didn’t miss but I didn’t shoot much. To have such an impact as a freshman and to step in at the University of Kansas was tremendous. After the game as I recall, it was a ball game, he wasn’t crowing about what a wonderful game. I had 11 rebounds I think against Kansas State one year and I was telling everybody about it. I said, ‘Man did you look? I’m a guard, I had 11 rebounds.’ I was calling people at home, ‘Did you look at that box score?’ Norman goes 10 for 10 and he really wasn’t trying to make a big deal out of it.

“I remember just Norman having such a great first game,” Greenlee added. “But he had a lot of good games. He’d get 18 points and 12 rebounds. Back then, people didn’t really talk about double-doubles like they talk about them now. You could count on Norman to go out and play hard every night. I remember he had a great first step, first dribble. I can almost picture it now, catching the ball on the wing, giving a little look and then just one dribble and either pulling up and shoot a jumper or potentially go all the way to the basket. He was so long at 6-8 or 6-9.”

Greenlee, Morningstar, and all those people who knew and loved Cook can remain comforted in the fond memories they shared with him. For me, I know my childhood hero will always be a part of me.

To Norman Cook: It’s been 10 years since you passed and 45 years since I first saw you shoot a jumper in the Phog as a wonder-eyed 7-year-old. Thanks for the memories you gave me growing up in Lawrence and watching you play. You gave me so much happiness and helped make my childhood brighter. I will never forget you!

RIP.