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.

If only Jack Brett could be there: George Brett credits father for inspiring him to greatness

While this is a KU basketball blog, with the Kansas City Royals in the World Series for the first time since 1985, I thought I'd pay tribute and flash back to July 1999 when I wrote this cover story on George Brett for Kansas City Sports & Fitness Hall of Fame commemorative issue.

Although I was just in my first year with the magazine and my first season covering the Royals, my publisher at the time Jim MacDonald asked me to interview Brett and write the cover story, instead of choosing one of the other veteran writers who’ve covered the Royals for years.

“You’re the best writer we have,” Jim told me.

I was humbled and very honored. Jim immediately gave me George’s home phone number this June day in 1999 as he wanted me to do a one-on-one interview with the legend at his house with a photographer there as well. I didn’t know if that was possible giving Brett’s busy schedule preparing for his Hall of Fame induction on July 25.

But heck, it couldn't hurt to try.

So I called George at home. He answered and we spoke briefly. He told me to call back soon when he had more information. So I called him back a few days later and reached either him or his wife, Leslie. I can’t remember for sure who answered. One of them told me that Stacy Mayer from the McKellar Group was handling the itinerary, so I would need to contact her.

I think Jim made contact with Stacy, and she later called and told me that I was invited to Brett’s and Dick Houser’s suites at Kaufman Stadium for an interview with George. While I was a little disappointed I didn’t get a one-on-one interview, I was happy that I would at least get a chance to ask George questions and be able to write the story.

In preparation for the interview, I did extensive and exhaustive homework just like I did in college at KU when I received a 4.0 GPA my last four of five semesters. I read every book I could find on Brett, any articles I could read where I could get some grasp of what angle I wanted to take to make this cover story a very special one.

I also wanted to do justice in 2,000 words to the man whom I pretended to be playing whiffle ball in my backyard growing up. I’d stand in the batter’s box with weight on my back leg, waiting for the pitch from my friend Phillip. And I’d revel whenever I’d hit a home run or a liner for a double, just like George did for so many memorable years in Kansas City.

After concluding my research, I knew a few things. One, I had to focus on his relationship with his late father, who was a very hard-driving man who always wanted George to strive for greatness and make the Hall of Fame. That was Jack Brett’s ultimate wish. Two, I wanted to focus on George’s supreme work ethic and giving roots like shucking corn with the clubhouse boys in Milwaukee, and three, I knew I needed to ask him about his volunteer efforts with ALS. All proceeds from George’s Hall of Fame events were going to promote ALS awareness and funding.

After completing all that homework, I felt I was set for the interview and drove from my home in Lawrence to Kauffman Stadium on a mission. While I’m sure I was the youngest writer there and the least experienced, I was proud of the way I took over part of the interview with my questions. I was aggressive and didn’t hold back, knowing I needed to get to the heart of the story and who George Brett was all about. 

Here is that cover story, one of the most rewarding and crowning achievements of my professional career. I'm forever grateful to Jim MacDonald for giving me this opportunity.

July 1999

By David Garfield

The anticipation is building at 6:37 p.m. this June evening in the Dick Houser and George Brett suites at Kauffman Stadium. While the Kansas City Royals are preparing to play the Detroit Tigers in about a half hour, a small group of reporters waits for a legend to arrive. 

Brett, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a month on July 25, is running a little late. But who can blame him? After all, he’s been swamped with media requests ever since January 5 when he got the “call” from Cooperstown. The past few weeks have been especially brutal for him. This interview session will be Brett’s seventh media function today, and last week, he was on six radio stations in one day.

Suddenly, Stacy Mayer (communications specialist for The McKellar Group, which is handling Brett’s itinerary), thinks she sees Brett coming. “Do we have a sighting?” she asks. Not yet. The one and only George Brett walks in a few minutes later, and politely tells the media he has to make a quick appearance on Fox Sports Midwest. He returns at 6:53 p.m. Casually dressed in blue jeans and a Mutual Mortgage polo shirt, Brett cracks a joke and sits down. The writers immediately push their seats forward.

Confident and at ease, Brett clasps his hands together and fields questions from reporters. He is holding court, just as he’s done so eloquently on and off the field since he played his first game in Kansas City on August 2, 1973. Brett, 45, begins reflecting on his family, coaches, teammates, and other people that have influenced him and shaped his identity as a player and human being.  

Asked if he ever came to peace with his dad, Brett says simply, “There was never anything to reconcile. He was just a tough father. He wasn’t the nicest man in the world, but he taught me the qualities of life. He taught me never to be content. How do you get 3, 154 hits? Because you’re not content with what you’ve accomplished. You want to accomplish more.”  

It’s been documented how Jack Brett expected greatness from George and his other three boys—John, Ken, and Bobby. Nothing less would do. He wanted them to extend the unlimited possibilities of the human mind, and reach a level reserved for the very elite who have ever played major league baseball—the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Jack Brett was especially hard on his youngest son, George, who he viewed as the laziest of all the siblings and lacking motivation. Jack prodded, criticized, yelled, and inspired George to become a man and accept responsibility for his potential. He constantly compared him to his older brothers, and as the baby, George was always last on the pecking order.

In John Garrity’s 1981 book, “The George Brett Story,” he wrote about the time George struck out twice in a Little League game, and suffered the short drive with his father from Recreation Park in El Segundo, Calif., up Mariposa Street to his house on 628 Penn Street. As George got out of the car, he shamefully hung his head, and “the next thing I felt was a foot coming right up my” butt.  

Jack Brett was critical of his boy because he loved him and just couldn’t accept him failing. He hoped sports would be his one salvation since George didn’t take much interest in school.  Although George wasn’t blessed with the natural talent as his brother Ken, he certainly had some unique abilities. As a senior at El Segundo High School, he played every position in an all-star game, and retired the side in the ninth inning pitching both right and left handed.  

When he wasn’t playing baseball, Brett’s priorities were spending time in school looking out the window and seeing which way the planes were turning from Los Angeles International Airport.

“I could tell you back in 1970 and ‘71 if United Airlines schedule was on time or not because I used to watch them fly out,” he says this evening. “I just kept a log. I could go back and look, ‘United 1:12 is running at 1:15 today. Three minutes late.’”

His priorities in life immediately changed after he was selected by the Royals in the second round of the 1971 baseball draft. Brett now found himself in the real world in Billings, Mont. He was no longer the carefree high school star, but a scared rookie fighting for a job, and playing with guys four years older than him.

“My work ethic got tuned up a notch,” he said.

The rest is history. On July 25, Kansas City’s favorite son will achieve baseball’s highest honor and his late father’s greatest wish—enshrinement into the Hall of Fame. Brett, who aches that his dad will not be with him in Cooperstown, hasn’t quite figured out what he’ll say in his induction speech about the man he calls his “biggest role model.” However, he does know one thing.  His dad will be the last person he thanks.  

“That will be the most emotional,” Brett said. “I’d rather try to kind of cruise through it real smooth and then in the end get emotional.”

Crack. Brett suddenly rises from his chair. “There’s a home run,” he says, watching the game action through his suite window. “No, only a double.”

Brett now eases back into his chair, crosses his legs, and puts his right hand on his right knee.  “Only a double.” Brett is the only  player in major league history to have 600 doubles, 100 triples, 200 stolen bases, 300 home runs, and 3,000 hits. Still, Jack Brett rarely acknowledged his son’s success during his playing career. However, as he was preparing to undergo open-heart surgery in March 1988, Jack finally decided to express his innermost feelings to George. In the Kansas City Star’s book, “George Brett: A Royal Hero,” George said his dad told him: 

“There’s only one thing I want to do before I do die, and that’s to go to Cooperstown. I want to go back and see you inducted into the Hall of Fame.” 

George fully realized at this moment the impact he had on other people, and making the Hall of Fame for his father became a central driving force in his life. He wanted him to be proud. 

A reporter now asks Brett about the time four years later when he visited his dad on his death bed. Brett, who had struck out twice the previous night, recalls the scene. “He asked me how I did. I said, ‘I went 0 for 4.’ He said, ‘Did you hit the ball good?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I just didn’t get any hits.’”

Jack Brett died the next morning. George, who no doubt remembered that day as a child when his father kicked him in the butt for striking out twice in one game, didn’t want to see his dad pass away knowing that his youngest son had failed the night before.

“I knew I would have pissed him off if I would have told him I struck out twice,” George said. “I kind of told a little white lie, because I didn’t want him to die right there. He was going to die any minute, and I didn’t want to be the one to put him over the edge.”

While his dad inspired George to greatness, the late Charley Lau transformed him from a .200 hitter into a Hall of Famer. The former Royals batting instructor believed in this blond surfer from California, and “put his arm around me.” Brett has fond memories of going out to bars after games and having a few drinks with his mentor and dear friend. The star pupil now gestures more animatedly with his hands as he mentions Lau’s gift for stealing beer glasses. 

“He’d say, ‘Hey give him (Brett) another B and B.’ ‘Charley, I didn’t finish the first one.’ ‘I (Lau) will, give us two more.’ And then we’d get up, he’d stick his glasses in his socks and we’d go home.” 

Brett laughs, and so do the reporters. Brett laughs some more. It’s a hearty laugh, one which he’s engaged people with his whole life. He’s in the mood for a beer himself tonight, and pops open a can of Miller Lite. With his right hand holding his beer, Brett takes a sip, stretches his legs, and affectionately slaps a reporter on the leg. He’s always been a people person and had fun. Brett was the guy you’d see at Westport every night after games during his career connecting with the community.  

He’s also been a caring person who cheerfully went on Royals caravans before the season and brightened children’s lives. Brett was the biggest clubhouse tipper, and helped with the laundry.  When the Royals visited Milwaukee, Brett would shuck corn with the clubhouse kids. But exactly where did these giving roots come from?

“Maybe being the low man on the totem pole growing up, being the youngest of four boys,” Brett said. “I had chores as a child. I knew what it was like to wash clothes and hang them. We didn’t have a dryer. We didn’t have any dishwasher. ... That was my job. All of a sudden you get to the major leagues, and you don’t have jobs anymore? No, I don’t agree with that.” 

However, it wasn’t until Brett met Keith Worthington and watched his friend slowly die from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) that giving to others took on richer meaning. Worthington died in 1984 after living with ALS for 12 years. Brett has raised millions of dollars for ALS since 1981, and dedicated all of the events surrounding his Hall of Fame induction to increase ALS awareness and funding.  

Worthington taught Brett about the responsibility of “giving back to communities and working for a cause that was very special. I saw what it (ALS) did to him. I gave him my word, and I’ve kept my word.”  

Brett, who fervently hopes that researchers will find a cure for the disease in the next year— “Wouldn’t that be something?”— continues mesmerizing the media with words of purpose and passion.

“I don’t know any of my friends that I grew up with in Southern California that still live there or live anywhere else in the country that are involved in any charitable work at all,” he said. “And yet, I don’t have one friend in Kansas City that’s not involved in a charity. So what does that tell you about our city, people? Is this a good place to live or what?”

Yes indeed. It is a city that loves Brett—not just for being a baseball legend, but for being a good person and humanitarian. Of course, his greatest fans are his wife, Leslie, and three boys—Jackson, 6, Dylan, 4, and Robin, 3. With marriage (Brett and Leslie Davenport tied the knot in February 1992) and fatherhood have come new responsibilities. Brett has changed, and yet, he’s still the same “kid” at heart as he was on the diamond. Instead of playing baseball, he’s now playing children’s games with his family. 

Brett has always loved kids. He could identify with them, as they reminded him of himself. Countless parents have even named their children after him, which Brett once said was “about as high a compliment a man can pay another man.”

And on July 25, baseball will give George Brett the highest compliment when he is enshrined into the Hall of Fame. As he walks up to the podium in Cooperstown this memorable day, he’ll glance at his bullet outline, maybe shed a few tears, and speak from the heart. The man, who inspired a generation of youngsters to believe in themselves with his grit and determination on the field, could do it no other way.

“It’s going to be the most important one (speech) I’ve ever made in my life,” Brett said.

His father would be proud.

Recalling the 1998 NBA Draft as former Jayhawks Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins await their draft fate Thursday night: Embiid and Wiggins have a great chance of becoming just the second pair of Jayhawks to be selected within the top-10 picks of the same draft since Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz in '98

Andrew Wiggins has a great chance of being selected No. 1 overall on Thursday night during the NBA Draft in Brooklyn. If so, he’ll become just the second Jayhawk ever picked No. 1 when Danny Manning held that honor in 1988 with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Also, if Joel Embiid gets picked in the top-10, it will mark just the second time in KU history that two former Jayhawks were selected within the top-10 picks in the same draft. That happened in 1998 in Vancouver when Raef LaFrentz went No. 3 to the Denver Nuggets, while Paul Pierce slipped to No. 10 to the Boston Celtics.

(If Embiid does slip past the top five, this reporter expects Boston to gobble him up at No. 6 assuming the Celtics indeed keep the pick).

Phog.net takes a historical look at the 1998 Draft and how the careers of Pierce and LaFrentz turned out.

PAUL PIERCE

Pierce waited anxiously on a rainy night in Vancouver on June 24, 1998 in the Green Room at General Motors Place as pick after pick was announced by NBA Commissioner David Stern. Pierce, who was thought by some observers to go in the top three, eventually was selected by the Boston Celtics at No. 10.

“I am a little disappointed, but it is a situation I had no control over,” Pierce told the media that night. “I guess teams figured they couldn’t use me, or that someone else fit their needs better. We (agent) never had a chance to talk with, or mentioned the Celtics. It’s a big surprise to me to be wearing this hat. If you would have told me a week ago, I would have not believed a word of it, but I am here, this is my situation and I will make the most of it.

“I am going to use this as motivation and show these teams that they passed on a quality player. I just want to go out there next year to let them know that they should have picked me, but I am happy that Pitino (Rick, Celtics coach) felt confident in my ability and gave me a chance.”

Then-Celtics general manager Chris Wallace told ESPN The Magazine in 2002 how Boston got its man.

“There was a chain of events, and if any one of them doesn’t occur, we’re screwed,” Wallace said. “First, Kansas lost to URI in the second round of the NCAAs when Paul didn’t play very well. Then he had so-so workouts. And then the new guys in town showed up — Jason Williams, Robert Traylor and Dirk Nowitzki — and pole-vaulted in the top 10. We had Paul in the top four. The great thing was we had no time to outsmart ourselves. When it was our turn, there wasn’t a decision to make.”

Wallace, who is now the GM of the Memphis Grizzlies and actually a former student at KU in the late 1970s, also spoke to this reporter in 2009 about that draft night. While Wallace thought Pierce could drop, he was still surprised he was there at No. 10.

“It was like we had this lottery ticket lying on the floor," Wallace said. "It was really astounding as the picks started getting closer to 10. I remember telling Rick Pitino after seven that we might get Paul Pierce.  ... Then it just started hitting us (after Milwaukee picked Nowitzki at No. 9), we’re going to get Paul Pierce. Like how was I lucky to pull that off? You don’t ask questions, you take him.”

This set the course for a magical career Pierce had in Beantown for 15 years before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets last season while firmly establishing himself as a future Hall of Famer. He holds numerous Celtics’ records and ranks as the No. 18 scorer in NBA history with 25,031 points.

Pierce led Boston to the 2008 title, where he was named Finals MVP. He is a 10-time NBA All-Star, a member of the All-NBA Second Team in 2009 and a three-time All-NBA Third Team selection (2002, 2003 and 2008). Pierce was also named to the NBAAll-Rookie First Team in 1999 and was the league’s three-point contest winner at the 2010 All-Star game.

He was the NBA regular-season leader in total points in 2002 (2,144) and the regular-season leader in free throws made in 2003 (604).

Pierce continued to amaze at age 35 during his last season in Boston. He became the oldest player in Celtics history to score 40 points in a regulation game when he did so against Cleveland on Dec. 19, 2012 at TD Garden in Boston’s victory. He scored 25 points in the second half and made all seven of his field goals in the final quarter. Pierce shot 13 of 16 from the field, 6 of 8 from beyond the arc, and 10 of 11 at the free throw line.

''When I first came into the league I always asked myself, 'Do I want to be good or do I want to be great?'” Pierce told the Associated Press afterwards. ''Every time I stepped out and worked on my game, that's what I asked myself. I always got here early and worked on my craft as hard as I could because I wanted to be one of the great players.”

While he can still be a force, Pierce had his worst statistical season last year in Brooklyn, averaging 13.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 75 games (68 starts). He has career averages of 21.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists, while shooting 44.7 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from three-point range, and 82.7 percent at the charity stripe in 36.1 minutes per game.

A consensus first-team All-American at KU after his junior year in 1997-98, Pierce was also the Big Eight Freshman of the Year in 1995-96. The No. 7 all-time leading scorer in Kansas history, Pierce is one of just seven Jayhawks to score more than 700 points in a season.

RAEF LAFRENTZ

As LaFrentz was putting up All-American numbers during his senior season at Kansas, the Denver Post wrote that he could be the No. 1 overall pick months before the June draft.

Celtics’ GM Wallace was also impressed with the 6-11 mobile big man as the draft neared.

“He will be the first or second senior selected in the draft, and he’s the No. 1 power forward prospect,” Wallace said in the 1998 NBA Draft media guide. 

“He can run the court, he can score and he rebounds and blocks shots. He has to get stronger to meet the rigors of the NBA game. While I think he will do quite well in the NBA, I don’t think you’ll see his best basketball at center."

After Pacific’s Michael Olowokandi (big bust) went No. 1 to the Clippers and Arizona point guard Mike Bibby was selected No. 2 by Vancouver, LaFrentz was drafted with great promise as the No. 3 pick by the Denver Nuggets, seven picks ahead of former KU teammate Pierce.

After tearing his ACL 12 games into his rookie season, many observers believed he was still destined for greatness.

“Raef is going to be an All-Star soon,” Nuggets strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess told the Denver Post in August 1999. “He’s never going to have another problem. That’s my belief. Raef is a potential superstar. So he can’t come back and be OK. He has to come back and be unbelievable. There’s a lot of pressure on him. It’s not like any guy coming back from a surgery and if he does good, you’re like, ‘Wow.’

“Raef has to come back and blow everyone’s socks off, so can you imagine going to bed every night and thinking about that? Not only do you have to come back from this rehab, but you have to be unbelievable — and he will be.”

LaFrentz never became a superstar, but did make his mark with Denver with his multidimensional skills as a big man who could shoot three-pointers and block shots with the best in the NBA.

He averaged at least 12.4 points his first three full years in the league, while blocking at least 180 shots per season during that span. In his third full season in 2001-02 playing for both Denver and the Dallas Mavericks, LaFrentz became just the third player in NBA history to record 100 three-pointers (104) and 100 blocks (213) in the same season.

However, the former KU All-American’s production declined after that with injuries. LaFrentz, though, showed signs of his old form with the Boston Celtics for two years from 2004-06, where he averaged 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in 2004-05 before playing in all 82 games the following season for the first time in his career and making a career-best 112 threes.

He finished his career with two injury shortened seasons in Portland, retiring at age 31 in 2007-08.

LaFrentz, who played 10 years in the NBA, posted career averages of 10.1 points (5,690), 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

A two-time consensus All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year, LaFrentz is the third all-time leading scorer and second-leading rebounder in KU history.