Former Jayhawk standout John Crawford learned priceless life lessons at Kansas

John Crawford, known as “Big Man” at KU, was one of my childhood heroes who was one of the greatest shot blockers in school history. Since blocks were officially recorded in the 1970s, Crawford finished his career ranked No. 1 all time at KU in blocks with 155 (now No. 8). He led KU in blocks his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, while leading Kansas in field goal percentage as a sophomore and junior.

A great jumper, John never saw a blocked shot he didn’t like.

Crawford, a Kansas City native, was part of a heralded recruiting class by Ted Owens in 1977, which also included McDonald’s All-American Darnell Valentine, Wilmore Fowler and Booty Neal. Crawford played just nine games his freshman season before being declared academically ineligible. However, he rebounded from adversity and averaged a career-high 9.2 points per game his sophomore season while shooting a career-best 52.1 percent from the field. Crawford, an impressive shooter from 15 to 17 feet, shot over 50 percent from the floor each season and finished with a 51.4 career field goal percentage.

The skinny 6-7, 178-pound forward also completed his career scoring 791 points for a career 8.1 points per game average with a career 4.8 rebounds per game.

I have a family connection to John. He knew both of my parents since he earned his master’s degree in social welfare at KU, where my dad was a social welfare professor for 34 years and my mom was a field liaison. John worked with my Mom at Heart of America Family and Children’s Service in the 1990s. My Mom talked fondly of John and told me of John speaking of his great experience playing overseas in Finland in 1983, where he was enlightened to see the lack of poverty. 

When I interviewed John for a Where Are They Now? story for Jayhawk Insider in 1999, he told me his social conscience grew from his experience living in Finland. I’ll never forget our interview at Starbucks in Westport. John was sitting in the coffee shop as I walked in. He told me he saw me walking to the store, and after we greeted each other hello, he asked me or said something to the effect that I didn’t go into social welfare like my parents. My sister is also a longtime social worker, and has been the director of a community mental health center in Boston for many years. I smiled when John said that, and told him I chose a different path of becoming a writer.

I brought press clippings to our interview from John’s career and a box score of KU’s Sweet 16 loss to Wichita State in the 1981 NCAA Tournament.

“Oh my goodness, look at that,” he said. “I had five rebounds. Antoine (Carr), he had nine rebounds. ... I think one of the things that got me later on in life is I was astounded that I played with some of the best and held my own. Like Antoine Carr, Cliff Levingston, Alton Lister, Sam Perkins, Magic Johnson. I jumped with the best of them and I think I shot with the best of them.”

Indeed, he did. But more than his basketball accomplishments, John learned invaluable life lessons from his KU experience from great mentors like KU assistant coach Lafayette Norwood. John, who grew up in the inner city, spoke of how Norwood helped expose him to a new way of thinking about life.

“It got me to the point where I was able to see that everybody did not live in urban housing,” Crawford said. “He (Norwood) made you think as a young man. A lot of things he told me when I was a young 19, 20-year-old rebellious kid have stuck with me today as being a 40-year-old man, especially a black man growing up in the city.”

I reveled in hearing John talking about Norwood and his experiences of expanding his horizons and how he was helping young people now as a social worker for Full Employment Council, the largest non-profit agency in Kansas City which helps place inner city youth with jobs and career employment. John was now teaching kids what Norwood taught him about exploring a whole new world outside the inner city these kids had known all their lives.

I also delighted in how John told me he pretended to be his hero Kareem Abdul-Jabbar growing up, practicing his hook shot all day and night on the playground and how his Mom proudly raised him and his siblings as a single parent and always made sure, despite not much money, that they had nice clothes and dress shoes while keeping an “immaculate” house.

It was a very memorable interview, especially how I felt a connection with John since he knew my parents.

Here, he spoke about his childhood growing up in Kansas City, his hoop dreams, and his recruitment. I also included the Where Are They Now? story I wrote on John in 1999 for Jayhawk Insider. I’m forever grateful for John for his kindness and time he gave me that wonderful afternoon 20 years ago in Kansas City.

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“I first started playing basketball, I think really being interested in it, about 8 years old. I remember just playing on the playground. That’s all I did, was play on the playground. I’ll never forget as a kid, we would all get together, just play outside till about 11-12 at night. Those stories of Mom used to call us in, ‘Ok, in  a minute.’ She had to actually just threaten to get us inside the house sometimes. We‘d play. I remember, at one time, I was thin as a rail. ... But the thing about it, is, we would play, and I’ll never forget, the only thing I had at that time, I could shoot pretty good, but I had a hook shot I used to throw from everyplace. When I got in trouble, I threw this hook shot.  Didn’t know where it came from, I just threw it. Half hook, quarter hook, three quarters, it didn’t matter. I just threw that hook shot, and that’s the best shot I ever had.  

“Growing up in K.C., it was one of those things where I just played for fun. I never thought I was going to go to college. My plan was to do something in high school. I didn’t know what. I was going to go into the Army or what have you. I played basketball in high school, scored a lot of points, purely just for fun. I never thought of anything. I very seldom watched basketball on TV. I would watch the big games, but I was so busy outside playing. I had role models. I think Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was my biggest role model when I came up, because even though he was 7-foot he was skinny and slim, and I used to try to exemplify that hook shot. I never could quite get it like that. I figured, if he could do it, I  could do it. I was 6-7, and he was 7-1. But anyway, in terms of Kansas City, I’ll never forget, all my friends played basketball. All of them. We played on the playground. Like I said, I never thought I was going to go to college. Didn’t have any idea of what college was about. I came out of high school with the attitude that you know, basketball players were given everything. That’s the only concept I had of college basketball.  When you went to college, you played basketball. You did nothing but play basketball. 

“Oh my goodness, I was recruited by over  200 schools. I can’t name them all. Schools like Notre Dame I know did not recruit me. UCLA did not recruit me. I can probably name the schools that did not recruit me. But overall, all the Big Eight schools. I got recruited by schools, not really East Coast, by that time, East Coast was keeping kids that were on the East Coast. Schools from the SWC recruited me, the Missouri Valley Conference was recruiting me. The Big Sky Conference. One of the things I had to do was narrow things down. Like for instance, my coach told me. He was very, very good. He eliminated junior colleges. He said, ‘John, you’re not going to go to junior college. Get your grade point average up so we don’t have to deal with that.’ So that’s what I did. I still have the letters in my Mom’s house. One of the big schools at the time that recruited me was Tulsa, the University of Tulsa. I think the coach Jim King, that used to play for the Chicago Bulls, was head coach at the time. He was the coach for Tulsa back in like 1975, ‘76. It was interesting. I took like two visits. Some schools that I care not to mention, I got some freebies. They kind of bring you down in the summertime when you go to camp; it wasn’t a visit, but you got your camp paid for, stuff like that. I didn’t go to a lot of camps. I didn’t like the whole idea of being far from home because growing up, my mother was a custodial parent. My Mom, she raised me. I just couldn’t see myself leaving home. I was scared to leave home. So I thought Lawrence was far away, because I had never been outside the metropolitan area. 

“Most kids during my time growing up, and a lot of kids today, that’s one thing they don’t experience. They do not experience outside their urban areas. They’re not exposed to that, so that’s their world, and to go outside their world, it’s scary. It’s real scary. I Iived on Independence Avenue, just north of here (Westport). On the bus, that’s a 20-minute (drive) to this part of town. I didn’t come down on bus. I didn’t come to the Plaza until I played for KU, when we played in the Christmas tournament. That was my world as a kid, living in an urban core, but I never visited the Plaza. It's ironic. You find a lot of kids today that still have not come down to the Plaza. Most of it’s because that’s their world down there. They don’t have the transportation to get around like I did. My world was going to the community center and playing basketball every day, and going to school. That was it. It’s just interesting. It’s interesting to think back on where I’ve been.

“We were OK (growing up). We were fine as kids, but as a single parent home, we weren’t well off like a lot of people. In some cases, a lot of people where I grew up thought we were well off because my Mom kept a very clean house, immaculate. She kept very clean furniture. It was immaculate. People thought we were well off, and we dressed. We wore dress shoes to school. People didn’t understand why because my feet were so big. When we bought a pair of men’s shoes, I had to wear them out before I bought another pair of shoes. I didn’t wear tennis shoes, only when I played basketball.”

By David Garfield

John Crawford began playing basketball as a skinny 8-year-old kid on the playgrounds in Kansas City, Mo. He pretended to be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and practiced his hook shot all night or until his mom would “actually have to threaten to get us inside.” It was here on the playground, community center, and school where Crawford spent the better part of his childhood.

“That was my world,” he said.

Crawford had never really been outside his metropolitan, urban area until he graduated from high school in 1977 and received a basketball scholarship to Kansas University. He credits his college experience and instrumental mentors such as KU assistant coach Lafayette Norwood for exposing him to a new way of life.

“It got me to the point where I was able to see that everybody did not live in urban housing,” Crawford said this recent afternoon at a coffee shop in Westport (just a 20-minute bus ride from where he grew up). 

“He (Norwood) made you think as a young man. A lot of things he told me when I was a young 19, 20-year-old rebellious kid have stuck with me today as being a 40-year-old man, especially a black man growing up in the city.”

Crawford is now using his background and teachings to make a difference and impact the lives of today’s youth. After graduating from KU in 1981 and playing basketball in Finland for one season, Crawford has devoted his life to social services and working with at-risk children.  

He was employed as a parole officer for the state of Kansas in the early 1990s when he yearned to do “something more” and create greater change in society. Thus, Crawford enrolled in the School of Social Welfare at KU. Crawford, who received his master’s degree in 1992, said he has finally found his niche after a “long stepping career.” He is currently the executive manager of youth programs for the Full Employment Council (largest non-profit agency in Kansas City), where he helps place inner city youth with jobs and career employment. 

“Hopefully, they can see the value of going to work and not staying out here on the streets," Crawford said.

Crawford approaches his professional career with the same amount of zest as he did playing at KU.

“I was given a gift,” he said. “In every aspect of my life, I use basketball,” he said. “It’s just like chess, you have options. ...When times get intense, I intensify. I know when to play defense. Without that background as related to sports, I’d be lost.”

Crawford was rarely lost on the basketball court at Kansas. He had a solid four-year career, and led KU in blocked shots for three seasons (1979-81). As he looks over old game programs and newspaper clippings this afternoon, Crawford smiles and reflects back to yesteryear.

“Oh my goodness, look at that,” he said pointing to the KU-Wichita State box score (NCAA Sweet 16 loss in 1981). “I had five rebounds. Antoine (Carr), he had nine rebounds. ... I think one of the things that got me later on in life is I was astounded that I played with some of the best and held my own. Like Antoine Carr, Cliff Levingston, Alton Lister, Sam Perkins, Magic Johnson. I jumped with the best of them and I think I shot with the best of them.”

Of course, his teammates at Kansas like Darnell Valentine and Tony Guy were pretty good players themselves. Crawford has especially fond memories of the close-knit team in 1981. Kansas was 14-2 that season before losing the next three games. Crawford, whose minutes had been reduced after starting the first six games of the year, admits he was frustrated.  He decided to sit down and have a “man-to-man” talk with Coach Ted Owens.

I said, ‘Coach, I don’t want to start. I just want to play more. I think I can be more effective than Victor (Mitchell). He’s a good player coach, but we can only do one thing with him — play zone defense and walk the ball up the floor. ... If you give me the same minutes that you give Victor Mitchell, I’ll give you twice as many rebounds as I get now and twice as many points.’”

The season then turned around. Owens respected Crawford so much that he not only gave the senior additional minutes, but started him the last eight games of the season (KU won seven in a row before losing to Wichita State in the Sweet 16 on March 20, 1981).

A few months later in June, Crawford was selected as a seventh-round draft choice by the Philadelphia 76ers. He was released in veterans camp and declined a lucrative offer to play in Europe because he “wanted to be at home with my child (Jon, who was born in December, 1981).”

 

“That was the right thing for me to do,” Crawford said. 

Crawford eventually went overseas to Finland and pursued his basketball dream in 1983.  Enlightened to see another culture with no poverty or drug problem, his social conscience grew, as well as his commitment to help young people.  

Sixteen years later, Crawford is now inspiring the next generation of heroes to achieve greatness and experience a whole new “world” than he did as a child. He said he’s at peace living and working back home in Kansas City.  

“I’m not going to get rich being a social worker,” he said. “But I’m going to have a decent way of life. And if I figure I do a good job, I’ll live well. I love what I do.”

A Closer Look at John Crawford:

Years at KU: 1977-1981

Career Notables: Crawford led KU in blocked shots from 1979-81. Ranks No. 4 all time (155) in that category...Led KU in field goal percentage in 1979 and 1980.

Education: 1981, B.G.S. Communications. 1992, M.S.W. (School of Social Welfare)

Family: Crawford has two sons— Jon, 17; Derrick, 15.

Since Leaving KU: Crawford played one season in Finland in 1983 before returning to the states and working at the YCAT (Youth Center at Topeka) from 1984-1988. He then became a parole officer for the state of Kansas. Crawford, who received his master’s degree in social work from KU in 1992, worked for Heart of America Family and Children’s Services (1995-98). In January 1999, he was hired at the Full Employment Council.

Currently: Crawford is managing executive of youth programs for the Full Employment Council in Kansas City, Mo.

Hobbies :Jazz music and fishing

Favorite KU Memories: Bonding as a team during preseason conditioning in 1981 and having a “man to man” talk with Coach Ted Owens late in the year about receiving more playing time.

On the Jayhawks Today: “I think KU is going to go far this year. ...Ever since I first met him (Roy Williams), I liked his attitude. He instills values in his kids from top to bottom, and I think his coaches exemplify that, too.”

Kidney donation makes Kansan a hero to Israelis

While this is a KU basketball blog, I would like to share arguably the most inspirational story I've ever written in my 24-year professional writing career. It is about a KU graduate and Kansas native who traveled to Israel to donate a kidney to a 10-year-old boy. It was published in 2005 in Kansas Alumni magazine. Eric Swim made this remarkable journey and sacrifice, someone I completely admire as a selfless person and a true hero. He was hailed as a hero in Israel and made front-page news. 

I spent over two hours talking to Eric on the phone as he shared his remarkable experience with me. I'm so grateful to him for his candid thoughts, and hope this story inspired more people to become organ donors and help save lives.

I'm grateful to my wonderful editor Steve Hill at Kansas Alumni for letting me write this story.

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Eric Swim’s inspirational story is one of hope, unconditional love, and the priceless art of giving.

Swim, c’89, l’93, was conducting research on the Internet at his Marysville home in June when he read about 10-year-old Moshiko Sharon, an Israeli boy in dire need of a kidney transplant. Moshiko had waited over a year for a compatible donor.

“Knowing the pains and anxiety that are involved in raising children, let alone a child who happened to be sick and deathly ill, that just kind of brought me up short, knowing I had two kidneys,” says Swim, the father of Lucy, 10, and Josiah, 6. He decided to offer one of his own kidneys to Moshiko. “It just struck me as something I should do.

“In Judaism, there is an old adage: ‘If not now, when? If not me, who,’” adds Swim, who was raised a Lutheran but has observed Jewish customs with his wife, Lori, d’93, since 1997. 

After passing exhaustive health tests, Swim and his family flew to Israel Sept. 6. He was immediately swarmed by TV cameras and made front-page headlines in all the newspapers. Swim used his celebrity platform to urge people to become organ donors.

Israeli President Moshe Katzav hailed him as a hero, but Swim was most deeply humbled by meeting a Holocaust survivor who embraced him and called him a “big hero.”  “That generation gave me the inspiration to do this, to at least have the strength,” he says.

Swim’s favorite moment was meeting Moshiko and freeing him from his dialysis machine. Surgeons performed the transplant Sept. 21, and Swim left the hospital five days later. Moshiko, who called Swim an “angel” for saving his life, was released Oct. 6 — the beginning of the holiday Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah). 

“Most satisfying to me was when we arrived at Moshiko’s home,” Swim says. “To see him walking around and out of the hospital in street clothes, trying to be a normal kid again, it was worth it just for that. That lifted me so much.”

  

As Swim and his family prepared to leave, Moshiko cried and didn’t want him to go. Swim told Moshiko he didn’t have to feel sad, “because you have a part of me with you all the time.”

Swim returned to Israel in December to receive the prestigious Menachem Begin Heritage award. Back home now in Marysville, where he works as a housekeeper and compliance officer at Community Memorial Hospital, he hopes Moshiko lives a long, happy life.  

Though he lost a kidney, Swim knows he gained much more.

“He’s like another son to me, like a little brother,” he says. “I think about him every day. I love him.”

Chris Piper's childhood hoop dreams and his recruitment to KU

Most people know Chris Piper for his role as starting forward on KU’s 1988 national championship team. After KU’s thrilling 83-79 victory over Oklahoma, then-North Carolina coach Dean Smith said Piper played the best post defense he had ever seen. Quite the compliment from the legendary Smith, a Hall of Famer and one of the best coaches to ever live.

But to me, I’ll always remember the skinny forward as Chris Stephenson, my T-Ball teammate who I grew up with in Lawrence. Chris was one year older than me, and I remember also playing two-on-two football with him at Andy Lawrence’s house nearby my home on Park Hill Terrace, along with my friend Clark Sehon, whose dad was a major league baseball scout.

Chris was a humble, genuine kid with straight blond hair who his friends and classmates affectionately called “Snagglepuss.” My defining memory of Chris from childhood came at recess at Broken Arrow Elementary School. Chris, a sixth grader, would always volunteer to be on my fifth-grade team during heated bombardment games between the two grades.

More often than not, with Chris leading the way, our fifth graders would beat the mighty sixth graders. When I met Chris for a 45-minute interview in 1999 for Jayhawk Insider, I asked him why he always volunteered to be on the fifth-grade team. It was a question I had long wanted to ask him.

“I think I always enjoyed a challenge more than anything,” Piper told me. “I always liked overcoming uphill odds to be honest with you. Playing on the sixth-grade team, we’d be the favorites, but playing on the fifth-grade team against the sixth-grade team, we’d be the underdogs. I always enjoyed that. I’d much rather go into something that I don’t have a clear cut chance of winning and have to battle and do it to win it than go in it with a sure victory wrapped up. I remember I always tried to get on the opposite team of Robby (Zinn, the best athlete in school who played college basketball at Vermont) because he’d always be on the team with all the guys that were going to win. I’d always get on an opposite team, which happened to be the younger class because then we’d become the guys that overcome the big odds and beat the sixth graders. I’ve always enjoyed that. I don’t like the easy way, I guess. Maybe that’s a personality flaw. My wife would probably say so.”

Chris, who was our playground hero back then at Broken Arrow, definitely overcame “uphill odds” as a lightly recruited high school player who earned a basketball scholarship from new KU coach Larry Brown. And then, battling against players who were McDonald’s All-Americans like Mark Randall and Mike Maddox, all Piper did was start 69 of 70 games his junior and senior seasons and was one of the best defensive players KU had in years.

Piper is tied with seven other KU players for most career games played in the NCAA Tournament (16), and finished his four years (he redshirted his first season) averaging 3.9 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 49.9 percent from the field and 68.4 percent at the free throw line in 128 games.

Not great numbers, but his game transcended pure stats. He was the consummate team player who persevered through injuries, a great defender, a glue guy, and nobody worked harder. Above all, he was a national champion.

Piper’s calling card was defense, which endeared him to Brown.

“I’m not the dumbest guy in the world,” Piper said. “I knew I had to play defense to be on the team. I always took it as a matter of pride.”

Piper, who played sparingly as a freshman, improved tremendously the following season and was a key backup on the 1986 Final Four team. 

Of course, his greatest KU memory is winning the national title. When Danny Manning grabbed the final rebound that magical evening at 10:09 p.m. on April 4, 1988 at Kemper Arena and the buzzer sounded, KU had beaten OU 83-79 and was national champions. Piper came running to Manning, yelling hysterically.

Piper revealed his thoughts at the time about the feeling he’ll never forget.

“Probably the same thing that went through my mind when (Lawrence High School) coach (Ted) Juneau said I got a scholarship,” Piper said. “What’s the greatest thing that you could possibly win in your life and figure out how you’d feel when you won it?’ That’s probably the feeling I had.”

Juneau said his former pupil is a great testimony about the triumph of the human spirit. Juneau remembers all the doubters about Piper when he coached him during his junior season, which happened to be Juneau’s first year as LHS head coach.

“People were saying, ‘You got to cut him,’” Juneau recalled. And I’m thinking, ‘He looks like one of the best players we have.’ Larry Brown took a chance on him to bring him to KU. Hard work paid off for Chris, just the sheer will. He should be an inspiration for a lot of kids who get cut or don’t think they can play.”

Piper led Lawrence High School to its first state title in 1983 over Shawnee Mission South since 1948 and scored a game-high 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting. The LHS 1983 yearbook later noted the contest was “as fine a game as Lawrence has ever seen.” 

The 6-8 forward, who was an all-league and all-state selection, averaged 14.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game while shooting an impressive 56.7 percent from the field a a senior.

During my interview with my childhood classmate in 1999, here is Piper’s recollection of growing up in Lawrence and his early beginnings as a hoops player and unusual recruitment to KU.

In his own words:

“It was in third grade, we moved in (to Lawrence) from Lincoln, Neb. Born in Manhattan, but I lived in Lincoln. So I covered all the Big Eight. My stepfather had a job opportunity here and that’s why we came down. My dad lived in Manhattan for a long time so there’s a lot of ties there as well. My Mom still lives there (Lawrence). We lived right off of Ousdahl on 19th Terrace. Actually, you can see the fieldhouse from our kitchen window. Pretty close. I was a Nebraska football fan, but that slowly died being here in Lawrence. I remembered I had all the Nebraska ‘71, ‘72, ‘73 stuff. Yeah, once you got here in Lawrence, you couldn’t help but be a Kansas fan. That’s what I evolved into. 

 

“I don’t remember much about KU in the early years, but I do remember buying Hawks Nest tickets when we were in high school that high school kids could buy for cheap. You’d sit up in the crows nest, wherever the corner rafters were. I remember that. Fortunately, for us, in high school, tickets were easy to come by. Unfortunately, for KU, they weren’t that great at the time. I was never a real huge sports fan to be honest with you, not until I suppose I really got into high school when I got more involved in sports.

“I think the first  memory I have of KU is probably Booty Neal. When I think about KU in the past before I got here, I thought about Booty Neal because everybody would get pumped up when he came into the game and shoot the deep ball. Really, I was not a huge sports fan. I’d watch the games, but I couldn’t tell you much about them. My parents didn’t have tickets to it. I’d go whenever I could go with my friends or something like that. It wasn’t very regularly.  

“I didn’t play organized basketball until...I probably played on some Biddy Ball teams. I was never very interested in basketball, baseball was always my favorite sport. Basketball really didn’t become an interest until probably the eighth grade, and that’s mainly because most of my friends were playing it.

“I started trying to play, and I got cut in the eighth grade. Then I made it in ninth grade because they let me. It was down to me and one other guy, and they ended up taking me. I was the last man. I think Rick (Werner) was before me. I don’t remember. I barely made it then. Maybe he (Coach Ron Garvin) was thinking something good would happen down the line. I really had never played basketball other than when you go out for a team. I don’t think you had too many opportunities if I remember correctly. I don’t remember anything, not at all, probably because I never played. Never played at all. I know I wasn’t very good, that’s for darn sure. 

“I think I went from 6-2, 6-3 to probably 6-5 my sophomore year, and finished high school at 6-7. I wasn’t very good my sophomore year, either, but I could run up and down the floor, which was always a benefit for me. When I was a kid, we’d always do things that involved running in pickup games or whatever. That probably helped for my size to be able to run up and down the floor. But I still hadn’t played a whole lot of basketball. It was right then when I got interested in the game for me than just because my friends were playing it. I think between my sophomore and junior year, I started really playing it because I wanted to play and getting more involved and trying to get better at the game itself. Robby Zinn, Paul Johnson, Eric Lienhard, and Jamie Steinhauser —all those guys played all the time. I went to the varsity (junior year).  I probably wasn’t quite ready for varsity. In fact, I know I wasn’t. I wasn’t ready for it mentally because I wasn’t very confident with my ability at all. That probably held me back quite a bit. I probably could have done a lot more if I had more confidence in myself.  t was kind of bad for me for a while, because all my friends were still playing JV. But by the end of the year, what was going to be our senior team were now playing on the varsity as juniors. That was a good way to finish the season.

“I just saw the state championship game last Friday night for the first time. They were playing it at the reception. It was pretty funny to watch. Some guys had some yearbooks, clippings and stuff showing what we did throughout the year. To be honest with you, I don’t remember scoring as much as I did my senior year. I was kind of surprised.  Heck, I never scored more than 10 points probably in college. I had some games that were 20 points or more in high school, which really surprised me. That was a lot of fun that year. We just had a great group of guys. All best friends. Playing together made it real easy. We just had a lot of fun. The nucleus of our team —Robby, Paul, and Eric, and (Kevin) Armitage — those guys had played since grade school and through St. John’s (elementary school) and upwards. It was a lot of fun to play. We were a good team. We shouldn’t got beat to be honest with you that year. We were better than that. But I think we doubted ourselves sometimes as well. It all ended up good in the end.

“I had no interest from any major colleges. Indiana State (Larry Bird’s college) sent me letters, but nobody ever contacted me from them. I just think I happened to be on the mailing list of theirs. Guys that really recruited me were Dodge City, Hutch Juco, and Washburn. At the time, I did not know what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to play basketball, and if I remember right, I was probably leaning toward Washburn, maybe because Tom Meier and Robin Riley going there from Hayden. I knew those guys as players, and it was close and it wasn’t a juco. I didn’t think I wanted to go juco. The reason I didn’t want to go juco was I didn’t think I was good enough to play Division I because nobody kind of contacted me. So I thought if there was no end in sight, why waste your time in juco. That was my thought at the time, which was probably not correct.

“All of a sudden, Juneau says, ‘Hey, Kansas wants to talk to you.’ So I went up and had a meeting with coach Brown. I did not know who coach Brown was, never heard of him really. Paul Johnson had said ‘Yeah, Larry Brown’s coming up from the New Jersey Nets, great coach.’ Of course, Paul’s a basketball nut. I didn’t know who Larry Brown was because I wasn’t really a big sports fan. Coach Brown (was) quiet and nice. I came out of the meeting and didn’t know what he wanted me to do. I assumed they wanted me to walk on. So I told coach Juneau. I said ‘Hey, I think they want me to walk on.’

“Coach said he would call them. I went back to class. I was sitting in Calculus class. I think it was (teacher) Mr. (Ray) Wilbur if I remember correctly. Coach came up to the door and told Mr. Wilbur he needed to talk to me. He put me outside and said, ‘No, they want to give you a full scholarship.’ So I said, ‘Obviously yes.’ There’s no question that’s what I wanted to do. He said they wanted to redshirt me next year. I said, ‘That’s great.” That was it.

“I later found out that Kay Johnson (KU athletic director Monte Johnson's wife) had been the one that said, ‘Hey, there’s a guy that played for Lawrence High.’ They took a chance on me and it worked out. I think coach Brown was probably concerned that I wouldn’t want to redshirt, but for me just the opportunity to play at a Division I school, then play at Kansas at home, hell, I’d redshirt five years if I had to.

“Just pure elation. I mean God, I was on cloud nine. I couldn’t believe it. I was going to play at Kansas. I don’t think you could put it into words. It was just the best feeling possible to not knowing what you were going to do and wondering if you were going to be able to go to go to a good school, to be able to go to the best. Walked on? Probably not, because I don’t think I had the confidence to know I could play there. I doubt it. And I don’t think I could have swung it financially either.”

Bud Stallworth's childhood hoop dreams and his recruitment to KU

I first wrote about Bud Stallworth on Oct. 31, 2016. Now, I revisit this all-time KU great with another blog post. Stallworth, whose No. 15 jersey was officially retired in the hallowed Allen Fieldhouse rafters on Jan. 31, 2005, is one of only three players in school history to earn All-American honors on the floor and academically. One of the finest people I’ve ever met and a former great student of my dad’s in the KU School of Social Welfare, Stallworth was named the 1972 Big Eight Conference Player of the Year, when he averaged an eye-popping 25.3 points per game.

The Alabama native was a two-time all-league selection and named Academic All-American in 1971 and All-American in 1972.

Stallworth concluded his magical career as the No. 3 all-time leading scorer in school history with 1,495 points (now No. 23). He’s No. 1 all time at KU for most points scored in conference games with 389 (27.8 ppg in 1972) and owns the fifth highest scoring average in a season with 25.3 ppg in 1972.

His 50 points against Missouri on Feb. 26, 1972 during his final home game ranks second behind Wilt Chamberlain on the KU single-game scoring list.

In my three-hour interview with Stallworth in 1990, here’s his recollection of how his childhood hoop dreams all began and his recruitment to Kansas. In his own words:

...

“I first started playing probably before I was 5 years old. My first grade teacher asked all the students what they wanted to be when they grew up. I wrote on that piece of paper that I wanted to be a professional basketball player. I was in the first grade when I was 6 years old. I was serious about playing basketball early, and I’m still petty serious about the game. It was an opportunity for me growing up. I grew up in a real small town (Hartselle, Ala.). All the kids were about the same age that lived on my street and came to the school. I was involved with it by the time I was in the first grade. At that time, my school went from one to 12. It was that small. All the students were in one little schoolhouse. Athletics was our outlet. We didn’t have videos or Nintendo games. We played seasonal sports. In the summer, it was baseball. In the fall, football. In the winter, it was basketball. Basketball to me was year round. I could do that by myself. I could do it with somebody else. It didn’t matter. I had an opportunity. I was serious about it as long as I can remember.  

“At that time, growing up in Alabama, basically the only contact that I had with the level of basketball were the high school and small colleges in the area. My parents would take me to games sometimes. It was something that I saw on television that I felt was fun. It was something I wanted to do. I liked the game, just had that image that in my lifetime, that I could do that, that I could actually play professional basketball. Some people I guess want to grow up and be doctors. Some people want to be rocket scientists, and I wanted to be a professional basketball player. The good thing about my parents, and especially my father, he wouldn’t let that be my singular achievement. For me to even think about playing basketball, I had to first of all be involved in music, be involved in school —things I had to accomplish in those areas before I could even think about playing basketball. When I look back on that now, I’m thankful that he did that. 

“I played every day that it was possible for me to sneak and get a ball in my hands. Also at that time, the first gym that we had in my community was built in ‘63. So I was 13 years old before I had an indoor court to be playing on in a regular basis. It was kind of any time the weather was OK, which is basically summer to fall. And some of the winter was OK, we would go out if it was kind of cold and wasn’t that dreary out and play in the inclement weather. It was the only way to do it at that time. When you say when did I play, I guess it was every time I had a chance to get my hands on that ball. (Laughs.)

“We’re talking about a kid that was average size, a little above average size, but I knew how to get the ball up to the basket. A lot of kids were throwing it and couldn’t touch the rim, but I could get it up and in the basket. And I liked to do that. There were some baskets outside, I’d take my little ball out there and throw it up there and get it in. That was a thrill for me. When other kids were struggling just to get the ball up in the air, I was throwing it in. Whenever my parents looked for me, I was out there doing just that. They didn’t have to worry about me going anywhere, running around town. I was out there throwing that ball into the basket. When I wasn’t in school, I probably played for a couple of hours (a day). If I could get back out and play before it got too dark, I’d play a couple of hours again. The darker it got, the more difficult your shots got. Some people couldn’t see the rim. I got so good, I could always see the vision of the rim being there. We had to entertain ourselves that way. My parents wouldn’t allow that (playing in the middle of the night). I think that would have gotten me grounded from playing doing that.

 

“I played varsity basketball when I was in the seventh grade, so I knew I could play, but I didn’t have a measuring stick to say what level I could play on. I knew that I could put the ball in the hole since I was old enough to remember because that’s what I knew I could do. I just had that inner confidence that I could do that. The finer points of the game like playing defense and rebounding just didn’t interest me. I liked to score. (Laughs.) Actually in my community, I started playing in pickup games with older guys when I was probably 10, 11 years old. When I say older guys, I’m talking about guys who were either in high school or graduates of high school. We would meet in our little park and get chosen on teams to play. When other kids that were in high school were getting picked over, I was getting picked to play.

“My only vision of other players that were better than me were the professional players like Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor. They were doing some of the same things I was doing. I think I saw Earl Monroe play when I was probably in junior high school or going into high school. He was doing some things I couldn’t do. He could do the twist and the shake, and I didn’t have that down pat. But just coming up, running up the floor, jumping in the air, shooting, I had all that. I’ve had that since I was in the seventh, eighth grade. I could run, jump, and shoot the basketball. Like Jerry West, he would come down, he’d take stutter steps and pull up and shoot a straight jump shot. I could do that. When I saw Earl Monroe take it between his legs, dribble behind his back, twist and spin, that was a new move that I hadn’t accomplished yet. I got to cut Earl out as one of my favorites because I couldn’t do his thing. His thing to me was more, he was tricking people all the time. I wanted to beat them. I didn’t want to trick them. I just wanted to take over. Elgin Baylor, I liked the way he could hang, take it to the basket. He was about my size at the time. I kind of liked to think I was Elgin Baylor. I’d go out on the playground, do the hang, take people to the hole, shoot jumpers on them, learn all the different English moves you had with the ball. Jerry West, Oscar, those were some people (I emulated). 

 

“My size limited me. I couldn’t be Wilt Chamberlain; I wasn’t 7-feet. I didn’t like Bill Russell. I wasn’t that kind of player. He couldn’t score. (Laughs.) Years later, he was my coach in Seattle (SuperSonics), and I still didn’t like him. I still had this thought, ‘This guy couldn’t score.’ (Laughs.)  When you say idolize, I kind of would have thought I had an opportunity to be as great as he (Baylor) did doing what he was doing, plus he was in Ebony magazine and doing a commercial or something.

“... After that summer (in 1967) going into my senior year in (high) school, was the beginning of desegregation in the state of Alabama. In most cases, the first thing that people look out is how it can better their program. The athletes were considered the barrier breakers in the state of Alabama.  They were being selected because of their athletic skills and if they had good academics. They were being recruited to go and be integrated into the white schools system in the state of Alabama. This brought a whole new wave of notoriety to me and other black athletes in the state of Alabama, because now there was an outlet to go to the University of Alabama, the University of Auburn, and be considered a great person, break through the race barrier, all of this. But they wanted the creme de la creme to do that. I had all the credentials for that. I had the academics, and I had the athletic skills. That brought in a new wave of notoriety for me. All of a sudden, I’m getting the exposure in papers. I’m getting the interviews, I’m getting the recruitment deals all in the span of one year. I said, ‘All of this stuff was building up on me. If everybody thinks I’m this good of a player, I must not be too bad. Hey, I got a real shot now because I got people offering me money and cars and all this to make a decision just for college.’ They’re offering my parents things. High schools in the northeast section of Alabama were starting to call and saying, ‘We would move your family if you came to school here.’ That was a big change for just two years before when we were playing in our own little crackerbox gyms with only our fans there and no press. Now, we got the press. We got radio, TV, packed houses, integrated crowds, college recruiters. That was a big deal in 1967.  

“I had made the decision to stay at the school I was at, but the notoriety level there —the press, which makes or breaks anybody—the press that was coming was seeing a kid that nobody ever heard of throwing 40-plus points a game and doing it in a fashion that they hadn’t seen. I was 6-foot-5, but I was playing outside running up and down the court handling the ball. And that was different from basically high school players, who if they were 6-5 or over, they were playing in the middle. I was a little different kind of breed there. Even when I came out here to the Big Eight, KU never had anyone under 6-8 or 6-9 lead them in scoring. Most of their players were big centers that they walked the ball up and dumped it into the post, which was boring as far as I was concerned. Our freshman team, we’d come up and jack up anytime and anywhere. I think I had some impact on the philosophy on how this school has played their basketball in my career. We had big people on the court, but I had a little freedom to put it up when I wanted to, and that was unheard of I was told until my time.

“... My recruiting trip to the University of Alabama was the night they played LSU and they had Pete Maravich. All the assistant coaches were telling me, ‘If you come to school out here, you get a chance to play against Pete.’ I’m sitting here and I’m looking at Pete, whose throwing up every kind of shot you can think about. I said, ‘I don’t know if you’ve seen me play, but that’s nothing. I can do that. He’s going to have a chance to play against me.’ (Laughs.) That’s just the way it was back then. My senior year in high school, I was averaging probably 45 points per game. I was the first black player to play in the consolidated all-star game at the University of Alabama, won the MVP. We lost the game, but I put on a show down there that they hadn’t seen. I wasn’t living in kind of a bubble. I had played against the best that I knew about, and just from that standpoint, I was there. This guy (Maravich) was out there just throwing up a lot of shots, and I figured if I throw up as many shots as he did, I could get 40 points a game. That’s just the way it was. You’re young and you believe in yourself that much, you just have to go with what you feel, and that’s how I felt.

“Between my junior and senior year, I came to music camp out here (KU). The varsity for KU had just gotten beat and Texas Western had won the national championship. Most of the varsity was in summer school and living in Lawrence during the summer. Against my father’s wishes and just because I guess I had to have the ball in my hands at sometime during the day, instead of taking lunch when we’d have break during rehearsals, I was over at Robinson (Gym). That’s when all the guys would come over and play —Jo Jo (White), Vernon Vanoy, (Rich) Bradshaw, everybody that had been on the team. Jo Jo at that time was an All-American. A couple of other guys were All-American high school players on KU’s team. They had the status of being a major college player, and KU’s tradition is second to none, so that summer, I said, ‘Im out here playing with these guys. I’m just a junior in high school and I’m as good as they are. I was just as good as (White) was. He couldn’t do anything that I couldn’t do, which was score, run up and down the floor and win games. That summer, I said to myself, ‘If this is the best of all players in the country and I can compete with them, then I got a chance. I got a real legitimate chance to get to that level.’ Well, I guess some of the players felt the same way about me. Toward the end of music camp, coach (Ted) Owens called my counselor and asked for me to call. He said ‘some of these players that you’ve  been playing against said you’re a tremendous basketball player and we’ve never heard of you.’ I said, ‘Well, I went to a segregated school.’ It was small. In the 60s, Alabama was known as basically a football state. They didn’t care about nothing about basketball. 

“... To me, you got to be comfortable wherever you go. If I was going to spend four years anywhere and make this sacrifice to be competitive for an institution, I felt at least I owed it to myself to go where I felt comfortable. I just felt that (KU) was the place. I had met players on the team. My older sister had attended school out here. She liked it. They’re a nationally renowned basketball school and academic school. They had all he plusses. I felt that I could come here and make a mark for myself and probably win a national championship, which is all you can ask for. That’s the reason people go to college, they want to be the best they can be and win a national championship. I felt I could do all that at this school. I don’t know whether I would have come out here if I had not come out here on the music camp. They probably wouldn’t have recruited me. At that time, there were the recruiting wars going on per say in the south. The only visits I made were to the four schools —Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn and KU.  Cincinnati was recruiting me, but I was there and that was a big city. I didn’t really feel that comfortable. The most intense recruiting was done in the south and KU. I was probably the easiest person to recruit at KU, but from having the opportunity to spend a little time out here during that camp, but then when I had came back out on my recruiting trip, it was just, ‘I’m sold.’ I had this impression of it being what it was like to be recruited and go to school and have the opportunity again to play for a national championship, to be recognized as being one of the better players in the country. You got the exposure there. Some of the great players in history came through KU. (Wilt) Chamberlain came here. I just felt it was good for me at that time. Alabama’s program was just starting. It was basically (legendary football coach) Bear Bryant was there. Auburn had some minor success, but nothing on the scale at what I was looking at. The powerhouse in the SEC at that time was Kentucky.

“...The reason I had heard about (KU) before, my sister had come out there. But I followed college athletics and basketball because that‘s what I wanted to do. They were among the traditionally top teams in the country. Other than UCLA, who was winning everything at that time, KU was considered a good school in basketball. They were winning the Big 8 a couple of times. When you look at what I was looking at, I was looking at some really small options. Either going to a school in the south, which were only recruiting me, or going to a school which had the opportunity to win a national championship. That kind of eliminated some things right there, other than the cars, the money, and clothes, the money, that I would have probably got at other places. I just didn’t have the comfort level to go somewhere else.”

More from Bud Stallworth on the art of shooting the basketball:

“To me, you’ve got this rim, this circle. You got a sphere, this ball, and you have become accomplished at throwing this sphere in this circle with people on you who were moving at a high rate of speed. That’s a gift, that’s an art. That is an accomplishment. People talk about the kind of skills you need to accomplish something, you don’t tell me that’s not hand-eye coordination, the ability to judge distance, to judge speed. That is something that’s an accomplishment. A lot of people can’t walk and drop a piece of paper in a trash can. To me, I had mastered the whole thing of putting it in there.”

Calvin Thompson’s childhood hoop dreams and his recruitment to KU

In my last blog post, I wrote about the KU basketball legacy of Calvin Thompson, Greg Dreiling and Ron Kellogg. Now, I write more about Thompson and his early childhood hoop dreams and how he always wanted to become a Jayhawk. I got great mileage from Pony during our 90-

minute interview at his home in 1999, some great candid information he shared with me. In fact, as I told Pony, it might have been the most candid interview I've ever had in my 31-year writing career. I'll always be grateful to Calvin for opening up to me. Not only was he a great player, he is even a better person!

The 6-6 high-flying guard was named a high school All-American by Basketball Times and Basketball Weekly, and was the most sought after player in Kansas in 1982 during his senior year when he averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds per game. Thompson led Wyandotte to a 22-1 record and third place in the Kansas state tournament. He shot better than 59 percent from field during his career and dished out four assists per game.

Here is Thompson’s recollections of his basketball life growing up in Kansas City and what brought him to Kansas. In his own words:

“Growing up, I was a little fat kid that wanted to be accepted by his peers so everybody was playing sports. I started shooting; I couldn’t run so I just started shooting. I would put marks on the ground and mark it good and just shoot, shoot, shoot it. Everybody wanted me on their team because I could score. I was in the fifth grade and I just started playing. And then eventually I got to running and losing weight and this and that. All my friends started to play Biddy Ball at a very early age, and I had some catching up to do. I started out late. But like I said, I would used to spend time shooting, and back then, I had to shoot well enough to be picked on somebody’s team to be accepted. Guys, now, they don’t practice on their shooting. I go out there 50 pounds overweight and I’m still going to shoot the ball.

“I always considered Nate Thurmond (a hero and 6-foot-11 NBA Hall of Famer). A lot of people didn’t know who Nate Thurmond is. My friend, whom I grew up with, he had given me Nate Thurmond’s nickname. I didn’t have any college heroes. My deal was I wanted to be the first to go to college in my family. I knew my family couldn’t afford to send me, so my deal was picking up a basketball and trying to earn a scholarship. My mother laughed at me, and that sort of hurt me. I wanted to get the last laugh. (My Mom said), ‘What do you know about a scholarship?' I was in the fifth grade and in my neighborhood, we didn’t talk about college. But I wanted to go to college. I didn’t have the desire to play professional ball afterwards or none of that. I just wanted to go to college. Looking back, she could have patted me on the back and said, ‘Yeah, baby.” But no, she laughed because growing up, they thought I was a comedian anyway, so she thought it was funny. You know, a little fat kid who had never played basketball in his life, here I’m telling her I’m going to go to college and play basketball and get a scholarship. 

“As a ninth grader, Cotton Fitzimmons (Kansas City Kings head coach), he invited me down to practice with the Kings. I started playing with those guys like Kevin Loder, who was a helluva jumper. I used to go at him, and dunk on him and Scott Wedman. They’re like, ‘Who is this kid?’  When I got their attention down there, Reggie King —I talk to him every day, he’s a good friend of  mine, Joe C. Merriweather, and Sam Lacey —they’re like, ‘You can play.’ Sam was funny.  He used to always tell me I was “child abusing Scottie Wedman.” I was like, ‘if I could do it to these guys, of course I can play in college.’

“Back then, all you’d hear in the news was Jayhawks.‘What’s a Jayhawk? I want to be a Jayhawk.’ So it was just seeing a Jayhawk everywhere and knowing it was close to home, I just wanted to be a part of it. Later on, I learned about the history. I committed when I was a ninth grader. Back then it was legal. I verbally committed as a ninth grader, and then again as a sophomore in high school. I said if KU wanted me, then I was going to go there from the very beginning. They sent me a  letter as a ninth grader. I said, ‘I’m going,’ so they didn’t have to recruit me anymore. As a 10th grader and 11th grader, Missouri’s coach Norm Stewart  and a couple of other coaches around the country had called my principal and said it wasn’t fair —the recruiting process — if I’m going to commit early. So why not deny my commitment and let some other players get seen and this and that. So he (principal) explained to me that although I thought personally that KU was my team — I didn’t want to waste anybody else’s time or my time and their money trying to get me to come on visits — I said, ‘I’ll deny my commitment but I’m going to KU, just so other players could get seen and coaches could still come in and visit and they could look at the other players.’ I had to go on record denying that I was going to KU, but they knew all along I was still coming.  

“They (other schools) still recruited me, but I never took a visit. A lot of my letters went unopened, and after they started sending money to all these recruits, I went back and started looking for money. I just never opened my letters. My mother had fun with all that stuff. She had trash bags full of letters and boxes full of letters from other schools. There were over 250 different schools. My deal was why go on a visit and waste somebody’s time and money if I know where I’m going. It was KU all the way.

“Now, I’m friends with a lot of the older players. But before then, I had to go there to learn the tradition  — the Jo Jos, and the Wilts, and the Morningstars, and Clyde Lovellettes and Black.  Growing up, I didn’t know about any of that. Darnell (Valentine) was locally from Wichita and Lynette Woodard was big back then. Darnell, they were our nemesis in high school, those Wichita schools. We ended up getting beat by Wichita West my senior year in the state tournament. I was familiar with Darnell and Aubrey Sherrod, and Xavier McDaniel, Cliff Levingston, Antoine Carr. Especially the Carrs, they were big in Kansas. I was familiar with them. I wanted to stay close to home. After becoming good in high school and becoming an All-American, I realized it was something special going on and I wanted my family to be able to come and watch me play. 

“I broke my ankle in the state high school tournament (my senior year). I was invited to a couple of (all-star) games, but I wasn’t able to play. I couldn’t even finish the state championship game. ...We couldn’t afford to go to camp.  The only camp I went to was KU’s camp, and that was because they were recruiting me. That was the only camp I ever went to. That was the only I visited I’ve taken. I was an easy recruit.”

More about Calvin “Pony” Thompson

Thompson will never forget what a KU alumnus told him when the Jayhawks were recruiting the hoops sensation from Wyandotte High School in Kansas City.

“’You’ll be a Jayhawk for life,’” Thompson recalled. “That meant a lot to me, and it still stands.”

He never looked back on his decision to attend KU.

After all, Thompson helped lead Kansas to the 1986 Final Four, where he was named to the All-NCAA Midwest Regional Team and concluded his career as the fourth-leading scorer in school history (now No. 20 with 1,548 points). With most of his shots coming from long range before the three-point shot, Thompson was one of the best shooters in KU history and shot a blistering 53.4 percent from the field for his career, including 56.6 percent as a senior.

He also brought the alley-oop dunk to KU. Watching Pony catch a lob pass by point guards Cedric Hunter and Mark Turgeon and throw it down was an electrifying sight to behold.

Moreover, he set a school record with 33 consecutive free throws, which stood for 21 years.

Thompson’s road to greatness got off to a tragic start when his dad, Horace Young, died of a heart attack in Allen Fieldhouse during his first college game. While it was a heartbreaking loss, Thompson was at peace knowing his dad was able to “come watch me” fulfill a childhood dream of playing college basketball.

Thompson rebounded from adversity and was selected to the All-Big Eight Second Team his freshman season in 1982-83, which he earned again as a sophomore. He ended his career fifth all time at KU in assists, ninth in steals, 19th in rebounds, third in minutes, and 13th in blocks. 

He ranks No. 5 in school history in career free throw percentage (82.1) and No. 7 for single-season free throw percentage (85.9 in 1984).

Despite taking a backseat his last two seasons behind stars Danny Manning and Ron Kellogg, Thompson wouldn’t have had it any other way. He was the consummate team player who didn’t care about individual statistics.

“All I cared about was winning,” Thompson said. “If I go back in college and change, then Kansas is not Kansas now. We’re not 35-4 (in 1985-86). If I listen to all of my friends and say, ‘You got to be selfish if you want to go pro. You got to quit passing the ball so much.’ I got the ‘most unselfish’ trophy award. But if I’m not that Calvin, then we’re not Kansas. I rather win as a team. If I wasn’t the Calvin I was in college, then we wouldn’t be the Kansas we were then and we wouldn’t have put Kansas back on the map.”

Thompson played his freshman season for coach Ted Owens and his last three years for Larry Brown. Among his highlights and career accomplishments were scoring 26 points against Michigan State in the 1986 Sweet 16 and career-high 30 points (15-20 FG) in an upset win over Oklahoma in the first round of the Big Eight Tournament in 1983.

Thompson loved playing for Brown, although they had some rocky times together, especially when Brown took the head coaching job in 1983 after Owens was fired.

 

“He came in and wanted to know who the bitch was running things,” Thompson said. Thompson, who described himself as a “cocky, arrogant freshman,” spoke up.

“’Me,’” Thompson told Brown. “We needed a leader. I thought it was a good thing.”

Brown apparently felt otherwise.

“We got off on the wrong foot. (Things) weren’t very good at the beginning,” Thompson said with a chuckle.

“He said we were his stepkids and we were going to be really good when his kids came in,” he said. “So how does that look on us. ... (I’m) not going to sit back and agree with him.”

But Brown, Thompson, and the Jayhawks eventually saw eye to eye. 

“You see how good it got in 1986,” Thompson said.

Thompson said Brown wound up being a great influence on his life.

“He opened my eyes and prepared me for life after ball,” Thompson said. 

The KU basketball legacy of Calvin Thompson, Greg Dreiling and Ron Kellogg and the unfair business of professional sports

As Calvin Thompson, Ron Kellogg and Greg Dreiling were making their mark during their senior year at KU in 1985-86, KU coach Larry Brown spoke about their lasting accomplishments to the Topeka Capital-Journal.

“They’ve made a contribution to this program that will carry over for a long time,” Brown said. “They’ve helped us learn how to win again, and hopefully that will carry over. I feel special about these kids for what they’ve helped us accomplish. I don’t think you can replace them, but I hope we don’t have to. I just hope we can continue to build on what they’ve done.”

The super senior trio, who were recruited by Ted Owens, helped put KU basketball on the map again during their careers after two straight losing seasons by Owens cost him his job. Thompson, Kellogg and Dreiling helped lead KU to the 1986 Final Four under Brown, their first national semifinal appearance since 1974. In their swan song against Duke in the Final Four at Reunion Arena in Dallas, where KU lost 71-67, Kellogg led Kansas with 22 points on 11 of 15 field goal shooting. Thompson added 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Dreiling recorded six points and six rebounds.

These seniors helped lead KU to the winningest season at the time in school history at 35-4.

During the previous game in the Elite Eight versus North Carolina State at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Dreiling dominated inside with 19 points and 12 boards. Then, in the Sweet 16 against Michigan State, Thompson was the hero in his hometown with 26 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Brown, who spent the majority of his coaching career in the NBA and ABA, spoke about the three seniors’ chances of making the NBA during the 1985-86 season on his Hawk Talk radio show.

“I think Greg is a definite. I think he’s going to go first round and I think he’ll probably go in the top 15 picks. He’s just made so much progress and they need big guys, and he’s a very very conscientious hard working kid,” Brown said.

“Ronnie and Calvin, it’s a little tougher. At their size, that’s probably a position that has the most gifted kids all over playing and trying for spots. They both I think have the ability. They both have the desire. They’re going to have to improve their ballhandling tremendously. I think they shoot the ball well enough and they’re good kids. They have to get with the right team, a team that needs their particular play. If they can work hard and improve their ball-handling skills, their chances will go up considerably.

“I hope they’ll all make it,” Brown added. “I think they’ve made tremendous improvement. Ronnie and Calvin, most people look at them as big guards. I think in order for them to make it as pros, they’re going to have to work on their overall game, but they’ve shown so much improvement in the last two or three years that I’m confident that they both will make it. Greg, everybody feels he has a chance to be a center in the NBA. I certainly do. He works hard. He’s got great character. He’s getting better all the time. I don’t know if they’ll step in and start. I doubt that will happen their rookie year, but I think they all have a chance to be pros for a long time.”

Thompson finished his illustrious career as KU’s fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,555 points, while Kellogg completed his magical career as the school’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,508 points. Playing just before the three-point line was implemented (the shot went into effect in 1986-87), both are regarded as two of the best outside shooters in KU annals with Thompson shooting a career 53.4 field goal percentage, including a scorching 56.6 percent his senior year. Kellogg, who never saw a shot he didn’t like, blistered the nets with a career 53.2 field goal percentage, including 55.2 percent his senior season and an even more eye-popping 57.6 percent his junior year.

Dreiling, who played three years at KU after transferring from Wichita State, improved tremendously throughout his career and completed his Jayhawk days as the 10th all-time leading scorer with 1,209 points and sixth all-time rebounder with 650 boards. Dreiling currently ranks No. 7 all time at KU in career field goal percentage (57.2).

With such impressive talent and NBA aspirations, their pro careers were met with major obstacles and adversity after leaving KU. Brown’s agent, Joe Glass, wanted the three seniors to sign with him. Instead, Kellogg, Thompson and Dreiling inked with different agents.

“We got a bad rap,” Thompson said. “The Glasses (Joe and son Keith) told me and Ronnie and Greg that if we didn’t sign with him, that we wouldn’t play in the league.”

Thompson said they were “blackballed” and rumors spread that they had bad attitudes.

“People don’t know but it was a good run,” said Thompson, who had a very successful career in the CBA and overseas.

Thompson was selected in the fourth round by the New York Knicks (No. 71 overall pick, first selection in fourth round), while Dreiling was a second-round pick by the Indiana Pacers (No. 26 overall and second pick in second round). Kellogg was also drafted in the second round by the Atlanta Hawks (No. 42 overall and No. 18 pick in second round) but was traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Thompson said he was at first excited to be headed to the Big Apple and reunited with former KU assistant coach and then-Knicks aide Bob Hill.

“I thought New York was the perfect fit for me because they needed some shooters,” Thompson said in an exclusive 90-minute Where Are They Now? interview at his home in 1999.

However, his time in New York didn’t end happily. Mysteriously, Thompson was placed on injured reserve and the only player in camp not to play in any games despite wowing everyone in practice with his skills. 

“(I) kicked everyone’s butt,” Thompson said.

Thompson said that Hill “told me the truth” ... and “came into my hotel room after they had made a decision to get rid of me and told me, ‘Hubie thought that you were Larry’s (Brown) boy, and he doesn’t like Larry. He was drafting you to screw Larry.’  

“It was always rumored that Larry was going to take Hubie Brown’s job in New York and become coach, and so he figured he would draft his boy to screw him over. I said (to Hill), ‘Did he know that I’m not Larry’s boy?’”

That didn’t matter. Hubie Brown, now a TV pro basketball analyst, was making his own statement by cutting Thompson. 

“He drafted me to get back at coach Brown,” Thompson said.

That put Hill and Thompson in a tough spot.

“’He (Hubie Brown) told me if I (Hill) said anything to you, he would fire me,’” Thompson said Hill told him.

Despite not making the Knicks, Thompson learned from the experience and became even hungrier about the game.

“The New York camp is probably the best thing that could have happened to me,” Thompson told the Lawrence Journal-World on Sept. 6, 1986 after signing with the CBA’s Topeka Sizzlers.

“It opened my eyes and made me see what was going on. I’ve been through it now, and it’s made me grow as a player and as a person.”

Thompson, who was the first rookie selected to play in the CBA All-Star game, wound up having a 

very successful career as an explosive scorer for two seasons in the CBA and seven years in Europe, including two seasons in France and five years in Israel. 

He said playing in Israel was a remarkable experience. Thompson, who was having marriage problems at the time, lived his first year in the Nazareth Mountains.

“I loved it,” Thompson said. “The first thing I did when I got to Israel was swim in the sea of Galilee. I figured if Jesus could walk across the water, I could swim in it. It gave me a sense of peace in my life to be up in the mountains and see all the history that we learned about in Sunday school and in the Bible. That allowed me to breathe and live again, to appreciate life and not dwell on the negative that was happening.”

Kellogg didn’t have nearly the same success as Thompson after leaving KU. After acquiring Kellogg in a trade on draft night, Lakers general manager Jerry West said this: "Simply, he may be the best shooter I've ever seen shoot a basketball."

Despite such high praise, Kellogg didn’t make the Lakers and never played in the NBA. He played in the CBA and overseas, although never came close to matching the successful career he had at Kansas. Kellogg was a poor ballhandler, and according to a former teammate, had to “start all over” once his college career ended.

“(Kellogg) thought he had it made,” the teammate said. “He wasn’t prepared. Kellogg didn’t have the mentality. Ronnie would break plays (at KU) if his number wasn’t called.”

Despite being “blackballed” by Brown’s agent, Dreiling wound up with a 10-year NBA career with the Indiana Pacers (seven years), Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers, where he was a solid role player and enforcer.

Dreiling posted career averages of 2.1 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game while starting 94 of 474 games. He shot 46.7 percent from the field and 64.9 percent at the free throw line. His best season came in 1990-91 with Indiana when his former KU assistant Bob Hill served as head coach. Dreiling averaged career highs in points (3.5), rebounds (3.5), games (73), starts (42) and minutes (14.1).

The former McDonald’s All-American (he was regarded as one of the top three centers in his high school class with Patrick Ewing and Stuart Gray) totaled 1,014 career points, 1,018 rebounds and 137 blocks.

Dreiling, whose last year came in 1996-97 with Dallas, played in four playoffs, where he started five of nine games (all five starts in five games came with Indiana in 1991) while averaging 1.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

According to Baskeballreference.com, Dreiling made $2,627,500 during his career with his most earnings coming in 1992-93 with Indiana, when the former KU star made $650,000.

In the 1994-95 Rick Barry’s Pro Basketball Bible, here’s how Barry graded Dreiling’s performance and also how he evaluated him. He was an unrestricted free agent and unsigned at press time.

First, the grades.

Scoring D

Shooting B

Free-Throw Shooting C

Defense B

Defensive Rebounding B

Offensive Rebounding C

Passing C

Ball Handling C

Intangibles A

Overall C-

From Barry: “You want scoring? Dreiling will not give you scoring. Eight-year vet’s highest scoring average was 3.5, the only time he’s chalked up over 3 a night...If he’s going to score, it will be on a rare 15-footer, the occasional putback (thought he’s not a particularly effective offensive rebounder), or off the pick-and-roll...What Dreiling brings to the table are his six fouls. Not reluctant to hit guys coming down the lane. Yup, he’s foul prone. He’s a banger, though not a shot blocker...He won’t get you beat with his passing, nor will he beat you with his passing; indeed, he rarely touches the ball on offense. Sets good screens for jump shooters. Can catch the ball...Character, work ethic and attitude all are first-rate.”

“In Sum.”

“Give the man credit. He has lasted eight years with marginal ability on both ends of the court. Knows his role and knows his limitations. Makes for a solid third-string (not a back-up, mind you) center.”

In Barry’s 1995-96 Pro Basketball Bible, when Dreiling was with the Cavs, here’s his grades and report. 

Scoring D

Shooting D

Free-throw Shooting D

Defense C

Defensive Rebounding B

Offensive Rebounding D+

Shot Blocking C

Passing D

Ballhandling D

Intangibles B+

Overall D+

“A good season for Dreiling is when he has more points than personal fouls. Guess that makes last season a good one. He scored 110 points and and committed 108 hacks in 483 minutes of 58 games...Scout: “He’s not much more than a big stiff whose greatest asset is that he takes up space.” ...He’ll battle people in the post and block an occasional shot, but he’s a big-time hatchet man. In nine seasons, he has 934 points and 858 personal fouls. Zero speed...Get serious...What floor game? For a veteran of nearly 10 seasons, he too often panics when he gets the ball. “The only thing worse,” said one coach, “is if he tries dribbling once he’s got it.”...There are a couple of plusses here (intangibles). He’ll set a decent pick, but forget getting him the ball if the action calls for a pick-and-roll. And he’s a decent practice player.” 

“In Sum”

“A few years ago, when he played with the Pacers, Dreiling squawked about not getting enough playing time. He’ll be 32 in November and the squawking has ceased. He may be able to squeeze out another year or two in the NBA. If not, Europe beckons.”

Despite these critical comments by Barry, I was always a fan of Dreiling and thought he was a very hard worker and extremely conscientious. He worked with a dance instructor at KU to improve his footwork. How many college athletes would ever do that? He made great strides at Kansas after a sensational high school career in Wichita, where he was larger than life and dominated due to his sheer size.

I rooted for him in the NBA and saw three of his games, including an exhibition game in Topeka with the Pacers and two regular-season Pacer games at Market Square Arena, including one contest during 1991 Final Four weekend, where Dreiling and Indiana battled against Golden State and Paul Mokeski.

I believe Dreiling should be lauded and praised for having a 10-year NBA career with such marginal talent. And it also certainly didn’t hurt that he was white. During his Hawk Talk radio show in 1988, here is what Larry Brown said about Dreiling and white privilege:

“When you’re 7-foot and white, the chances of you playing in the NBA for a long time is really highly probable, and I think he’ll play for a long time.”

Tony Guy is my all-time favorite Jayhawk

My Dad awaiting to attack the ball!

Tony Guy attacking the goal

Former KU standout Tony Guy is definitely my all-time favorite Jayhawk. And I’m not talking about just what I remember about his basketball exploits. As good as player as he was (and I thought Tony was a great one), he is even a better person. More than any other KU basketball player, I believe Tony Guy has made the most profound impact on my life.

I first met Tony on a memorable afternoon at my parents’ house in the summer of 1982, after he had graduated from KU and was preparing for the NBA Draft. 

But first some background.

Tony’s KU sponsor family was the Pucketts, who lived two houses down the street from us in Lawrence. Tony would often shoot baskets in their driveway, and one day, my dad approached Tony and they developed a friendship. My dad and Tony played racquetball many times that summer at Robinson Gym, across the street from Allen Fieldhouse, where Tony created his hardwood magic for four years. I remember my dad driving me and Tony to one of their games in his old little white volkswagen with Tony’s 6-6 frame cramped in the front seat. I watched them play, and even got in a few points with Tony one game, finding it quite difficult to have much success against him since he was so tall and had great reach.

After the game, Tony invited me to shoot hoops with him sometime. In one of my life’s deepest regrets, I never took him up on that offer. I was a very quiet, shy and introverted teenager and just never went over to t the Puckett house and shot baskets with him. That would have been a thrill of mine if I did take Tony up on his offer.

My late and forever hero dad, Goody, arguably the most popular, beloved and legendary professor in KU School of Social Welfare history, was a great racquetball player and 57 years old at the time he played the 22-year-old Guy in all those games. My dad, a wily veteran racquetball player who loved the game and would win tournaments into his 60s against college students, had the experience over Tony and he would usually beat the former Jayhawk star. Tony obviously was so much more athletic, quicker and faster than my dad, but my father was a master at positioning on the court and knew where to get the best angles to hit the ball off the wall. 

But as my dad recalls, the more they kept playing, Tony really improved his racquetball and started beating my dad some games. My dad said Tony was the perfect gentleman on the court, mild mannered, didn’t get upset or anything. He basically played racquetball the way he played hoops at KU -- poised, calm, and always in control of his emotions.

I’ll never forget the first day I met Tony. One day my friend and I came to my parents’ house and saw Tony’s car in the driveway. I got really nervous since I was about to meet my childhood hero, that stage in my life during the summer after my sophomore year of high school, when Tony and his fellow teammate David Magley would be my last two KU basketball heroes. I was getting older and would soon no longer idolize these great future Jayhawks I saw play.

But at that time, I viewed Tony as somewhat larger than life and I was giddy with anticipation of meeting him. When I stepped inside my home, Tony did not disappoint. He got up from the chair, warmly said hello and began to talk about how racquetball was helping his lateral quickness, and how he was running five miles daily preparing for the NBA Draft. Tony was pure class, genuine, humble and full of grace. He met all of my expectations and more of what my childhood hero would be like.

Because of Tony Guy, he helped bring my dad and I closer together and I’m forever grateful to him for that. My dad and I would often talk about his racquetball games with Tony, giving me the full scoop. And I will never forget that magical and priceless moment when I hugged my dad inside Allen Fieldhouse for the first and only time in the Phog during a thrilling overtime game against Kentucky on Dec. 12, 1981, a great team that KU could never beat.

I was standing up, turned to my left towards my dad, and gave my father a huge, tight embrace. I wanted to hold onto that hug forever; I didn’t want to ever let go. I’ll remember that feeling forever.

All because of Tony Guy.

Tony had just hit a key jumper from the top of the key in overtime, maybe tying the game or giving KU a lead. The crowd went completely wild and I was full of chills; I just acted spontaneously and hugged my dad after that shot swished through the net.

Unfortunately, KU lost to Kentucky that cold December night, 77-74, but the memories of embracing my dad after Tony’s thrilling shot remain as rich, emotional, and clear as ever.

In 1999, 17 years after Tony played his last game at Allen Fieldhouse and was drafted in the second round by the Boston Celtics, I drove up to Kansas City to his State Farm office to interview my childhood hero for a Where Are They Now? interview for Jayhawk Insider Magazine. I immediately showed Tony a picture of my dad. Tony remembered my dad quite well. He said it was people like my dad, sociology professor Norm Yetman, and others he met at KU who cared about him as Tony Guy the person and not Tony Guy the basketball player, that made his college years so special. The interview lasted nearly an hour with Tony talking to me about his favorite KU memories, of battling Magic Johnson and then Michael Jordan during Jordan’s first college game at North Carolina, and about the importance of being a good father to his kids, a good husband, and how vital it is for today’s parents to be there for their kids, to be good role models for them. No other KU athlete or former athlete had talked to me the way Tony did that magical afternoon. That's what made him all the more special in my eyes.

It was a wonderful and very meaningful man-to-man, heart-to-heart talk between us. I was no longer the impressionable teenager wowed by Tony’s basketball skills, but a 33-year-old man with a completely different perspective on life. I greatly appreciated Tony opening up and sharing his private thoughts with me. And as it turns out, his favorite memory during his KU years involved a defining conversation he had with Yetman, a talk that changed Tony’s life. I told Tony that Norm had been my adviser at KU and helped me with my 82-page honors thesis my senior year about racial participation and integration in KU basketball history.

A small world, indeed.

Before I ever met him, Tony Guy was always one of my all-time favorite KU players. But just from knowing him a little bit in the the summer of 1982 and meeting and talking to him again in 1999, and seeing what a great, genuine, and caring person, father and husband he is, I can now say that Tony Guy is, without a doubt, my all-time favorite Jayhawk.

So here is that Where Are They Now? story I wrote on Tony in 1999 for Jayhawk Insider. I added some additional information for this story I wrote 20 years ago. I have such fond memories of the time Tony spent with me for that interview. It’s been said the greatest gift someone can give you is their time and knowledge, and Tony gave me both.

...

Tony Guy doesn’t hesitate when asked about the most favorite memory of his Kansas basketball career. Ironically, he talks not of his 36-point explosion against Arizona State in the 1981 NCAA Tournament. Instead, Guy recalls a conversation he had with his sociology professor Norm Yetman, which changed his life forever.

Guy, just a sophomore at the time, was walking with Yetman on campus one day when the professor gave his student some worldly advice.

“He said, ‘Tony, this is a neat place to got to school. You’re a neat basketball player. And who knows what’s going to happen to you in the future. The most important thing you can do for Tony Guy is to get the most of this experience as possible — meaning you need to graduate and you need to get a degree.’"

Guy, who views Yetman as a “surrogate father,” thinks about their conversation daily now 20 years later.

“What Norm was trying to tell me was that ‘a lot of people you’re going to come into contact with are going to like you because you’re Tony Guy the basketball player. I just want you to know that I care about you because you’re Tony Guy the person. Tony Guy the person will carry you much further than Tony Guy the basketball player ever will.’”

Guy then smiled and laughed and said Yetman told him lightheartedly: "I've seen you play. You can't jump."

Guy has had a very rich and fulfilling life since graduating from KU in 1982 with a degree in personnel administration and earning Academic All-Big Eight honors. After being drafted by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the NBA Draft, Guy was released and spent a year in the CBA. He then married and played professionally in Switzerland for one season.

Guy, who had never fully recovered from a preseason leg injury his senior year at KU, decided to retire from basketball and enter the job force. He worked on his master’s degree in educational administration at UMKC and served as the assistant men’s basketball coach. He was then offered a job as an insurance agent at State Farm in 1987. Guy has been with the company ever since.

Suddenly, the telephone rings in Guy’s downtown Kansas City office.

“Good afternoon. State Farm. Tony speaking.”

After a few minutes, Guy smiles and congratulates his client. It seemed the gentleman had just gotten married and called Guy to add his wife as a driver on their car insurance. Guy said he receives great satisfaction helping others develop peace of mind.  

“I think everything I stand for, this company is about,” Guy said. “It’s a neat feeling to be working for a corporation who values the same things you value. Just taking care of people’s needs is important.”

Away from the office, Guy keeps busy sharing quality time with his three kids and wife, as well as playing golf and doing speaking engagements on behalf of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

“I’m having more fun now than I’ve ever had in my entire life,” he said. “I guess the lesson I try to share with the younger guys playing is there’s a lot of life left after basketball. The bottom line is all that matters is, ultimately, what type of fathers and husbands we become. ...To be quite honest, my kids don’t know nor do they care about any of my basketball exploits. And that’s the way it ought to be. But they do care if I’m a good father and a good husband.”

 

Guy could certainly tell his children about his many basketball exploits in college. However, Feb. 4, 1979 wasn't exactly one of his better days. Guy now recalls this game against Michigan State his freshman season, when he had the dubious honor of guarding Magic Johnson.

“Magic was so overwhelming that I said to myself, ‘What am I doing out here?’ He was just truly incredible.”

Guy learned from the experience against Magic and developed into a Playboy Preseason All-American selection his senior year. KU’s first game that season happened to be against North Carolina and some freshman guard named Michael "Mike" Jordan on Nov. 28, 1981. Just as Magic did to Guy over two years earlier, the Towson, Md., native and former McDonald’s All-American took Jordan to school with his wide array of playground moves.

“I had a real good first half,” Guy said. “I remember I was at the free-throw line and (James) Worthy  was yelling over to Mike: ‘Hey, don’t go for his ball fakes.’ He was really coaching Mike on how to defend and guard me.”

Unfortunately, KU lost that game and finished the season 13-16, one year after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16. Guy played in pain the whole year after developing a calcium deposit in his left leg during preseason conditioning. He hurt so much he couldn’t sleep at nights.

“Nobody knew it,” Guy says now about the injury. 

Guy, who would have been the 16th selection in the 1981 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers had he gone pro after his junior year (Portland told KU teammate Darnell Valentine they wanted to take him and Guy with their 15th and 16th picks), said he never thought about leaving school early.

“There is no doubt in my mind that had I played in the NBA, the quality of my life wouldn’t have been richer than what it is today,” Guy said. “Things normally work out for the best.”

A Closer Look at Tony Guy

Years at KU: 1978-1982

Education: BGS, 1982. Personnel Administration

Career Notables: School’s No. 5 all-time leading scorer after leaving KU. Now No. 23 (1,488 points)... Preseason Playboy All-American his senior year...Scored career-high 36 points in leading KU past No. 2 ranked Arizona State in the 1981 NCAA Tournament (13-15 from the field while earning NBC Player of the Game)...Academic All-Big Eight in 1982...Second-team All-Big Eight 1980-81...Co-captain 1980-81 and 1981-82...Co-winner of Phog Allen MVP team award in 1981 and 1982...Led KU in scoring his junior year at 15.8 ppg and in assists (103) his senior year...Team-high free throw percentage in 1980 (78.5) and 1981 (77.6)...No. 10 in career starts (115 out of 117 games) and tied for No. 12 in consecutive starts (72).

Family: Wife, Jerri, and three kids (daughters: Courtney, 13 and Morgan, 5, and son, Clay, 5).

Since Leaving KU: Guy spent one year in the CBA with Maine and Wyoming before playing professionally in Switzerland in 1984. He then worked on his master’s degree at UMKC and served as assistant men’s basketball coach before being hired by State Farm in 1987.

Currently: Guy is an agent for State Farm.

Hobbies: Golf and spending time with his family.

Favorite KU Memories: Guy, who wasn’t known for his vertical leap, relives the time he dunked the ball from just inside the free-throw line against Arizona State in the 1981 NCAA Tournament. “I’m in the air and I thought to myself, ‘Tone, you’re on national TV, and you’re about to fall flat on your face in front of millions of people. ... I just keep going and going, and thinking I’m going to get to the bucket. And I get to the bucket, and the place just goes off.”

On the Jayhawks Today: “I think that those kids play with an enthusiasm and togetherness that is unparalleled. We didn’t have it when I played. There is more of a one for all and all for one attitude.”

More about Tony Guy

I believe Tony Guy is one of the greatest and most underrated players in KU history. If not for playing injured his entire senior season, the lean 6-6, 200-pound Guy would have ranked higher in the school record books. Still, he finished his magical and illustrious career as the fifth-leading scorer in KU history (now No. 23). And Guy sits just outside the top 20 in career assists with 327 and just outside the top 12 in steals with 161.

His best year came his junior season in 1980-81, when he helped lead KU to the Sweet 16. Guy, who was finally moved to his natural position at shooting guard, averaged a career-high 15.8 ppg and shot a deadly 53.7 percent from the field. Guy and All-American Darnell Valentine formed one of the nation’s best backcourts, and they complemented each other exceptionally well. Valentine was the feared and master penetrator, while Guy was a sharp shooter from 20-feet out who could also create his own shot. I absolutely loved Tony’s lean-in jumper and all his ball fakes. Except for leaping ability, Tony had no weakness on the court. He could simply do it all--pass, dribble, defend and shoot. He was quick and could drive to the basket, as consistent and steady as they come on the court. Amazingly, he started all but two games of his four-year career. He was just a pure joy to watch and brightened my childhood immensely.

Guy ranks tied for third in KU annals with most steals in a game (with nine other Jayhawks, including Valentine and Danny Manning) with seven against K-State on Feb. 17, 1979. Those seven steals are also tied for second for most steals in a conference game.

Guy arrived at KU in 1978 as only KU’s second McDonald’s All-American behind Valentine. Tony, who was a unanimous high school All-American, had a legendary prep career at Loyola High School in Towson, Md., where he helped lead his team to three straight Baltimore Catholic League tournament titles (1976-78) Guy, who teamed with Baltimore’s first McDonald’s All-American Pete Budko (he went to North Carolina to play for coach Dean Smith), was Baltimore’s second McDonald’s All-American and is still his high school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,499 points.

A three-year starter for the Dons, Guy’s teams during that time went an impressive 78-19. Loyola ranked No. 2 in the state in final polls both his sophomore and junior years. Guy, the team captain his senior season, led Loyola in scoring (22.9 ppg), rebounding (11.1 rpg) and assists (3.6 apg) his senior year with a career-high 39 points that season and career rebounding high of 18 both his junior and senior seasons.

Guy earned the prestigious honor of being named to the BCL’s first Hall of Fame class on May 19, 2011.

On pressboxonline.com, here is what Keith Mills said about Guy at that time.

“One year after Budko arrived at Loyola, he was joined by Tony Guy, the magnificent 6-foot-6 do-it-all swingman, who scored 1,499 points during his four-year career and was also named to the BCL all-tournament team three years in a row.”

"Tony would be the prototype in the game today," former Calvert Hall coach Mark Amatucci once said. "If he wanted to stay outside, he could. If he wanted to go inside, he could. He could shoot from 20-25 feet and he could also go right by you. He was a fantastic player."

And most and far more important, a truly “fantastic” human being.

Tony, thanks eternally for the memories -- both on and especially off the court. You will aways have a special place in my heart!