Kansas University has its own basketball hall of fame, and All-America names like Lovellette, White, Manning, Brown, Valentine and Chamberlain are guaranteed prominence. But how about some provision to assure that the Chris Pipers of KU history aren’t overlooked when Jayhawk devotees assemble, the wee hours of the morning roll around, and the taller tales of yesteryear are being spun?
For every all-league and All-American selection that Kansas has been blessed with, there have been at least 10 or 15 Piper-types who have made equal contributions to KU success. I have a long list of personal favorites. I’m sure you do, too, and nobody better represents those productive “other guys” better than Chris, the one-time Lawrence High state title mainstay who was cut at the seventh and eighth-grade levels.
Anybody else notice how much better the Jayhawks have looked since Piper came out of drydock after overcoming knee trouble?
There have been other positive factors – Danny Manning shaking out of a trance, Archie Marshall getting with it on defense, Kevin Pritchard playing like a turpentined cat, and new people improving. But pulsing through the squad’s system like an aorta has been a Pipe-line that’s also made a lot of difference.
Foootball coach Joe Paterno of Penn State says the first thing he looks for in a quarterback is somebody who’s not going to do things to lose a game. Anything after that is gravy. That’s the way KU’s Larry Brown regards a linchpin like Piper, whom he can use as a coach on the court. And there’s a lot of gravy along with that stability.
Not only does the experienced Piper know where everybody ought to be but he can direct traffic during the action and maintain flow needed to win. Never the flashy type, Chris can shoot timely baskets, claim key rebounds, make assists, grab loose balls, and play the kind of defense that warms the hearts of coaches. As good a shooter as Piper is, he oughta be taking five or six more pokes a game. He gives the Jayhawks poise and purpose.
You don’t need an Albert Einstein intellect to see that sluggish Kansas will have trouble against any team with quickness, as in the early going at North Carolina State. The Jayhawks have to overcome this glaring deficiency with better self-control, patience and team play. That’s what Piper helps them do.
Just think of all the unsung but outstanding players KU has had – those underrated and too often overlooked young men who unselfishly play reflective satellite roles so stars can sparkle. I’ll bet you could name at least 25 Piper-types in a minute.
They’re as deserving of niches in Kansas’ Valhalla as the all-stars, who would never be all-stars without core players.
Is KU’s Manning is a “franchise” player for the professionals or is he likely to wind up as a second banana who with hsi great versatility spins off a pivotal guy to achieve the stardom that most of us think he’ll have?
Danny’s had those games – like Notre Dame last year and NC State this season – when he’s grabbed an uncertain Jayhawk team by the throat, in effect said “we’re not going to lose this one!” and then forced KU to win. But too often he’s unselfish, like Piper, and doesn’t kick tail and take names the way a Larry Bird or Magic Johnson will do. Danny’s gained a reputation with pro scouts for being less than the fiery leader people think he must be if Kansas is to compete for a league title and NCAA glory this year.
Maybe that’s changing, or changed at Carolina State. That victory could be the turning point of the KU season, particularly if it signalled Manning has caught scent and is developing the killer instinct that separates the great from the greatest.
One competent Manning-watcher who wonders if Danny put on too much weight too soon is Al Lopes, a 6-5 guard-forward on the 1965 and 1966 KU teams after a juco All-American stint at Coffeyville.
Al, an attorney living in Lawrence, wonders if Danny might have lost an iota of quickness with his weight program, and wonders if dropping a few pounds, particularly in the butt-hip area, might help him. Has thickness been a problem, or is quickness a state of mind for Manning – depending upon how mean and aggressive he wants to be?
Lopes knows something about quickness. For a season and a half here, he starred in the Jayhawk backcourt with Delvy Lewis. Then at the middle of the 1965-66 campaign, a guy named Joe White came eligible to work the ball with Lewis, and Lopes was able to go to his natural position of forward on a frontline that included center Walt Wesley and Ron Franz, another of those guys who’d as soon knock you down as look at you.
“At guard, I ran into a lot of guys as quick as I was, but at forward, I was quicker than most people I had to go against,” recalls Lopes. “One of Danny’s many strong points is how much quicker he is than most other big guys. If he compromises that, he might surrender a little edge.”
Hope this Christmas was your best yet. My only major disappointment was the inability to silence that Doubting Thomas of the Journal-World staff named Chuck Woodling by coming up with the recordings of “Cement Mixer” by Slim Gaillard, and “Fla-Ga-La-Pa” by Louis Jordan and the Tympany Five. They’re listed in the big books but are “out of print.” Woodling continues to declare I made them up to bug him.
If anyone can guide me to copies of these classics, I can die happy.
