The Kansas City Jayhawks have a long and prestigious history, winning the NCAA tournament four times: in 1952, 1988, 2008, and most recently in 2022.
The Jayhawks are bookmakers’ current favorites for the NCAA Tournament, narrowly ahead of the Michigan State Spartans and the Kentucky Wildcats with odds of around +1100 at many of the selected sites in readwrite.com. But they’re not just top dogs this season; since the Jayhawks’ first season in 1898, a number of players have gone on to feature in the NBA, providing inspiration for the current crop of hopefuls.
Clyde Lovellette is one such figure that helped to inspire the 1952 Championship win. At 6ft 10″ and weighing over 240 pounds, he was widely regarded as one of the best offensive players of the era. He also featured in the 1952 All-American First Team before moving to the Minneapolis Lakers where he averaged 17 points and 9.5 rebounds across his 700 games in the NBA. During his 11 years, he featured in the All-Star team four times and won three NBA titles.
When it comes to Kansas point guards, there aren’t many that can rival Jo Jo White. He eventually moved to the Boston Celtics in the 1969 draft, where his reliability saw him play in the All-Star team for seven years in a row. White also managed to feature in all the Celtics’ games for five seasons in a row during the ’70s, winning two NBA titles and being named MVP in the 1976 final.
Another Jayhawks star, Danny Manning’s career as a power forward came after being the No.1 draft pick in 1988. He went on to play in 883 NBA games for five teams in 15 seasons, averaging 18 points per game and 6 rebounds.
Paul Pierce is another Jayhawks legend, who graduated from his Jayhawks career in 1998 when he was drafted by the Boston Celtics. He played for fourteen seasons in the NBA team and enjoyed an incredible ten All-Star selections during this time. Pierce was able to set a number of Celtics records during his career, including the most free throws and most three-point field goals. His 22 PPG, 3.8 APG, and 6.0 RPG also helped to make him one of the most successful and popular Jayhawks alumni in history.
Perhaps the biggest name to feature for the Jayhawks is that of Wilt Chamberlain. During his two years between 1956 and 1958, he excelled at athletics before his impressive performances and towering frame saw NCAA rule changes to minimize unfair advantages. Chamberlain moved to the Harlem Globetrotters in 1958 before becoming the NBA’s highest-paid player when he signed for the Philadelphia Warriors for $30,000 in 1959.
During his first season, he broke scoring records, was selected for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team, and won the All-Star MVP award. He went on to play for the Philadelphia 76ers between 1965 and 1968 and the Los Angeles Lakers from 1968 to 1973. After his successful basketball career, Chamberlain also featured in a number of movies, including Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan the Destroyer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA stars of all time and the biggest name to feature for the Jayhawks.
