Former Kansas University basketball coach Ted Owens, who turned 75 this year, has many memories of historic Allen Fieldhouse, which will celebrate its 50th birthday in March.
He’ll be sharing those thoughts and others from his 19 years as KU head coach Thursday when he will be the guest of honor at “An Evening with Ted Owens and Friends” at the Holidome.
“On game nights, Allen Fieldhouse was a wonderful place,” recalled Owens, a former Oklahoma University basketball standout who accepted a post on Dick Harp’s KU staff in 1960, when the fieldhouse was just five years old.
“They’d put up the conference flags on game night, and it just sparkled — it was shiny-new on the outside — but for practice, it was not good at all.”
That’s because Allen Fieldhouse had a dirt track on the inside to accommodate KU’s track teams.
“Dust would accumulate,” said Owens, head coach of the Jayhawks from 1964 to ’83. “Many times we’d stop practice to sweep the floor.”
Back in the Owens era, the fieldhouse had a portable basketball floor, which was put in for the start of practice in October and removed right after the season. The building also was used as a practice facility for football and softball until Anschutz Pavilion was built in the 1980s.
One other forgotten fact about Allen, noted Owens, in town for a KU practice last week, was the hoops floor had a slippery tartan surface during the ’70s.
“It was impossible to regulate the traction,” Owens said. “It had 3/8 inch of surface on top of cement. It caused shin splints, problems with the knees. Chester Giles blew out his knee on the tartan. We never had a chance to know him. He was like C.J. (Chester’s son and current KU freshman forward). He could really run.”
Owens remembers the relationships he made at KU in his 19 seasons as head coach more than the campus buildings. And Thursday, several of his former players will be in town to rekindle those relationships at the fundraiser for the Bert Nash Center.
Five of Owens’ former players — Bill Bridges, Dave Robisch, Bud Stallworth, Darnell Valentine and Walt Wesley — will have their jerseys hung in the rafters in ceremonies during the 50th-anniversary season. Owens will attend all five ceremonies.
“I always felt when you honor a player, you honor his team as well,” Owens said. “All those players and teams are very deserving.”
Owens provided recollections of all five.
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Bill Bridges, 1958-61: Owens was an assistant coach during Bridges’ senior year.
“I wrote him the other day and said he was one of the great leaders we had at Kansas,” Owens said of the 6-foot-5 center. “He’d go after every loose ball, was a tremendous rebounder. I learned a great deal about coaching rebounding from Bill. He was one of the best at rebounding, moving before he jumped.”
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Dave Robisch, 1968-71: “Dave was about the finest competitive shooter I’ve been around,” Owens said of the 6-10 center. “He did something I don’t think I’ve seen anybody else master. He could bank a shot from straight out. Down the stretch if you needed a basket, he’d find a way to get the ball in there.”
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Bud Stallworth, 1969-72: “We all think of Bud’s 50-point game (against Missouri in 1972). What made it even better is well over 10 shots he hit in that game were beyond three-point range,” Owens said of the 6-5 forward’s outburst. “There was no three-point line. If he did it today, he’d have had over 60 points. He was an incredible shooter.”
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Darnell Valentine, 1977-81: “He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve been around,” Owens said of the 6-2 point guard. “He had very good offensive skills, but the thing that set him apart was he was such an intense defender. The whole defense started with him. When their point guard had trouble penetrating, it was because of Darnell. He took great pride in his defense.”
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Walt Wesley, 1963-66: “I probably take more pride in what Walt accomplished than anybody in that I think our staff helped his development,” Owens said of the 6-11 pivot. “Walt put in a tremendous amount of work before and after practice to become a very good jump shooter.”
One of KU’s staff members made a contraption called an “iron defender” that was put up by the goal, forcing Wesley to shoot the ball with arc.
“No way Walt could shoot the ball without hitting the iron without getting height of extension. He’d have to hit 150 shots before he could go in after practice,” Owens said.
For information on Thursday’s fundraiser, go to www.bertnash.org.