JoJo White had graduated from Vashon High School in St. Louis at mid-semester the previous year and was now eligible to play the second semester.  Head Coach Ted Owens wrestled with the perplexing question of whether to play White and possibly unraveling the team chemistry. “We had all of the other pieces of the puzzle covered,” said Owens, “but he (JoJo White) was such a great talent who just added so much speed and ball handling and versatility. 

At midterm we know we had a good team.  What we sensed was that this was a team that could win the national championship.  I asked JoJo what he wanted to do and he said ‘I want to play right now.’ I talked to our captain – Riney Lochmann – and I said ‘Riney, we’re trying to make a decision about JoJo.  JoJo wants to play.  He feels we have a great chance and I feel that we have a great chance to win the national championship.  But one thing is important, if he plays he will be a starter and that means that you may not start.’ Riney said to me, ‘Coach, it doesn’t matter whether I start or not.  We think JoJo can help us to win the national championship and we want him to play.’  That sealed it as far as I was concerned, because in Riney Lochmann and Del Lewis, who were our captains, we had two great young men and two very unselfish players.  So with their endorsements and with JoJo wanting to, we made that decision.”

The Jayhawks trailed by one game in the Big Seven standings when White joined the team, then won seven straight games to claim their first outright conference title in nine years.  Kansas was dominating after White was inserted into the lineup, winning those seven games by an average of 26.4 points.  To illustrate his difference to the team, earlier in the year, Nebraska had beaten KU 83-75 in Lincoln.  In the rubber match on Feb. 26, KU rolled to a then-school record point total, demolishing the #8-ranked Cornhuskers, 110-73.  White had only 12 points, but created opportunities for his four other starters to finish in double figures. 

After defeating SMU 76-70 in the first game of the NCAA Tourney in Lubbock, Texas, the Jayhawks faced Texas-Western (now UTEP).  In only his ninth outing as a Jayhawk, JoJo played a phenomenal game, although his teammates were sluggish.   For the first time since White joined the team, Kansas played a tight game.  The Miners led by three at halftime, 38-35.  JoJo put Kansas back in contention with a three-point play with 38 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime tied at 69. 

With time running down in overtime, the Jayhawks decided to put their fate in the hands of JoJo, a sophomore with only eight games of major-college experience.  Owens said, “We inbounded it to him, and as he started to penetrate, Texas Western did a good job of pushing him to the sideline. He pivoted on the sideline, and with one second to go, hit a 35-foot jumper”, apparently winning the Midwestern Region title for KU.   The Jayhawks were staring at a victory and Final Four trip.  “We were going nuts, and everybody jumped up and grabbed each other.”  The jubilation ended quickly, however, when referee Rudy Marich waved the basket off, saying that White stepped on the out-of-bounds line.  Replays later showed that he was inbounds by at least six inches.  (Remember, they were playing in Texas….)

“We would have been better off if JoJo had missed that shot because it was one of those moments of ecstasy where we thought ‘We have won it!  We have realized our dream of going to the Final Four,’” Owens said.  “It’s hard after you think you have it won to get yourself settled back down in the right mental frame of mind.  Now all of a sudden we hadn’t won and we had a second overtime.”

The Jayhawks just couldn’t get back on track after that, and bowed in the second overtime 81-80.  The Miners, an all-black team, went on to defeat the all-white Kentucky team for the ’66 national championship.  Their win helped change color barriers throughout basketball.

The loss to Texas-Western provided Owens with what he would later call his “biggest disappointment”.  According to a 1970 Wichita Eagle article, Owens used to stay after KU practices, making imaginary shots from the same spot as White’s attempt:  “I’ve made that pivot of JoJo’s hundreds of times … but I’m still not sure that his heel was actually touching the line.  To the referee’s credit, he called the play before the ball ever went through the basket.  I still feel that if we had beaten Texas Western, we would have won the NCAA title.”  His sentiments were matched by Miner’s coach Don Haskins, who said: “Kansas was the best team we faced, by far.  If we hadn’t beaten Kansas, they could have won the national championship.”

All-American Wesley ended the year as the team’s leading scorer and rebounder with 20.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg.  Three other players scored in double figures, Lopes (12.4), White (11.3), and Lewis (10.9).  Lopes also was second in rebounds (7.7 rpg).  

CONTROVERSIAL PLAY ENDS 1966 SEASON

JoJo Joins the Jayhawk Mob onSnob Hill, Jan. 31, 1966

CRIMSON & BLUE HANDBOOK ARTICLE

Glory Overroad, JOE POSNANSKI   Sun, Jan 22, 2006

Glory Road Review, Ken Johnson, 2/06

Jayhawks of 1966 good, too, Bill Mayer, 4/18/2008