Jonathan Phog “JP” Bemberger, who had spent more than four years as an honorary member of the Kansas men’s basketball team while battling cancer, has died. He was 20.
KU announced the news on social media Tuesday night.
“Our beloved teammate, JP, has passed away,” read a post on the KU men’s basketball X account. “JP has been a member of Kansas Basketball since 2020 through Team IMPACT and has touched so many lives. Our thoughts and love are with the entire Bemberger family. He will be in our hearts forever.”
The Jayhawks had added Bemberger to their roster in the fall of 2020 as part of a partnership with Team Impact, a Massachusetts-based organization that pairs children experiencing illness or disability with college sports programs, including seven of KU’s teams.
The son of Tom and Michelle Bemberger, who met as students at KU, JP joined the Jayhawks at 16 after having undergone chemotherapy and radiation as part of his fight against Ewing’s sarcoma, a type of bone cancer.
“From my standpoint JP, I think you fit the criteria we always try to recruit to,” KU coach Bill Self said when Bemberger joined the roster. “We recruit to character, grit, determination and, most importantly, toughness. You fill all those qualities and that would give you a chance to be a good player in our program. Even though this has been an awful ordeal that you had to go through, I can’t imagine, it is also an opportunity for you to spread your story and be an unbelievable example to others.”
In his role, Bemberger, of Lenexa, was a frequent guest at practices and games over the course of several seasons.
“It’s been amazing, just being able to go to all the games that I’ve gone to,” he said in 2023 in a video posted by KU. “… It was just huge motivation for me, all the guys, they would text me back after games. They’d always be there for me, always have my back, pretty much.”
Bemberger was part of the team that won the 2022 national title. KU Director of Basketball Operations Fred Quartlebaum said at Team Impact’s Game Day Gala last April that former Jayhawk Jalen Wilson had called Bemberger “the spark and the glue of our championship run.”
“Who knew JP Bemberger would set the example and lead us down a pathway of what it took to win a Big 12 regular season championship, a Big 12 conference tournament championship, and the granddaddy of them all, a national championship, all in the same season?” Quartlebaum said.
In the speech, he also shared tributes from KJ Adams, Christian Braun, Dajuan Harris Jr. and Kevin McCullar Jr.
Many more players, past and present, chimed in on Tuesday night to show their love for Bemberger in response to KU’s social media posts, including Patrick Cassidy, David Coit, Jalen Coleman-Lands, Justin Cross, Elmarko Jackson, Remy Martin, Zeke Mayo and Nick Timberlake.
“The KU family loves you, JP, and will forever hold you in our hearts,” KU athletic director Travis Goff wrote on X. “And we know he’s in a better place already making an awesome impact.”
“JP truly embodied the essence of what it means to be a Kansas Jayhawk,” Quartlebaum wrote. “His positive impact touched the lives of countless teammates, coaches, managers, and everyone connected to (KU Athletics). JP’s unwavering spirit and passion will forever live on in our hearts and in the legacy he leaves behind.”