KU’s first two-time All-American selection, Paul Endacott was an All-American guard in 1922 and ’23.  He was captain of the ’23 team which was the Helms Foundation’s national champions and he was named college basketball’s player-of-the-year in ’23 by that organization.  He was an All-Missouri Valley Conference pick in ’22 and ’23.  He is also a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Endacott graduated from Lawrence High School in 1919 and chose to attend Kansas as a walk-on in order to play for legendary coach "Phog" Allen. Endacott's aggressive style of play made him one of Kansas' all-time greats.

In Endacott's first year of eligibility, the 1921 season, he earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors.

In Endacott's second season, the Jayhawks were 16-2 and co-champions of the Missouri Valley at 15-1. Once again, Endacott was a member of the all-conference team and was named to the Helms Foundation All-American team. During that season, Endacott, along with fellow all-conference performer and leading scorer George Rody, helped Kansas win the 1922 Helms Foundation National Championship. The award was made retroactively by the Helms Foundation after its inception in 1936.

The 1923 season was similar to the previous campaign for the Jayhawks. The team posted an unblemished 16-0 Missouri Valley record, finished at 17-1 overall and once again, the Jayhawks were crowned the Helms Foundation National Champions.  In 1923 Endacott earned all-conference and All-American honors and in the process, became the first three-time all-conference performer and first two-time All-American in Kansas history.

After graduating from Kansas with a degree in civil engineering, Endacott went to work for the Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, Okla. There he rapidly climbed the corporate ladder, eventually becoming the company's president. After 44 years with Phillips, Endacott retired in 1967.

Phog Allen called him "the greatest player I have ever coached."  He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., on April 20, 1972.   Endacott's jersey was retired in a ceremony at halftime of the KU-Nebraska game on January 25, 1992.

Source:  University of Kansas Athletics web site.

Paul Endacott was captain of the 1923 team and was later named Player of the Year by the Helms Foundation.  Allen called him “the greatest player I have ever coached,” and was fond of telling about Endacott’s heroics during KU’s game at Missouri on Jan. 16, 1923, which the Jayhawks won 21-19.  Endacott had grabbed 16 straight jump balls in the closing minutes to preserve the win.  He later collapsed in the locker room from exhaustion.  But Allen always said he was most proud of his players’ accomplishments later in life and often mentioned Endacott, who became president of Phillips Petroleum Company.

Win Over MU Kept Allen From Stepping Down
Kansas beat Missouri, 23-19, on Jan. 13, 1923, paving the way for an unblemished conference record and perhaps preventing Phog Allen from stepping down as the Jayhawk basketball coach.
All-American Paul Endacott forced several jump balls down the stretch, protecting KU's lead.
Allen's wife, Bessie, later confided to Endacott that her husband would have stepped down as basketball coach, but remain as athletics director, if Kansas didn't win the league title outright. The win over Missouri helped seal that title.
The Jayhawks almost didn't make it to Columbia, Mo., for the game. A truck that was supposed to take the team nine miles from the railroad yard to the arena broke down en route.