Friday, November 21, 2008
“All right boys, this is going to be the roughest, toughest season a University of Kansas team has ever faced. And to you, captain Dean Kelly, you’re the only returning regular and you and the rest of these boys have to carry a terrific load. Do you think you can do it? I think you can do it. What do you think?”
— Dr. F.C. “Phog” Allen
The year was 1953 and the Jayhawks returned to Lawrence to raise a third National Championship banner. Coach Phog Allen had the daunting task of replacing four starters on a team that not only won a title but had seven players take home the Olympic gold in basketball the year before.
Dean Kelly, a 5-foot-11 guard, was the lone starter from the previous season. Kelley had averaged 6.5 points per game and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. That season the Jayhawks were picked to place fourth in the Big Seven Conference and started out as the AP No. 20-ranked team.
That year the Jayhawks went on to surprise everyone. B.H. Born, a 6-foot-9 center became a team leader and averaged 18.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. In 1952, Born averaged just 1.2 points per game as a backup. The team went on to win the Big Seven title and advance to the Final Four against No. 2 Washington.
Washington came unprepared for the game. Born and legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith, then a player for Kansas, recalled the game in the book “Mac’s Boys,” a book about the 1953 Indiana Hoosiers.
“I don’t think Washington bothered to scout us because they thought we’d lost everybody from the year before and weren’t that tough,” Born said.
“The first 10 minutes (against Washington) were unbelievable. They had a hard time getting a shot,” Smith said.
The result: Kansas 79, Washington 53. The Jayhawks were headed to defend the national title against Indiana.
Kansas put up a valiant effort against heavily favored No. 1 Indiana in Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium but lost on the final shot of the game 69-68.
Fifty-five years later, the 2008-2009 edition of Kansas basketball will go to Kansas City’s Sprint Center Monday and Tuesday for the CBE Classic Tournament to face Washington and then Florida or Syracuse.
Will history repeat itself this season? After two games, it’s far too early in the season to tell. On paper though, there are several similarities between the 1953 team and these Jayhawks.
Kansas started the season ranked No. 23 and was ranked third in the preseason Big 12 poll.
This year’s team features a 5-foot-11 guard, Sherron Collins, who was an integral part of last year’s title, and former backup center Cole Aldrich.
Only time will tell if this team has the magic that Phog Allen’s boys had in 1953. Should this team struggle early, it wouldn’t be any different than the 1953 team, which lost to the Rice Owls in just their second game.
— — Edited by Jennifer Torline
Former Kansas basketball great dies
Howard Engleman, former Kansas basketball player and head coach, will be remembered ...
Profiling the legends: Rush and Chalmers
Brandon Rush and Mario return to Allen Fieldhouse next weekend for Legends ...
Game Day: Nov. 24, 2008
Get ready for the game against Washington.
'A Long Story,' but told so well
Announcer Max Falkenstien was courtstidefor 60 of Kansas basketball's 110 years.
Riding the wave
The Jayhawks had a stellar record during the 1951-52 season, finishing first ...
Jayhawks not strangers to Final Four
It started in 1940, when Phog Allen led the Jayhawks to their ...
Wheeler: Two teams bound for top Big ...
For the first time in Big 12 history, the Kansas football team ...
Former player finds many successes despite rampant ...
Jorgensen: History permeates Kansas Basketball
The feeling after Kansas’s 50th championship wasn’t success or the notion that ...
Top 10 players in Kansas basketball history
Find out who the top 10 players in Kansas basketball history are.
Profiling the legends: Owens and Brown
A brief synopsis of Ted Owens and Larry Brown's tenures at Kansas.
Wheeler: Self knows how to win
Fans, players and coach Bill Self all have high expectations for the ...
'The House of Horrors'
In the days before Allen Fieldhouse, the Jayhawks played in less-than-ideal conditions.
Coach starts small to dream big
Coach Ritch Price reflects on his experiences throughout the years that led ...
From backboard to surfboard
A Kansas basketball player from 1990 to 1992, David Johanning now owns ...
Wheeler: Kansas' players bring something to the ...
Future success for the Jayhawks hinges on tough play away from home.
Good Afternoon Mrs. E
One-hundred-and-thirty-seven buildings occupy the 1,000-acre Lawrence campus and more than 100 are ...
Breckunitch: 2000s’ best basketball games
Highlights include two showdowns with Durant, two games from 2003 tournament The ...
For Bechard, coaching is a family affair
Volleyball coach Ray Bechard has coached through winning seasons and personal losses.
Freshman quartet enjoy the ‘madness’
Four freshman players are content to sit out of the spotlight this ...
McIntosh a role model on and off ...
Senior forward Taylor McIntosh will step on the court for the last ...
Morning Brew: Guide to the Sweet Sixteen
Learn all you need to know about the next round of the ...
Wheeler: The wrath of Kaun
Senior center Sasha Kaun is one of the best students-athletes to attend ...
No hopes for football, high hopes for ...
Fans have more to look forward to on the court than on ...
The lost champions
Two 1920s teams were recognized as top-notch by Helms Foundation.
KU Basketball Game Day: Nov. 4, 2008
Basketball Preview: Nov. 8, 2007
The national title is up for grabs this year in college basketball. ...
Appalachian State raises more questions about ranking ...
At the end of each college football season, a normally controversial bowl ...
The Rush that almost never happened
After projections put Brandon Rush outside the first round of the NBA ...
The Hog vs. The Phog
Clark Goble answers the question: Which team has the better advantage at ...
On Senior Day, ’05 recruits are missed
Rush, Chalmers, Wright, and Downs, though moved on, may have formed Kansas’ ...
Montemayor: Jayhawk freethrow proficiency key in wins
Freethrows a major component of Kansas’ 2008 National Championship and Wednesday’s win ...
Collins returns in DePaul victory & Basketball ...
Sherron Collins wasn't scheduled to come back from a foot injury until ...
Jayhawks see exciting, disappointing night
While the women’s team impresses fans at the Phog, the men disappoint ...
Fans get first glimpse of men’s basketball ...
Basketball breaks out the dance moves, preseason scrimmaging for packed house
Blog: Bold predictions for college basketball
Will Kansas win the Big 12 again? Who will make it to ...
Debunking the national title
With 50 conference championships but only two national titles, Kansas has proven ...
Robinett: Don’t blow off Baylor
Usually the butt of Big 12 jokes, Baylor men’s basketball is experiencing ...
Nothing like Kansas basketball
Unique traditions add to the experience of watching a Kansas basketball game ...
Coaches in Kansas' basketball history
The coaches in 111 years of Kansas basketball.
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
KUnited presidential candidate Libby Johnson and vice presidential ...
1 comment
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID