Former Jayhawk star Cedric Hunter continues to assist and offer priceless life lessons to kids at Boys Town

After retiring from the CBA in 1997, former KU standout point guard Cedric Hunter has been working with Boys Town in native Omaha, Nebraska, as a behavioral interventionist since January 1999. He has also coached basketball at Boys Town with the varsity team and Wegner Middle School.

Hunter, who set a KU and Big Eight record for all-time assists which lasted 10 years, has continued to dish his share of assists and help those in need. He is a remarkable human being who offers invaluable life lessons to disadvantaged kids.

In a feature on Hunter in the Journal Star on March 9, 2006, writer John Mabry talked about Ced’s admirable contributions to Boys Town.

The headline read: “Hunter gives out life assists at Boys Town.”

Hunter, who was working as assistant coach at Boys Town at the time, received ultimate praise from head basketball coach Tom Krehbiel.

“You won’t find a better human being than Cedric Hunter,” Krehbiel said. “He is humble. He is honest. He works hard. He loves these kids.

“The guy could be doing a thousand things. He chooses to stay at Boys Town.”

Indeed, he has.

Just like he dished out countless assists at Kansas and in the CBA, Hunter continues to be so unselfish and offer “wisdom and guidance” to these kids.

Hunter found his calling at Boys Town and profoundly enjoys working with the youngsters, who he is trying to mold into quality young men.

“One thing about it, our team likes each other so much, sometimes it gets a little goofy,” Hunter said. “That’s a good problem to have. The guys really like each other and they play for each other.”

Mabry wrote that these kids have been “mistreated” during their lives. Hunter, just like he did in high school, at KU and the CBA, has risen to the challenge.

“They’re all working on some kind of treatment,” Hunter said. “We get them here, and they buy in to what we’re trying to teach them.

“A lot of them haven’t played organized basketball, so it makes it fun to see the progress at the end.”

Mabry wrote that “Hunter is a specialist in the area of handling kids with behavioral issues. It’s a job that requires tremendous patience.”

“He’s very good at it,” said Bob Pick, associate executive director of the home campus. “The kids love him.”

Senior guard Tremayne Hill said “Hunter is always talking about the importance of showing respect for your opponent.”

“Everything’s about character,” Hill said, “relaying some of Hunter’s teachings.”

 “If you’ve got character, it will take you a long way.”

Hill added:

“He’s very humble, very humble. He talks about his high school days more than his college days, about how at (Omaha) South he was a very aggressive player on defense.”

Mabry wrote that “Krehbiel said his team has made great strides since Hunter joined the staff.”

“Our guard play the last four years has been unbelievable because he’s coached the guards,” Krehbiel said.

Of course, since Hunter has always been the consummate point guard, constantly thinking pass first, getting his teammates involved, and playing tenacious defense.

That year, in 2006, Boys Town won the state championship, its first in 40 years.

Kudos to Hunter for making a huge difference in kids’ lives and continuing to dish out assists in the game of life.

Cedric Hunter was one of the all-time CBA greats

After concluding a remarkable career at KU in 1987, where Cedric Hunter helped lead Kansas to the 1986 Final Four and became the school’s and Big Eight all-time assist leader, the 6-0 point guard was not selected in the 10-round NBA Draft. I was disappointed since I was hoping a team in the latter rounds would take a chance on this great ballhandler, defender and playmaker.

But it didn’t happen.

Instead, Hunter enjoyed a legendary 10-year CBA career, where he retired in 1997. He was one of the all-time CBA greats, ranking No. 1 in assists (3,815), No. 1 in steals (912), and No. 2 in games (466) and minutes (16,396). And he also ranks No. 8 all time in scoring with 6,205 points.

Hunter played for the Topeka Sizzlers, Santa Barbara Islanders, Omaha Racers, Sioux Falls Skyforce and, last, the San Diego Wildcards. He also played briefly in the WBL (6-4-and-under league) for the Las Vegas Silver Streaks, where I watched him on TV.

His KU coach Larry Brown was always a big fan and believer of Ced. Brown, who followed his CBA career closely, talked about Hunter’s NBA chances during his Hawk Talk radio show during the 1987-88 season.

“I’m in touch with him,” Brown said. “He’s doing extremely well with Topeka. The bottom line is people don’t think he can shoot the ball. That’s a tremendous drawback. I really feel with the expansion, he’ll have an opportunity to try out with somebody. He’s got to get with the right team. New Jersey told me they would have taken and brought Cedric up this year because they needed a defensive guard, but they had too many kids on injured reserve and weren’t allowed to do that. I feel comfortable that he’ll have a chance to try out next year.”

Hunter finally got to realize his NBA dream when the Charlotte Hornets signed him to a 10-day contract on Feb. 15, 1992. I was friends and worked with Hunter’s girlfriend and the mother of his daughter. She was hoping he’d be a big success with Charlotte.

“I hope he doesn’t come back (from the NBA),” she said at the time.

Charlotte, who only signed Hunter since they had injured guards, released him five days later. Hunter played in one game with Charlotte, recording one minute and no statistics.

And that was it for his NBA career. He never played in the league again, but at least this former KU standout got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a brief stint in the NBA.

I went to this daughter's first birthday party in Lawrence and spoke briefly with Ced’s dad, Alfred, as we carried out the ice together. He told me Charlotte was impressed with Hunter. But they couldn’t have been that impressed if they released him so soon, but maybe they liked his game but just didn’t have room to keep him.

Still, Hunter should be quite proud of his legendary CBA career and carving his name as one of all-time greats. He should also be commended for playing in hard conditions, low pay, long bus rides to faraway small towns and second and third-class hotel accommodations. The CBA was a very difficult life without much fanfare.

My friend once told me that Ced’s agent “gets it done.” I always wondered, though, if his agent “gets it done,” then why didn’t he give Cedric an opportunity to play overseas for some real money. Maybe he did, and Ced declined. I don’t know. My only guess is that Cedric remained in the CBA for so long since he wanted to play in the United States and have a better chance of being called up by an NBA team. In any case, he certainly made the best of himself in the CBA for so many years and should be admired for his great perseverance.

He also dramatically improved his free throw shooting in the league. A career 52.1 percent free throw shooter at Kansas, Hunter shot a very impressive 81.2 percent for his CBA career at the charity stripe. Maybe shooting all those technicals for Brown at KU really boosted his confidence and carried over to the CBA.

Hunter also credits playing in the WBL for Las Vegas for helping his overall game and making him a better player. Sports Illustrated wrote on July 24, 1989 that Hunter was only 5-10, two inches shorter than his 6-foot he was listed as at Kansas.

"When I went to the CBA after summer ball, I felt fast running the break, faster making decisions," he told SI. "It seemed like the game got easier. When you're playing around quicker guys, you learn to make quicker decisions. It keeps your game fine-tuned."

After playing with Topeka since leaving KU, Hunter was traded from the Sizzlers to Santa Barbara for future considerations and an undisclosed amount of cash in February 1990 in a charitable move by Topeka coach Mike Riley.

"I've always talked about the future and building toward something in this league, and I saw an opportunity to do something positive for Cedric in the final days of this franchise. It's apparent we won't be back," Riley told the Tulsa World on Feb. 13.

I met Riley about a decade later when I was covering a KU basketball game in Allen Fieldhouse and the former Sizzlers’ coach was working as a scout for the Vancouver Grizzlies. Riley couldn’t have been nicer as we talked about my interest in scouting and former KU great Paul Pierce. He said coaching Hunter was a pure joy and that he thought he was returning to KU to complete his degree.

Hunter never received his degree from KU, but has gone to have much success after retiring from the CBA as a behavioral coordinator at Boys Town in native Omaha, Nebraska.

Hunter, who has never returned to Lawrence and KU for any KU basketball reunions, was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. This was certainly a well-deserved honor for the former Nebraska prep legend. Here is what his bio said:

“Cedric Hunter dribbled through one of the greatest eras of basketball in Nebraska High School history. The Omaha South guard who lettered in all four years, averaged more than 23 points per game as a junior and then scored 27.3 points per game as a senior and was selected the captain of the Omaha World-Herald’s All-Nebraska squad. He went on to play at Kansas, starting eight games as a freshman and 107 in his four-year career. He finished with 1,022 points for the Jayhawks and set the school’s (all-time and) single-season record for assists. He went on to play for the Charlotte Hornets before a long career in the CBA/WBL where he set career records for assists and steals.

Thanks for the memories, Ced. You will never be forgotten by KU and CBA fans!

Cedric Hunter was one of the most underrated and best point guards in KU history

In this three-part series on former KU standout point guard Cedric Hunter, I reflect on his high school, college and pro career and his life after professional basketball.

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Cedric Hunter was a high school star out of Omaha South who led the state in scoring his junior and senior years, including 27.3 points per game as a senior. He was named all-metro and all-state, while honored as a Converse All-American. However, he played center in high school and was lightly recruited due to his small stature at just 6-foot.

Despite manning the center position in high school, Hunter’s prep coach Bob Whitehouse had no doubts Hunter could become a great point guard in college.

“There won’t be any trouble with him making the transition to point guard,” Whitehouse said in the KU Media Guide before Hunter’s freshman season in 1983-84.

In one of the smartest decisions of then-KU coach Larry Brown’s coaching career, he offered Ced a scholarship after a track and field meet in Omaha, without ever seeing him play basketball in person. Brown was impressed with Hunter’s supreme athleticism, and thought he could impact the KU program. Hunter was part of Brown's first recruiting class, along with Mark Turgeon and Chris Piper.

Boy, was Brown right about Hunter! All he did in four years at KU (1983-87) was become the school’s all-time and Big Eight assist leader with 684 dimes, a record that stood for 10 years until KU’s Jacque Vaughn broke it in 1997.

Hunter averaged 5.8 assists per game for his career with an impressive 2.14 assist-to-turnover ratio. He also averaged 1.3 steals and 8.5 points per game (career-high 11.6 ppg his senior year in 1986-87) and recorded 1,022 career points in 118 games while averaging 30.2 minutes per contest.

For many people who said he couldn’t shoot, including KU coach Bill Self, who was a graduate assistant during Hunter’s sophomore year, Ced shot a scorching 53.5 field goal percentage for his career, including an eye-popping career-best 56.2 field goal percentage his sophomore season in 1985-86, where the unsung hero helped lead KU to the Final Four and most wins at the time in school history (35-4). That team remains one of the best in KU annals with Hunter at point guard, Ron Kellogg and Calvin Thompson at the wings, Danny Manning at power forward, and Greg Dreiling at center. The team went eight deep with Archie Marshall, Mark Turgeon and Chris Piper serving as instrumental reserves.

Self told the Kansas City Star in January 2019 that Hunter “couldn’t shoot a lick.” No offense to Self and many other detractors who felt the same way, but just look at the stats. No, Cedric didn’t have very good range (1-7 from three-point range his senior year), but he could simply knock down the wide-open 15-to-17 foot jumper. Opponents dared him to shoot, and Ced made them pay. Time and time again. I saw virtually all of Ced’s home games in Allen Fieldhouse in person and watched whenever KU was on TV, and he could shoot it from medium distance. So Self and others were completely wrong.

Hunter actually set a Big Eight record in 1986 by shooting an incredible 73.1 percent from the field in league games and was 8-of-8 from the field against Oklahoma that year, when he scored a season-high 19 points. He also shot 7-of-7 from the field versus Missouri in 1985. Beginning with his senior year, Hunter remarkably shot better than 70 percent from the field in 20 different games during his career.

His only weakness, besides his lack of perimeter range, was his free throw shooting. Hunter shot just 52.1 percent for his career, a very poor percentage, especially for a point guard. Brown said that Hunter looked at the ball while he shot, a no-no for a shooter. However, Brown believed in Hunter so much that he often had him shoot technicals to boost his confidence. More often than not, as I recall, Hunter made his free throws then. What a joy it must have been for Hunter to play for a coach who believed in him to shoot technicals, despite his poor free throw shooting.

Despite Self’s remarks about Ced’s shooting, he had tremendous respect for Hunter’s game. Hunter guarded Self during the KU coach’s career at Oklahoma State.

“I loved Cedric,” Self told the Kansas City Star on Dec. 23, 2019. “Coach (Larry) Brown did as well. He could guard anybody, had unbelievable length (39-inch arms), was explosive. He was not a great shooter, but maybe as good a point guard this place has seen, as good a point guard who doesn’t score the ball. Talk about a pure defender and setup guy, he was as good as anybody. You did not want him guarding you. You’d rather have anybody guard you than Cedric. He could lock you up.”

Self then further gushed about Hunter to the Omaha World Herald:

"Cedric probably was the best non-shooting player I've ever been around."

Self added to the Star on Jan. 28, 2019:

“Gosh was he great. Long arms, best on the ball defender, guys loved playing with him.”

Indeed, Hunter’s teammates deeply “loved playing with him.” 

Just ask Piper.

“Cedric Hunter was probably one of the most underrated point guards, I think, that KU has ever had. He was phenomenal and could really break everything down,” Piper told Mark Stallard in his 2005 book, Tales from the Jayhawks Hardwood.

Hunter drew great respect and admiration from his coaches, teammates and opponents alike. Brown talked on his Hawk Talk radio show during the 1985-86 season about Hunter’s defense against Duke All-American guard Johnny Dawkins in the preseason Big Apple NIT on Dec. 1, 1985.

“He got 20 I believe against us,” Brown said. “He came up to me after the game and said Cedric did the best job as any guard he’s played against since he’s been at Duke, and I thought that was a heck of a testimony. He got a lot on the break against us, and he’s just a tremendous athlete.”

Hunter improved each year, averaging 4.2 points his freshman season (he was declared academically ineligible after semester break), 6.7 points his sophomore year, 9.1 points as a junior, then 11.6 points his senior season. He also averaged a career-high 5.1 rebounds per game as a senior, pretty good numbers for a 6-foot point guard.

The KU Basketball Media Guide wrote in 1985-86 that “Brown feels Hunter is one of the most improved players he has ever coached.”

Hunter, who had a career-high 16 assists versus Oklahoma in the Big Eight postseason tournament in 1986, was the consummate point guard who ran the break as well as any guard in the country. My dad, who played hockey growing up in Toronto, was a huge fan of Ced’s, and said he reminded him of a hockey player on skates with the way he ran and orchestrated the break. Hunter always got the ball in the scorers’ best shooting position, and made the game so much easier for all his teammates.

Indeed, Piper was right. I’ve always thought “Electric” Cedric Hunter was one of the most underrated and best point guards KU has ever seen. He deserves all credit that is due for his remarkable career playing under the shadows of such stars as Manning, Kellogg, Dreiling and Thompson.

Former KU standout Ron Loneski lived his dream playing with Wilt Chamberlain

In Part 2 on Ron Loneski, I recall his recruitment to KU and include my Where Are They Now? story I wrote on him for Jayhawk Insider in 2002, along with some other nuggets.

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“(I was) recruited by (such schools as) N.C State, Purdue, Notre Dame, USC. I wanted to come to KU because Wilt was coming there. I wanted to play with him. They convinced me that they needed somebody other than they needed Wilt. They needed a strong forward, somebody who could hit the boards and rebound, who could complement Wilt’s game. I don't know if I met their expectations to a tee, but I really enjoyed playing there. I never ever had a regret of going to KU or going someplace else. A lot of people said I would have done better if I had gone to another school and been my own player, but I scoffed at that. I loved the fact that I got a chance to play with the guy I consider at least in my time not only the best basketball player, but the best all-around athlete I ever saw. I lived in Calumet City (Ill.), went to school in Hammond (Ind.), which was right across the state line. I went to catholic school in Hammond, Ind. In fact, I was the first basketball player in the history of the Indiana-Kentucky all-star game to make the Indiana all-star team and live in Illinois. It was the only catholic school at the area at the time. You had a choice if you wanted to go to catholic school, to go to Chicago or Bishop Noll in Hammond, Ind. 

“Actually, I had more scholarship offers to play football. I was a better football player than a basketball player, all-state in both sports. I just had the love of basketball. At that time, football wasn’t as glorified I guess you’d say as it is today. You didn’t play one position. You played offense and defense. I can remember I was a freshman in high school and we played a team from Louisville, Ky.  We went down to Louisville to play them, and I see these guys come out. That was the first time I saw squared off shoulder pads. We used to wear the rounded type. The first play this guy comes around end, and I went to hit him, went to tackle him. I bounced off of him and bounced five feet back. I thought to myself, who is this guy, and that was Paul Hornung.

“Basketball was my first love. When I was growing up as a kid, I always looked for bigger kids to play against. I never considered myself to have a lot of skills.  But I did have one thing. Most of things I do even now, when I’m 64 years old, if I get involved with something, I have a passion for it. I’m going to do it, and nothing is going to stand in my way to get it done. I’ve always been that way.”

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With freshmen ineligible, the Loneski’s team vs. Chamberlain’s team played before varsity games during the 1955-56 season, Phog Allen’s last year as head coach.

“The place was packed,” Loneski said in 2002. “We used to make jokes because the place would be packed, and after the freshman game, a lot of people left. They came to see Wilt.

“I guarded him. I was a smart player. I always loved to play against bigger guys than me because I felt I was an intelligent player. I could box Wilt out. I could rebound with Wilt. If I could put a body on him and keep him out, that was a challenge to me. I loved to do that.”

Loneski, who averaged 28.0 points per game in high school, had no delusions about being the star when he came to KU.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be like that. I came there with the purpose to play with Wilt. I didn’t come there with the purpose I was going to be disgruntled or upset or angry because Wilt was getting all the attention. It wasn’t like that at all.”

Loneski, who roomed with Wilt their first year on campus, wish the two teammates would have had a closer relationship.

“When I look back, I wish we would have had better camaraderie. I wish there would have been more closeness, but there wasn’t," Loneski said. "Why there wasn’t, I don’t know.  Maybe it was the sign of the time, the racial thing. Wilt was a very private person. He didn’t like people hovering over him  or prying into his business. He liked his privacy. He wanted to be Wilt.” 

Loneski said that some people badly “mistaken him for Bill Russell; (this) really set Wilt off (and he got) upset.”

Above all, Loneski remains eternally proud to be a Jayhawk.

“I will never forget to the day the (100th-year) reunion (in 1998),” Loneski said. “That was the most humbling experience of my life. Just to see all those people and the reception and the warmth that they gave was unbelievable. It’s just a class university. The people that go there that are associated with that school just have a lot of class, lot of dignity. I’m so proud to be a graduate of that school.

“It’s something that will live with me forever.” 

“I just have so many fond memories of my playing days,” Loneski added. “I still have almost every clipping that came out of the Journal-World. Eight or nine big, thick scrapbooks that are filled with great memories.”

Here is my Where Are They Now? story on Ron Loneski in Jayhawk Insider in 2002.

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Ron Loneski had many colleges wooing him after a standout high school basketball career in Hammond, Ind. North Carolina State, Purdue, Notre Dame, and USC were just some of the major schools interested in this husky 6-41/2 lefthander. However, those colleges never really had a chance.

 Loneski desired to play with the best.

And that place was Kansas, which had just landed a major coup in 7-foot Philadelphia native Wilt Chamberlain.

“I wanted to play with him,” Loneski said. “They convinced me they needed a strong forward, somebody who could hit the boards and rebound, who could complement Wilt’s game. I don’t know if I met their expectations to a tee, but I really enjoyed playing there. A lot of people said I would have done better if I had gone to another school and been my own player, but I scoffed at that. I loved the fact that I got a chance to play with the guy I consider at least in my time not only the best basketball player, but the best athlete I ever saw.”

Loneski was a pretty fine athlete himself. The 1956-57 KU Media Guide called sophomore Loneski “a sharp shooting, high leaping front line bruiser” who “rated only a cut below the Stilt in overall effectiveness.” After breaking a bone in his foot the first game of the season, Loneski wound up replacing Lew Johnson in the starting lineup at semester break. He would never lose his spot. Loneski played a great complementary role (9.5 ppg and 6.8 rpg) to Chamberlain, who led KU to the championship game against North Carolina. The Tar Heels beat Kansas (24-3) in triple overtime, 54-53.

It’s been 45 years, but the pain still lingers for Loneski.

“That is devastating to this day,” Loneski said. “There’s not a day that doesn’t go by that I watch a basketball game and that thought doesn’t come in. Whatever I see happen in a game, I always will go back to that. All the little things that happened where we could have won, where things could have been different. Somebody should have done this, or we should have done that. But we didn’t do that. It’s over. It happened. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

After years of torment, though, Loneski has put the game in perspective and moved on with his life. He’s had to overcome a tremendous amount of adversity. Loneski lost many friends in Vietnam, and then his son, sister, and dad passed away within a seven-month span in 1980.

“At the time when you look at it, you say to yourself, ‘You know, I don’t know if I’m ever going to get over this,’” Loneski said. “When I reflect on some of the things that have happened in my life and some of the things I saw in Vietnam and some of the personal tragedies I’ve had, like losing a son when he was 16, it’s a game. The NCAA finals in 1957 was a game. In the grand scheme of things, the game is meaningless. It’s how you handle what happens, whether you are a winner or a loser, that matters. You look at everything that happens in your life, and you sort of learn from what happens and you measure what type of man you are and you move on.”

While there was great heartache in losing to North Carolina, Loneski cherished his KU days and loved playing with Chamberlain. Although Loneski wasn’t blessed with Chamberlain’s skills, he carved his own niche with a fierce competitiveness and stellar work ethic. Loneski, an All-Big Seven selection his junior year (13.5 ppg and 9.0 rpg for KU, which went 18-5), ranks No. 7 in Kansas history for highest career rebound average (8.9 rpg).  

“I had a passion for the game, I had a passion to play,” Loneski said. “I wasn’t the biggest guy but I could rebound with guys who were 6-11 or 6-10. There were maybe guys better than me, but nobody would beat me down the floor, nobody could play defense better than me. I could do it just out of sheer will and the desire to do it. That’s sort of the way I played.”

After Chamberlain left school in 1958, KU struggled the following season. Loneski led the 'Hawks his senior year with 19.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, but KU finished at just 11-14. With a memorable college career now history, Loneski spent the next year playing for the Denver Chicago Truckers (NIBL). He then embarked on a 21-year career in the Army, which included two tours in Vietnam, before retiring in 1980 as Lieutenant Colonel in Hawaii. Loneski also played four years of basketball (1962-66) in the service, two of them on the Belgium National Team. 

“I think at that time, that was the highlight of my life,” Loneski said. “I really developed into a heck of a player playing at that level and competition.”

Loneski loved his military career.

“There’s not a greater profession than the military,” he said. “As far as the social life and the camaraderie, all my best friends, with the exception of a couple that still live in Lawrence, are all military people.”

After retiring in 1980, Loneski spent a brief period running a Navy reserve program before entering the teaching profession. Loneski taught junior ROTC and English at Lincoln High School in San Diego, Calif., for 12 years (he coached basketball for 10 seasons as well). Since 1994, Loneski has taught English at a middle school.

“I have fun with my kids,” he said.

Loneski will retire at the end of the school year. In the meantime, he’s looking forward to coming back to Lawrence in late March and visiting with old friends like former teammate Bob Billings. Loneski, who speaks in reverence toward KU, still feels chills from the 100th-year basketball anniversary reunion in 1998.

“That was the most humbling experience of my life,” he said. “Just to see all those people and the reception and the warmth that they gave was unbelievable. The KU fans never forget who you are.”

And when they remember Loneski, they usually think of the “Big Dipper.” But that’s just fine for Loneski. He feels honored to have that eternal relationship with Chamberlain.

“Wherever I’ve gone, people have always recognized my name not because of me, but because I got to play with Wilt,” Loneski said. “I came to KU because I wanted to be with the best. I thought Wilt was the best.”

A Closer Look at Ron Loneski:

Years at KU: 1955-59

Career Notables: Member of 1956-57 runner-up NCAA championship team...All-Big Seven in 1958...Ranks No. 7 all time at KU with 8.9 career rebound average.

Family: Loneski has two daughters (Laura, 40, Linda, 39) and eight grandchildren.

Education: 1970, B.S. Language Arts; 1975 (Pepperdine) Master’s degree in School Administration.

Since Leaving KU: Loneski played a season with the NIBL’s Denver Chicago Truckers before embarking on a 21-year military career in the Army. After retiring in 1980, he spent a brief period running a Navy reserve program. Then, he worked the next 20 years teaching high school and middle school students in San Diego, Calif.  

Currently: Loneski teaches English at a middle school in San Diego.

Hobbies: Fishing, bird hunting, traveling, golf, cooking.

Favorite Memories: Playing with Wilt. “Every place you went, everybody wanted to see Wilt. There was just no question about it, because he was a phenomenon. He was the first big man I think to be able to do the things a big man could do. Nobody at that time could run the floor like he could. He was a very athletic and physical kid. He dominated inside. It was just a shame they didn’t have a shot clock. If they would have had a shot clock, I think the Wilt Chamberlain legends of college ball would been unparalleled with anybody.” Rivalries with K-State, Missouri, and Iowa State. ... “Just the fact that you knew that every time you played, Allen Fieldhouse was going to be filled to the brim with people.”

On the Jayhawks Today: “I think Roy Williams is absolutely a superb coach. I’m so happy that he stayed at KU and didn’t go to North Carolina. He’s just a very fantastic man. He’s what KU is all about.”

Ron Loneski was one of the toughest competitors in KU history

In this two-part feature on former KU great Ron Loneski, I share some of the information he gave  me during our very revealing, wonderful, memorable, and in-depth Where Are They Now? interview for Jayhawk Insider in 2002, some of which I have never published until now.

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Ron Loneski is one of the most underrated players and fiercest competitors in KU history. He played a complementary role to Wilt Chamberlain his first two seasons before averaging a career-high 19.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game his senior year. Just 6-4 1/2, Loneski played forward, was very strong, and could rebound with the best. His career 8.9 rebound average ranks No. 7 all time at KU, while named All-Big Eight in 1958.

He also averaged 14.4 points in 63 career games.

“I had a passion for the game, I had a passion to play,” Loneski said. “I wasn’t the biggest guy but I could rebound with guys who were 6-11 or 6-10. There were maybe guys better than me, but nobody would beat me down the floor, nobody could play defense better than me. I could do it just out of sheer will and the desire to do it. That’s sort of the way I played.”

His best basketball was actually after he left KU. A 10th round NBA Draft pick by the St. Louis Hawks, Loneski decided instead to join the Army. He played four years in the service (1962-66) when he was deployed in Germany, including two years for the Belgium National Team, where Loneski competed against future Hall of Famer Bill Bradley.

“I think at that time, that was the highlight of my life,” Loneski told me in 2002. “I really developed into a heck of a player playing at that level and competition.”

He shut down Bradley, a master of moving without the ball, with his defensive prowess.

“Bradley got 26 points in the first half,” Loneski recalled. “He didn’t get a point in the second half with me on him. I can play anybody.

“(I was) known (in Belgium) as a very aggressive and tough player who didn’t want to lose,” Loneski added. “I enjoyed winning. That’s the bottom line for me is to win. I think that losing is despicable. I hate to lose. I’m not a poor loser, but I’m not a very good loser. I always hated to lose in everything I did. I think that helped me as a player because I was very, very aggressive.”

Loneski’s biggest loss of his career happened in the 1957 national game, when North Carolina beat KU in triple overtime. His lob pass to Chamberlain in the final seconds was intercepted, sealing KU’s doom.

“That (loss) is devastating to this day,” Loneski said. “There’s not a day that doesn’t go by that I watch a basketball game and that thought doesn’t come in. Whatever I see happen in a game, I always will go back to that. All the little things that happened where we could have won, where things could have been different. Somebody should have done this, or we should have done that. But we didn’t do that. It’s over. It happened. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

Loneski, who had two tours in Vietnam and served 21 years in the military, has learned, though, to put the game into perspective. He experienced great personal tragedy in his life. Loneski lost many friends in Vietnam, and then his son, sister, and dad passed away within a seven-month span in 1980.

“At the time when you look at it (‘57 game), you say to yourself, ‘You know, I don’t know if I’m ever going to get over this,’” Loneski said. “When I reflect on some of the things that have happened in my life and some of the things I saw in Vietnam and some of the personal tragedies I’ve had, like losing a son when he was 16, it’s a game. The NCAA finals in 1957 was a game. In the grand scheme of things, the game is meaningless. It’s how you handle what happens, whether you are a winner or a loser, that matters. You look at everything that happens in your life, and you sort of learn from what happens and you measure what type of man you are and you move on.”

Ten years after that heartbreaking loss to UNC, Loneski was in Vietnam in 1967 when he recalled somberly of watching a “young kid get shot in the eye, blew the whole back of his head off.”

Thirteen years later, his son died.

“How you deal with losing a son when he was 16, which is the worse thing that’s ever happened to me in my life. Nothing ever could measure up to that.”

With great resilience, Loneski moved on with his life and taught high school and middle school English for 20 years in San Diego, Calif., while also serving as head basketball coach for 10 years at Lincoln High School.

“You look at everything that happens in your life,  and you sort of learn from what happens and you measure what type of man you are and you move on," he said. "It’s just a lesson maybe you learn when you get older and you see so many things happen.” 

He loved teaching and coaching kids and shaping their lives. Loneski, who was named San Diego Coach of the Year in 1991 and compiled an impressive 200-76 record, actually cut future Super Bowl MVP Terrell Davis.

This former KU standout had a special affinity for teaching middle-school students.

”Those people hold a special place in my life because they’re so dedicated.” Loneski said. "Dealing with 7th and 8th graders is not the easiest thing in the world to do. I have a good rapport with my kids. I tell my students, come to class prepared to learn and come to class with a good sense of humor and we’ll make the year short and everyone will  learn something. I have fun with my kids.”

Indeed, he did.

Loneski had a very distinguished military career, where he made lifelong friendships. He retired as Lieutenant Colonel. With two tours in Vietnam, he received a Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars and Commendations for Meritorious Service.

After retiring from teaching, he married his wife Jackie and moved to Lawrence, where he died in 2007, the last survivor of the seven Jayhawks who played in the 1957 national title game against UNC.

In his heartfelt obituary, it read that Loneski “continued to hear from many of his former students recognizing his contribution toward starting them on the right path to a better future.”

Thanks Ron for making this world a better place.

Al Donaghue was a star high school player and key member of Jayhawks' teams

Al Donaghue was a superstar player at powerhouse Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, leading his team to two state championships while a two-time Kansas player of the year. Heavily recruited, Donaghue narrowed his choices to K-State and KU. While he admits to being a big KSU fan growing up, this all changed when KU’s Phog Allen and Dick Harp made an in-home recruiting visit. Allen, who had just retired (Harp was now head coach), made a huge impression on Al’s parents. 

After Allen’s amazing recruiting pitch, Al’s mother asked her son: “‘You are going to Kansas, aren’t you?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I think so.’ That’s where she wanted me to go, and that’s what I wanted to do after meeting Phog Allen and Dick Harp.”

Al,  nicknamed “Sam” by Harp, never looked back. He played a key role on Jayhawk teams loaded with talent, including Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Bridges and Wayne Hightower. He improved his scoring average from 5.0 points per game his sophomore year to 10.6 ppg as a junior before a career-high 10.9 points per game his senior season. Al, who was part of KU’s co-Big Eight championship team in 1959-60, finished his standout career with averages of 8.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He scored 566 points in 65 games.

A very versatile player, Donaghue could score, rebound, defend and pass, the consummate team player ever squad needs.

The 6-5 forward loved playing for Harp and credits him for his great improvement.

“Dick was a fine man,” Al told me in the early 2000s during a Where Are They Now? interview for Jayhawk Insider. “He probably was a better human being than he was a coach. When you say that, that’s not to diminish his coaching ability. He was an excellent coach, but was just a very saltable, God fearing, very moral gentleman. Great guy to play for. I enjoyed playing for him. He probably did a lot for me in terms of helping me grow and develop, and was instrumental in my development.”

Al was a loyal Jayhawk throughout his life, attending all KU basketball games after moving back to Kansas City in 1980 and served with coach Roy Williams on the Jayhawks’ mentoring program.

His death in 2007 shook his family and Jayhawk Nation hard. The Lawrence Journal-World’s Bill Mayer paid tribute to Al in his July 20, 2007 column.

“The recent death of Al Donaghue, a Kansas University basketball player of note in 1958-60, left a sense of loss and grief in many a life, particularly those in his family,” Mayer wrote. “He had a tough battle with lymphoma, and I can only hope he's comfortable and enjoying himself again. Al, nicknamed ‘Sam’ while playing under Dick Harp, brought a lot to the table in many venues. One of his best contributions was the loyalty and love he displayed as a KU product, especially as a basketball alum. I'm sad that his passing will take away a little more of the warmth that the KU sports program seems to be losing in today's dash for dollars.

“Al and his wife, the former Mary Susan Eggleston, were constant attendees at Jayhawk basketball games, and they and a number of friends helped create one of those pods of camaraderie and delight that were so typical of KU fandom over the years. People who had adjoining seats for the game got to know each other, relished those associations and focused their pride on Jayhawk achievements.”

“... Al, a one-time Wilt Chamberlain teammate, and his clan stuck with KU and each other through thick and thin for years, and his loss creates just one more gap in the Crimson and Blue fabric of devotion and affection.”

I, too, was very sad to hear about his death, but comforted knowing our paths crossed that evening in the early 2000s during our phone conversation, where Al was so full of life, his robust voice reveling in talking about his favorite KU memories, his devotion to KU, and his great experience playing at Wyandotte with best friend Monte Johnson, also a fellow Jayhawk teammate and former Kansas athletic director.

It was truly a very enjoyable and memorable interview!

...

“I went to Wyandotte High School. Monte Johnson was one of my closest friends. Monte was best man at my wedding. Monte and I go back to Wyandotte, when he was playing there and have been friends since, oh Lord, 1953, I guess, and have maintained that friendship over the years. I first started playing organized basketball in junior high school in Kansas City, Kansas. So that was about the seventh or eight grade, I guess, other than playing in the playground. In the old days, you played everything out in the playground. You played baseball in the summer and you played football in the fall and basketball in the winter. That’s how kids grew up. Kansas City, Kansas, Wyandotte High School had a great program back in those days. It was started by Walt Shublom, who was the head coach at Wyandotte. He was there from 1960; in the 18 years he was there, he either won or finished second in the state every year. He won like 14 championships out of 18 years. We had a very good team, but it was a program in Kansas City, Kansas, that was pretty much developed. All the junior high schools ran the same kind of program that fed into Wyandotte. In junior high school, I was running the offense that Wyandotte High school was using. We were very successful. We won the state tournament two of my three years in high school, and lost it my senior year. We lost one game, and that was in the finals of the state tournament. We had a very good program-- it was a good school, some great players had come out of Wyandotte to play in colleges and the pros, some to KU. Some went to other schools. Wyandotte developed some nice players over the years from Kansas. Nolen Ellison, he was a sophomore my senior year. He was an outstanding, outstanding player. 

"Harry Gibson, who lives now there in Lawrence, played at Wyandotte. A guy named Pierre Russell played at Wyandotte. Cal Thompson, later. There were some great players that came out of Wyandotte and went to the University of Kansas. I was very highly recruited. I was voted for two straight years the player of the year in the state of Kansas. I could have gone a lot of places. Dick Harp, of course, did lot of recruiting. Phog Allen was forced to retire when he turned 70. My senior year of high school was his last year in coaching. I was kind of torn between KU and K-State, quite frankly. One of the in-home visits, Dick brought coach Allen to our house; he impressed my mother and father dramatically to the point that when they left, my mom said: ‘You are going to Kansas, aren’t you?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I think so.’ That’s where she wanted me to go, and that’s what I wanted to do after meeting Phog Allen and Dick Harp. With Chamberlain there, it was a nice chance for all intents and purposes to play for a national championship each year.

“Tex Winter, who was the coach at K-State in those days; he was a great recruiter. They had an excellent program at K-State. I was pretty much torn between KU and K-State. I grew up as a K-State fan because they had some great players. As I got to know more and more people (from KU), there was a gentleman with the name like Roy Edwards in Kansas City, who the Edwards campus at the junior college is named after. Roy was a very strong alum. He and I got to be very good friends. You start to change your allegiance as you meet more and more fine people from the University. I had a chance to meet Paul Endacott, who was president of Phillips. It was nice to finally make a decision. I made the right decision. After I met Dr. Allen in our home and my mom and dad met him, it was kind of a foregone conclusion that’s where we were going. It was a toss-up, they were both good schools, I know they both had good programs, I had to pick out the school I wanted to go to.

“As I said, I think KU was the best choice for me at that time, and I’m glad I went. I didn’t have an overwhelming desire when I was a kid growing up to go to KU because I really liked K-State when I was a young  man. You got to realize, K-State had a great basketball program back in those days. They were very, very strong. If you go back and look at some of the old archives, KU and K-State pretty much dominated the Big 7 in those days. KU would win it a year, and K-State would win it the next year. They were great schools, great competition and a great rivalry that went on. ... (Growing up), I was short; I was very small. I was the shortest guy on our junior high school team, so I played guard. I didn’t get a growth spurt until I was probably a  sophomore in high school. I went from about 6-0 to 6-5 in basically a year and a half. With it came the clumsiness. I think the chance to play guard as a young man helped overcome some of those difficulties. I could go out and pretty much do everything a guard could do, which helped in those days to be 6-5 and to do that. Six-five was big in those days, now it’s small. I started as a sophomore in high school, which was kind of unusual. That’s when I really became good. We won the state tournament my sophomore year. We had good seniors.  We won it my my junior year with Monte, and then my senior year, we were undefeated until the finals. I guess my sophomore year is when I really started to develop myself as a player.” 

Here is my Where Are They Now? story on Al Donaghue.

...

Al Donaghue scored. He passed. He defended. Donaghue, quite simply, did it all for Wyandotte High School in Kansas City. He led Wyandotte to two state championships, while culminating his scintillating high school career in 1956 as a two-time Kansas player of the year.  

Recruited nationally by big-time colleges, Donaghue was “pretty much torn between KU and K-State.” He actually grew up cheering more for the purple Wildcats than the crimson and blue Jayhawks. This all changed, though, when KU made an in-home recruiting visit his senior year with former head coach Phog Allen (he had just retired due to mandatory age requirement) and current head man Dick Harp.

“He (Allen) impressed my mother and father dramatically,” Donaghue said, “to the point that when they left, my mom said, ‘You are going to Kansas, aren’t you?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I think so.’ That’s where she wanted me to go, and that’s what I wanted to do after meeting Phog Allen and Dick Harp.”

Donaghue had another important reason for choosing Kansas. It seemed there was a pretty talented freshman 7-footer already making a name for himself at Mount Oread.

“With (Wilt) Chamberlain there, it was a chance for all intents and purposes to play for a national championship each year.”

So yes, after becoming eligible his sophomore year, Donaghue got the prized opportunity to play with Chamberlain in 1957-58. It was the season after KU lost the national championship to North Carolina in triple overtime, and expectations were sky high with Chamberlain and fellow junior Ron Loneski returning. However, Chamberlain became injured and missed a couple of key games, as Kansas (18-5) finished second in the conference to K-State. 

“It was a disappointment not going to the tournament,” Donaghue said.

But Donaghue (6-5 forward), who was a part-time starter, still relished his time on the court with the “Big Dipper.” The two actually roomed together during road trips and maintained a friendship over the years.

“He was a unique player, probably the greatest athlete I had ever been around and probably the greatest basketball player in college that ever lived,” Donaghue said. “The rules of the game were changed to accommodate him, the dunking rules, things like that. He was an awesome athlete, the strongest man I ever met.”

Chamberlain (30.1 ppg), of course, was a dominant force in the paint.

“Knowing that you got the best player in the college game with you, you passed to him a lot,” Donaghue said. “There’s no doubt about that. You didn’t work offensively for your own shots as much as you were looking for him to pass to. That was smart. I think all of our players realized they had to do that. Our coach (Harp), he was a smart man in the fact that he came to all the players and said, ‘We’ve got two rules. We have a rule for the team, and we have a rule for Chamberlain. You need to understand that.’ He actually said, ‘You guys can vote on it.’ We all voted that Chamberlain could kind of, if he wanted to miss a practice, could miss a practice. He didn’t very often, but he could if he wanted to.”

A rugged rebounder and defensive stopper, Donaghue (5.0 ppg) was an invaluable supporting player to Chamberlain, and in ensuing years to stars Bill Bridges and Wayne Hightower. Donaghue loved playing defense.

“I wasn’t real fast, but I was smart and I worked hard at it,” he said. “I wasn’t a great player. I was just a good contributor. I rebounded fairly well and passed fairly well. I was a good team person.”

When Chamberlain left KU after his junior season to join the Harlem Globetrotters, there was a huge void in the middle. With Bridges the tallest player at 6-6, Kansas struggled and went 11-14. Donaghue, though, improved his scoring average to 10.6 ppg and pulled down 5.0 rebounds a game as well.

“As you get older and become used to the system, sure you get better,” he said. “My senior year (10.9 ppg), the same thing. You mature, your body matures, and you’re a better player.”

As the 6-8 Hightower joined the 1959-60 Jayhawks (19-9), an inspired Kansas team received some much-needed height and won a share of the conference title. The Jayhawks won their last 10 of 11 games before falling to No. 1 Cincinnati in the Midwest Regional finals. Unfortunately, Kansas didn’t have the services of Donaghue, who became academically ineligible after semester break.

“In those days, we didn’t have an academic program that they have now where you knew where you stood all the time,” Donaghue said. “You just didn’t know. It was very sad. In fact, Dick Harp used to say if the unfortunate things hadn’t happened to me, we might have won the whole thing.”

Despite not winning a national championship, it was indeed a memorable career for Donaghue. In addition to the games, he loved competing against the likes of Bridges and Chamberlain in practice.

“Bridges was probably the most intense rebounder I’ve ever met in my entire life,” Donaghue said. “He was just an animal. I use that as a lovable form. He was just great on the court as an intense rebounder. Chamberlain was just big and very powerful. If Wilt wanted the ball, he just went up and got it. He had a tremendous height advantage over we little people. It was a real treat to battle against them in practice. They made you better.”

After graduating from KU in 1960, Donaghue, 65, spent a year and a half in the Air Force before working for two years in sales with Phillips Petroleum Co. The former Jayhawk then joined Johnson and Johnson in 1964, a large pharmaceutical company on the East Coast. Donaghue lived all over the United States while working for Johnson and Johnson, and finished there in 1979 as director of field sales in New Brunswick, NJ. He then accepted a job with Russell Stover candies in Kansas City, and retired as vice president of sales and marketing in 1996.

Donaghue said he was fortunate for the opportunity to return home to Kansas City in 1980.

"It gave me a chance to reactivate myself with the university (Donaghue spent time serving with KU basketball coach Roy Williams on the Jayhawks’ mentoring program) and our kids had a chance to grow up in Kansas City and become reacquainted with their grandparents, which was important to us,” he said.

In all, it was more than 30 great years in the business world for Donaghue. He credits Harp, in large part, for his success and the lessons he gained playing basketball for Kansas.

“I think a lot of that can be related back to some of the things I learned as an athlete,” Donaghue said. “Some of the work ethic I learned being an athlete, the goals you set for yourself, the things you do to achieve those goals. I think that was all very important. I maintain that the University of Kansas had a great deal to do with it in developing me as a person  It was a wonderful experience, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.”

Currently, Donaghue lives a rich and satisfying life in retirement. He spends his free time socializing with friends, golfing, walking and traveling. And when Donaghue reflects back to those KU wonder days of yesteryear, he remains forever grateful for the recruiting pitch Allen made in his home nearly 50 years ago. 

For this one-time K-State booster, there is now no question where his allegiance lies.

“I’m a loyal Jayhawk,” Donaghue said. “I bleed blue.”

A Closer Look at Al Donaghue

Years at KU: 1956-60

Career Notables: Member of Big Eight conference co-champions in 1959-60 and Big Seven Holiday Tournament champs in 1957-58...Averaged a career-best 10.9 ppg in 1960...Career-high 27 points versus Colorado on Jan. 31, 1959.

Family: Wife, Susan, and two children — Amy, 36, and Paul, 33.  Donaghue also has two grandkids.

Education: 1960. B.S. Education

Since Leaving KU: Donaghue spent a year and a half in the Air Force before going to work in sales for Phillips Petroleum Co. in 1964. He spent the rest of his business career with Johnson and Johnson (pharmaceutical company) and Russell Stover candies. He retired from Russell Stover in 1996 as vice president of sales and marketing.

Currently: Donaghue is retired and lives in native Kansas City.

Hobbies: Golf, cooking, reading, walking, traveling.

Favorite Memories: “Off the court, obviously is the chance to get an education at the University of Kansas. The campus, the people I met, the friends I met and developed, it was awesome.”... Scoring a career-best 27 points at home versus Colorado in the first nationally televised game on Jan. 31, 1959. “Of course, all my relatives around the United States got a chance to see it. It wasn’t a good memory to lose, but it was a good memory to be on the first national televised basketball game.”... “I guess the thing I’m proudest of is the fact that in the three years I was there, we never lost to Missouri. That was always nice to say.”... Playing with Chamberlain. “He was a very quiet man. He broke a lot of the racial barriers in the Midwest in those days. There had been other black players before Wilt at KU, but he was the first true star. ... I could see that he faced a great deal of discrimination from the fans and media in those days, which was unfortunate. But that was the time we lived in. Thank God, times have changed now.”

On the Jayhawks today: “I’ve enjoyed them this year. I’m at every home game, so my wife and I still support the university very much. They’re fine young guys. They’re the kind of young guys you want representing your university. Roy runs the right kind of program.”  

Former Jayhawk standout Rodger Bohnenstiehl make his mark as a scoring machine

Rodger Bohnenstiehl might not be a name the young KU fan knows about, but Rodger was one of the better players of his era and a member of the 1,000-point club. He was All-Big Eight in 1967, where he led KU in scoring at 16.4 points per game. The 6-6 scoring machine also set a Big Eight career record of 56.6 percent field goal shooting that stood for many years. He finished as the school’s No. 9 all-time leading scorer.

Bohnenstiehl was part of the great and memorable 1965-66 team as a sophomore, serving as backup to All-American center Walt Wesley as KU marched to the Midwest Regional final before losing to eventual NCAA champion Texas Western. KU went 23-4 that season and again the next year, where Rodger led the ‘Hawks to their second straight Big Eight championship and berth in the NCAA Tournament, where KU lost to Houston in the first round. He was even the leading scorer that season ahead of future Naismith Hall of Famer Jo Jo White, a sophomore who averaged 14.8 points per game.

Voice of the Jayhawks Tom Hedrick, someone I loved to listen to on the radio growing up and one of the most positive, kindest and genuine people I’ve ever met, called Rodger “The Machine” for his lethal turnaround jump shot. Hedrick also coined Bohnenstiehl “quick as a hiccup.”

I had a wonderful and memorable Where Are They Now? interview with Rodger in 2001 for Jayhawk Insider, where he talked openly about his recruitment to KU and how instrumental KU assistant Sam Miranda — a fellow Collinsville, Ill., native — was to luring him to Mount Oread. Rodger also spoke of practicing that sweet turnaround jump shot for endless hours in high school and his favorite memories of being a Jayhawk.

Thanks Rodger for the time you gave me. I will forever be grateful.

...

“This is what happened. I originally had visited the University of Missouri, Evansville and Indiana. Sam Miranda called me. He was in New Mexico. I flew out to New Mexico and I really liked it. While I was there, I signed a conference letter of intent because I liked Sam and I liked the school. When I got back home, my father got real ill, I mean really, really ill. My mother and I talked. We decided that was too far to go. It was two and a half hours by jet. She thought I should stay stay somewhere closer to home. So I was going to call Bob Vanatta, who was the head basketball coach at Missouri and ask him if the scholarship there was still good. While I was in the process of thinking about doing that, Sam Miranda called. He said, 'I’m leaving New Mexico and going to Kansas.’ I said, ‘Well, that's great Sam, because I’m not going to New Mexico either because my dad is very, very ill, and my mother wants me to stay close. I’m going to call Bob Vanatta and see if he’s still got a scholarship. He said, ’No you’re not. You come out to Kansas. I want you to see that before you do anything,’ so I flew out and fell in love with the place.’ This was like early June when I went out there, and there were a bunch of guys around there, Riney Lochmann, Wesley Unseld, and guys like that. I hung around with them. They were great guys, people I wanted to be with and a part of.

“In high school, that’s all I did was turnaround jump shots. It was quite an adjustment to play facing the basket. The offense that was designed put me in position where I could use the turnaround jump shot quite a bit. A lot of times, I’d get the opportunity to post up inside, and that’s where I was able to use it.”

“We had a guy when I was in high school named Bogey Redmond. My freshman year in high school, they won the state. They were 32-0. I kind of idolized him as a player.  He was 6-6 and 220, and I was about 6-6 and 180. He was kind of my idol. I always wanted to be like him, but better. I think in order to be a player, I think you got to have somebody that you kind of idolize. You got to kind of mimic after him. I didn’t like the pros.  At that time, there wasn’t any college basketball on TV, but it was on the radio. I used to listen to the Cincinnati Bearcats.

“As an eight grader, I was cut from the team, so I wasn’t go to try out as a freshman. I wasn’t going to get cut again. I was playing in PE, and Coach Fletcher asked if I was coming out for basketball. I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Why don’t you come out and try it. If you like, you can stay, if you don’t, you can go ahead and go.’ So that’s how I got my start in basketball. I liked it, I stayed with it. He worked with me. We had some great teams there. We were 75-14 for three years in high school. It’s a lot like my college career. My sophomore year, we were ] 26-8, my  junior year we were 26-3 and lost in the super sectional, which was one game before state. My senior year, we were undefeated all year and lost in the super sectional by five points, just one game before state. I’ve always been close, but no cigar so to speak.

“I spent a lot of my time at the gym in the summer, a lot of time by myself practicing that shot. I go by and get the key from his (Coach Fletcher) house and practice it. I’d go by at 8 a.m. and get it, and give it back at noon. Every morning during the week. That’s the only way you get better is by working at it and working hard at it.”

Here is that 2001 Where Are They Now? story.

...

Rodger Bohnenstiehl’s jump shot didn’t exactly set the world on fire his eighth grade year in Collinsville, Ill. In fact, he was cut from the team and didn’t even plan on trying out again the following season.

 

Bohnenstiehl, however, had a change of heart when the basketball coach approached him one day in physical education class.

“Coach (Virgil) Fletcher asked if I was coming out for basketball,” Bohnenstiehl recalled recently from his home in Crete, Ill. “I told him, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Why don’t you come out and try it. If you like it, you can stay. If you don’t, you can go ahead and go.’”

Bohnenstiehl stuck with the sport and eventually blossomed into a high school standout. He worked conscientiously with his coach after practice, as well as spending endless hours by himself each morning during the sweltering summer months perfecting his turnaround jump shot.

“I’d go by and get the key (to the gym) from his (Fletcher) house at 8 and give it back to him at noon,” Bohnenstiehl said.  “That’s the only way you get better is by working hard at it.”

Recruited by KU assistant coach and fellow Collinsville native Sam Miranda, Bohnenstiehl (6-6) brought his sweet turnaround jumper to Mount Oread in 1964. He substituted for All-American Walt Wesley at center his sophomore season (1965-66) before starting at forward his junior and senior campaigns. Bohnenstiehl, who was All-Big Eight as a junior (16.4 ppg) and finished his career as the No. 9-leading scorer in Jayhawk history (1,006 points), set a Big Eight field goal percentage record (56.6 percent) that stood for many years.

“Voice of the Jayhawks” Tom Hedrick was so enamored by Bohnenstiehl’s uncanny shooting accuracy and trademark jump shot that he nicknamed him “The Machine.” Hedrick coined he was “quick as a hiccup.”

“That (turnaround jumper) was the only way I could score because I played against people that were a lot bigger than I was,” Bohnenstiehl said. “You had to do something to get your shot off. I just tried to be as quick as I could. I wasn’t fast, but I was quick.”

Bohnenstiehl played an instrumental cog in some of the most successful years in KU basketball.  Kansas won two Big Eight championships and went 23-4 in both 1965-66 and 1966-67. The ‘66 squad with Wesley and Jo Jo White lost to Texas Western (eventual NCAA champs) in the Midwest Regional finals, while the ‘67 team got beat in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Allen Fieldhouse. Bohnenstiehl led KU to the NIT finals in Madison Square Garden his senior year (22-8) before falling to Dayton.

“It seemed like even though we had a lot of success, we could never get the big one,” he said.  “We just came so close.”

Despite not winning the “big one,” Bohnenstiehl and his teammates enjoyed every second of the ride.

“We loved it,” he said. “It’s always great because teams were shooting for you and you know you had to be at your best. We went to some places like Oklahoma and Nebraska where it was just brutal. Nebraska had that small gym where the out-of-bounds lines were right at the bleachers. When you stood there and took the ball out of bounds, people would pull hair off your legs.”

After concluding a scintillating career in 1968, Bohnenstiehl was drafted by both New York (NBA) and the Pittsburgh Pipers (ABA). He made it to the Pipers’ last cut.

“I broke my nose and ring finger,” Bohnenstiehl said. “I guess it wasn’t to be.”

He then played AAU basketball in Lawrence before returning to native Illinois in 1970 and embarking on a high school teaching and coaching career. From 1985 to 1997, Bohnenstiehl served as head basketball coach at Rich South High School. Bohnenstiehl, who still teaches P.E. and driver’s education at Rich South, received great satisfaction from coaching and shaping young men.

“The biggest joy is watching kids improve and being able to put a team together and make it jell,” he said.

 “The Machine” certainly made remarkable improvement himself since those days of yesteryear when he was cut from his eighth grade basketball team. Bohnenstiehl is thankful his basketball skills and turnaround jump shot allowed him the opportunity to play at such a tradition rich university as Kansas, and treasures the lifetime friendships he built with teammates and coaches.  

Asked now about his feelings in breaking the 1,000-point barrier his final college game, Bohnenstiehl speaks from the heart.

“I wasn’t much for stats or watching how many points I scored,” he replied. “I just loved the game and tried to play it my hardest.”

A Closer Look at Rodger Bohnenstiehl:

Years at KU: 1964-68

Career Notables: All Big Eight in 1967 (led KU in scoring at 16.4 ppg)...Captain of ‘68 team...Paced KU in field goal percentage 1966-68 (set a Big Eight career record of 56.6 percent that stood for years)...Finished career as No. 9 all-time leading scorer.

Family: Wife, Gail, and children — Michael, 20, Katie, 17.

Education: 1969, B.S. Physical Education; 1991, M.S. Educational Administration (Governor’s State University in Illinois).

Since Leaving KU: Bohnenstiehl played AAU basketball in Lawrence before returning to native Illinois in 1970 and embarking on a high school teaching and coaching career. He taught and coached at four schools (Kankakee, Rich East, Bradley, and Rich South). In 1997, he quit his job (12 years) as head basketball coach at Rich South. 

Currently:  Bohnenstiehl lives in Crete, Ill., and teaches physical education and driver’s education at Rich South High School.

Hobbies: Handyman work, golf, painting.

Favorite Memories: The 1965-66 squad. “We had a lot of talent there. We had some depth. Things really jelled for us. It was just an outstanding year.”...Final home game on March 9, 1968 (Bohnenstiehl went 10-11 from the field as KU thrashed Iowa State, 91-58, in a nationally televised contest). “I had my family there.  It was something special.”

On The Jayhawks Today: “It’s fun to watch them. There are a lot of people in the area that know I went to Kansas. They watch the games, and we talk about them...He’s (Roy Williams) kept the tradition going. That’s not always easy to do, especially with the pressures.”