1956-57
OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL CONFERENCE PLACE CONF. TOURNEY POST-SEASON
24-3 10-0 8-2 6-1 11-1 1st NONE 3-1 NCAA RUNNER-UP

ROSTER:

NO. POS. NAME CLASS HGT. WGT. Hometown (Previous School)
    RETURNEES:        
27 G John Cleland * Jr. 6'3 170 Topeka, KS
21 G Eddie Dater * Sr. 6'3 195

Garden City, KS/Garden City Juco

12 F Gene Elstun ** Cpt. Sr. 6'3 175 Shawnee-Mission, KS (Shawnee Mission Rural HS)
29 F Lee Green ** Sr. 6'5 190 Kansas City, KS  (Argentine HS)
24 G Blaine Hollinger ** Sr. 5'10 159 Russell, KS
31 F Harry Jett * Sr. 6'3 166 Kansas City, KS  (Wyandotte, KS)
25 C/F Lew Johnson ** Sr. 6'6 198 Kansas City, KS  (Argentine HS)
18 F Ronald Johnston ** Sr. 6'1 180 Sea Cliff, L.I., NY
8 F Maurice King ** Sr. 6'1 190 Kansas City, MO  (R.T. Coles HS)
22 G John Parker ** Cpt. Sr. 6'0 173 Mission, KS (Shawnee Mission North HS)
    NEW FACES:        
32 G Bob Billings So. 6'0 173 Russell, KS
13 C Wilt Chamberlain So. 7'0 214 Philadelphia, PA (Overbrook HS)
7 G Joe Ensley % So. 6'1 167

 Joplin, MO

35 F Monte Johnson So. 6'5 168 Kansas City, KS
4 G Larry Kelley % So. 5'11 155 McCune, KS
34 G Lynn Kindred So. 6'2 156

Emporia, KS

33 F Ron Loneski So. 6'5 210 Calumet City, IL and Hammond, IN (Hammond HS)
42 F Gary Thompson Jr. 6'4 207 Wellington, KS
    REDSHIRT:        
55 C Gary Mowry Jr. 6'7 174 St. Joseph, MO

          * Varsity letter     Cpt. = Captain    # = Walk-on     % = Nonletterman

COACHES:

 

 

LOSSES FROM LAST YEAR ('56 stats):

PLAYER LOSSES Class Hgt. POS. G/GS PTS PPG RBS RPG PPts STATUS
Mark Boxberger So. 6'1 F 1/ 0 0.0 1 1.0   Transferred to Southern Methodist University
Bill Brainard Sr. 6'3 F 20/ 110 5.5 63 3.2   Graduated
Dallas Dobbs Sr. 5'11 G 15/ 250 16.0 47 3.1   Graduated
Bob Lockley So. 6'2 F 8/ 9 1.1 11 1.4    
Gary Mowry So. 6'7 C 3/ 2 0.7 1 0.3    
Jim Toft Jr. 6'6 C 6/ 4 0.6 6 1.0    
TOTALS       23 375 16.3 129 5.6    

 

PRESEASON OUTLOOK:
 

 

 

 

 

SEASON SUMMARY:
Wilt the Stilt (who preferred the nickname Big Dipper) caused a big stir at KU before he ever suited up for the varsity.  Jayhawk fans couldn’t wait to see their 7-foot center in action.  He did not disappoint.  In Chamberlain’s first varsity game, and 87-69 drubbing of Northwestern in Lawrence, he scored 52 points and grabbed 31 rebounds – both new school records – in front of 15,000 fans.  He hit 20 of 29 field goals, mostly on dunk shots, and could have scored even more if he’d bettered his 12-of-20 mark from the free-throw line.  The 52 points still stand as a KU single-game record, although Chamberlain broke the rebound mark when he collected 36 against Iowa State in 1958.  Phog Allen, who had recruited Chamberlain, was not in the stands to see Wilt’s varsity debut, having traveled out of town for one of his many speaking engagements.

But the other KU fans on hand saw just what they expected from Chamberlain, and according to the March 1957 Alumni magazine, “Many expected the team to go through its season undefeated.”  Not quite.

After 12 straight wins, the Jayhawks fell 39-37 to Iowa State, a last-second defeat at Ames.  In its next game, KU beat ISU 75-64 in Lawrence in a game much more suited to the Jayhawks’ tempo. After four more wins, KU lost 56-54 to Oklahoma State, again on a last-second shot.  Henry Iba’s Aggies taught the Jayhawks “the danger of a pressure defense by a fine team,” according to the Alumni Magazine.  But the Jayhawks were developing into a championship-caliber team.  Four veterans had begun the year in the starting lineup with Wilt: Gene Elstun, Lew Johnson, Maurice King and John Parker.  At the semester break, Ron Loneski moved into Johnson’s place as a starter.  Loneski had broken a bone in his foot in the first game of the season and had missed more than a month of the season.  The Jayhawks also switched at mid-year from man-to-man to zone defense, in order to take advantage of KU’s size for rebounding, Harp said.

After closing out the conference season with four more victories to finish 11-1 and clinch the Big Seven title, KU headed to the NCAA regional in Dallas.  The Jayhawks’ first-round opponent was Southern Methodist, the host school.  SMU had won 35 straight games at home and played tough against the Jayhawks, but KU won 73-65 in overtime.  The Jayhawks met Oklahoma City in the regional final and rolled to an 81-61 victory.  At the Final Four in Kansas City, KU made quick work of San Francisco, winning 80-56 to set up the championship game against No. 1-ranked North Carolina. 

On March 23, 1957, KU and North Carolina met in one of the most thrilling championship games in NCAA history.  The Jayhawks trailed 29-22 at the half, but they battled back to force the game into overtime – the first of three extra periods.  With six seconds remaining in the third OT, the Tar Heels, coached by Frank McGuire, led the Jayhawks 54-53.  KU had the ball out of bounds at half court, and everyone knew what was coming:  Wilt was going to get the ball.  Johnny Parker threw the ball in to Ron Loneski, who dribbled a couple of times before throwing a soft pass high to Chamberlain.  But North Carolina center Joe Quigg jumped in front of Chamberlain and deflected the ball to teammate Tommy Kearns, who heaved the ball high into the rafters as the buzzer sounded.

Chamberlain and the Jayhawks finished the season 24-3, with a second-place trophy to show for it.  “The best team won,” Harp said afterward. “they deserved to win it.  They had the determination to win.”  And before the mob of press surged into the locker room, the Topeka Capitol-Journal reported, Harp said, “this is the happiest year of my life, even though it says second place on the trophy.”  But Wilt didn’t view it so positively, and in his autobiography he later wrote about the game:  “I’ve always been more bitter about that loss than almost any other single game in my whole college and professional career.”

The demands on the 1956-57 team went beyond basketball, according to the Alumni magazine.   Blaine Hollinger was one of KU’s Rhodes Scholar candidates.  He flew with the team to Seattle for its western swing early in the season, flew back to Des Moines, Iowa, for Rhodes Scholar interviews and then rejoined the team in California.  Two months later, he helped KU’s track team to a Big Seven indoor title by winning the broad jump before flying to Boulder to join the basketball team in its game against Colorado.

Chamberlain also had a harried schedule,  He averaged two interview sessions a week with national media and appeared on TV’s “the Ed Sullivan Show.”  In order to appear with the Associated Press All-America team, he rushed to Kansas City after scoring 40 points in KU’s final conference game, flew to New York and then flew back in time for classes Monday.  He repeated the trip after the NCAA championship game to make an appearance with the Look All-America team.

Harp and Chamberlain agreed early in the 1956-57 season that they would not leave the 7-footer in a game just to run up his scoring average when an opponent was obviously defeated.  According to the March 1957 Alumni Magazine, the rule of thumb was that Wilt could stay in the game as long as KU was fewer than 20 points ahead.  There were two exceptions, both against Colorado:  in the conference preseason tournament, when the players asked that Wilt be allowed to break the tournament scoring record; and in the final conference game of the season, when Wilt was left in to give all the players a chance to play with him.  Chamberlain finished third in the national scoring race, missing first by a little more than one point a game.

On May 6, 1957, Allen was quoted in a wire story as saying that Wilt would “definitely” turn pro and not return for his junior season:  “Why, Wilt made more than $100,000 for the University of Kansas last year.  He thinks it is time he made a little for himself.”  The same day, Chamberlain said he found the comments interesting:  “It would appear that Phog knows more about my business than I do.”  All Chamberlain would say was, “Nobody knows what may happen between now and September.”

Source:  The Crimson & Blue Handbook, pages 52-56.

1957 You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT2_FnTXMQo&feature=related

HIGHLIGHTS:

In my estimation, the 1956-57 team was the second best all-time KU squad, right after the ’52 national champions.  Sophomore Wilt Chamberlain led the Jayhawks all the way to the NCAA championship game against North Carolina.  The two teams were ranked 1 and 2 going into the final, which has been reported to be the best NCAA final game ever.

With 800 points (a 29.6 average) and 510 rebounds for the season, Wilt was the dominant player of his time.  He was a unanimous All-conference and All-American choice.

Supporting Wilt were senior guards Maurice King (who was later drafted by the Boston Celtics) and John Parker.  Forwards were 6’3 senior Gene Elstun and 6’4 sophomore Ron Loneski.  Lew Johnson, who started at center the previous year, and Bob Billings, a sophomore guard, also contributed heavily.  Senior Ron Johnston, a 6’1 F/G, also strong before being declared scholastically ineligible, was sorely missed down the stretch.  Sophomore Monte Johnson, who was later to become KU’s Athletic Director, played in 11 games.

Kansas had only two losses heading into the NCAA Tournament.  The first was a 37-39 stall by Gary Thompson-led Iowa State in Ames.  Later, the Hawks dropped a non-conference game 54-56, to Oklahoma State at Stillwater, in another slow-down match.

In the Championship game, North Carolina held a 29-22 leas at the half, but Kansas came out strong and quickly built a 5 point lead.  The Tarheels then started a stall (there was no shot clock then) and managed to tie the game 46-46 at the end of regulation.  All-American Lenny Rosenbluth fouled out with 1:45 to go, after scoring 20 points.  In the first overtime, both teams only scored one basket each and KU missed a last shot.  Both teams played for the unmissable basket in the second overtime, but neither scored.  In the final OT, KU went in front 53-52 with 31 seconds to go.  However, with six seconds left, Carolina center Joe Quigg was fouled, and he made both free throws.

In retrospect, its really unfortunate that Chamberlain played in an era before the shot clock and the three-point shot.  Without those factors, teams could collapse on him and stall until they had a layup.  It made for boring basketball, and prevented him from showing how good that he could really be.  In spite of that, however, he was the greatest I ever saw.

Source:  Ken Johnson’s KU Basketball Report, Vol. 91/91, No. 4

Sporting News video -1957 season: http://www.sportingnews.com/media/video/index_CB.php?videoPath=s_cbk_einhornunckansas_080404&array=1#s_cbk_einhornunckansas_080404

1957  FINAL TEAM STATISTICS (Team highs in bold):

CATEGORY

KU

OPP

DIFF

Chamberlain,
Wilt
Elstun,
Gene
King,
Maurice
Loneski, Ron Parker, John Johnson, Lew

Games Played/Started

 27 27   27 26 27 17 27 26

Points

1,945 1,583   800 293 263 163 148 77

    Per Game

72.0 58.6   29.6 11.3 9.7 9.6 5.5 3.0

Rebounds

1,299 949   510 189 122 115 53 101

    Per Game

48.1 35.1   18.9 7.3 4.5 6.8 2.0 3.9

FG -Attempts

1,720 1,688   588 259 278 155 132 102

       Made

695 586   275 110 101 51 60 31

       Percent

40.4 34.7   46.8 42.5 36.3 32.9 45.5 30.4

FT-Attempts

853 648   399 112 88 87 39 29

     Made

555 411   250 73 61 61 28 15

     Percent

65.1 63.4   62.7 65.2 69.3 70.1 71.8 51.7

Production Points/Game

                 
Production Points/Minute                  

Statistics, Cont'd

CATEGORY Johnston, Ron Billings, Bob Dater, Eddie Hollinger, Blaine Cleland, Cleland Johnson, Monte Jett,
Harry
Green, Lee
Games Played/ Started 12 22 15 18 6 11 8 10
Points 51 48 24 21 12 12 10 10
   Per Game 4.3 2.2 1.6 1.2 2.0 1.1 1.3 1.0
Rebounds 41 19 10 14 4 16 4 14
   Per Game 3.4 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.7 1.5 0.5 1.4
FG - Attempts 50 34 29 26 5 19 10 12
         Made 17 10 11 8 4 4 3 5
         Percent 34.0 29.4 37.9 30.8 80.0 21.1 30.0 41.7
FT - Attempts 25 35 2 12 5 5 4 2
        Made 17 28 2 5 4 4 4 0
        Percent 68.0 80.0 100.0 41.7 80.0 80.0 100.0 0.0
Production Points/Game                
Production Points/Minute                

CATEGORY Thompson, Gary Kindred, Lynn Kelley, Larry Ensley, Joe Team
Games Played/ Started 7 16 1 1  
Points 7 4 2 0  
   Per Game 1.0 0.3 2.0 0.0  
Rebounds 10 14 2 2 59
   Per Game 1.4 0.9 2.0 2.0 2.2
FG - Attempts 5 14 2 0  
         Made 3 1 1 0  
         Percent 60.0 7.1 50.0 0.0  
FT - Attempts 4 5 0 0  
        Made 1 2 0 0  
        Percent 25.0 40.0 0.0 0.0  
Production Points/Game          
Production Points/Minute          

Source:   KU Basketball Media Guide

GAME-BY-GAME

Northwestern W 87-69   Dec. 3 at Lawrence
Marquette W 78-61   Dec. 8 at Lawrence
Washington W 77-63   Dec. 14 at Seattle, Wash.
Washington W 92-78   Dec. 15 at Seattle, Wash.
California W 66-56   Dec. 18 at Berkeley, Calif.
Wisconsin W 83-62   Dec. 22 at Lawrence
Iowa State W 58-57   Dec. 26 at Kansas City, Mo.
Oklahoma W 74-56   Dec. 28 at Kansas City, Mo.
Colorado W 80-54   Dec. 29 at Kansas City, Mo.
Missouri W 92-79   Jan. 5 at Lawrence
Oklahoma W 59-51   Jan. 7 at Norman, Okla.
Kansas State W 51-45   Jan. 12 at Lawrence
Iowa State L 37-39   Jan. 14 at Ames, Iowa
Iowa State W 75-64   Feb. 2 at Lawrence
Nebraska W 69-54   Feb. 9 at Lincoln, Neb.
Oklahoma State W 62-52   Feb. 12 at Lawrence
Missouri W 91-58   Feb. 16 at Columbia, Mo.
Oklahoma W 76-56   Feb. 18 at Lawrence
Oklahoma State L 54-56   Feb. 21 at Stillwater, Okla.
Nebraska W 87-60   Feb. 23 at Lawrence
Colorado W 68-57   Mar. 2 at Boulder, Colo.
Kansas State W 64-57   Mar. 6 at Manhattan, Kan.
Colorado W 78-63   Mar. 9 at Lawrence
NCAA Tournament

 

 

SMU W 73-65 * Mar. 15 at Dallas, Texas
(NCAA Regional)
Oklahoma City W 81-61   Mar. 16 at Dallas, Texas
(NCAA Regional Finals)
San Francisco W 80-56   Mar. 22 at Kansas City, Mo.
(NCAA Semifinals)
North Carolina L 53-54 *** Mar. 23 at Kansas City, Mo.
(NCAA Finals)
 

LINK TO 1957 NATIONAL STATISTICS

Link to Big  Conference for

FINAL FOUR STORY, KU Rips Dons, 80-56, by Dick Snider

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STORY, by Dick Snider

1957 RECAP, Topeka Capitol-Journal

1957 TITLE GAME, by Joe Gergan

A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR SPORTS, by Blair Kerkoff

KU IN DREAM CLASH WITH TARHEEL QUINT, by Earl Morey

ACROSS REGION, JAYHAWK FAITHFUL MADE HOOPS HOT TOPIC, by Bill Mayer

BILL MAYER'S SPORTS TALK, by Bill Mayer

CAROLINA'S LITTLE GUYS PREVAILED, by Bill Mayer

CELEBRATIONS PLANNED FOR WEE HOURS, by Bill Mayer

FAN MEMORIES OF '57, by Ryan Greene

JAYHAWKS DEVASTATED BY SETBACK, by Bill Mayer

STILL SMARTING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, by Tom Keegan

TWO INCIDENTS PROVED INTENSITY, by Bill Mayer

Ghosts of '57 banished, by Bill Mayer

The 1956-57 team was one of the best squads KU ever fielded.  Sophomore Wilt Chamberlain led the Jayhawks all the way to the NCAA Championship game against North Carolina, in what even today is regarded as one of the most fascinating, thrilling and memorable of all time.

Coach Phog Allen had won a nationwide recruiting battle for Chamberlain, but was forced to retire because of the mandatory retirement age of 70, and was replaced by Dick Harp, his eight-year assistant who had been a co-captain of Kansas’ 1940 NCAA tourney finalist.

In his first varsity game, Wilt the Stilt scored 52 points and grabbed 31 rebounds, both new school records.  With 800 points, a 29.6 average, and 510 rebounds for the ’57 season, Wilt was THE dominant player of his time and a unanimous All-American. 

Supporting Wilt were senior guards Maurice King, who was later drafted by the Boston Celtics, and John Parker.  Forwards were 6’3 senior Gene Elstun and 6’4 sophomore Ron Loneski.  Lew Johnson, who started at center the previous year and Bob Billings, a sophomore guard, also contributed heavily.  Senior Ron Johnston, a 6’1 forward/guard was also a large factor before being declared scholastically ineligible, and was sorely missed down the stretch.  Sophomore Monte Johnson, who was later to become KU’s Athletic Director, played in 11 games.

Kansas had only two losses heading into the NCAAs.  After 12 straight wins, the Hawks first loss was a last-second 37-39 stall by Gary Thompson-led Iowa State in Ames.  After four more wins, the Hawks dropped a non-conference game, 54-56, to Oklahoma State at Stillwater, in another slow-down match (there was no shot clock back then).

After closing out the conference schedule 11-1, clinching the Big Seven crown and ranked No. 2 in the AP poll, KU headed to the NCAA regional in Dallas, where they met SMU, the host school, and rolled to an 81-61 victory.  Then the Jayhawks made quick work of San Francisco, 80-56, to set up the final game against No. 1 North Carolina.

 In the Championship game, Tar Heel coach Frank McGuire sent 5’11 Tommy Hearns out to jump center against the 7’1 Chamberlain.   It was a master psychological stroke that ridiculed the Jayhawks’ major asset and brought smiles to his players.

Taking advantage, Carolina held a 29-22 lead at the half, shooting 65% to Kansas’ 27%.  But KU came out strong the second half and quickly built a five point lead.  The Tarheels then started a stall and managed to tie the game 46-46 at the end of regulation.  All-American Lenny Rosenbluth fouled out with 1:45 to go, after scoring 20 points.  In the first overtime, both teams scored only one basket each and Kansas missed a last shot.  Both teams played for the unmissable basket in the second overtime, but neither scored.  In the final OT, KU went in front 53-52 with 31 seconds to go.  However, with six seconds left, Carolina center Joe Quigg was fouled, and he made both free throws.

After the game, Chamberlain slumped on a stool in the dressing room.  He had scored a game-high 23 points and accounted for half of his team’s rebounds.  “We lost.  That’s all”.  In his autobiography, Wilt said “I’ve always been more bitter about that loss than any other single game in my whole college and professional career”.

 In retrospect, it’s really unfortunate that Chamberlain played in an era before the shot clock and the three-point basket.  Without those factors, teams could collapse on him and stall until they had a layup.  It made for boring basketball, and prevented him from showing how good he could really be.

Dr. Ken Johnson

1957 NCAA Final Kansas vs North Carolina. Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMi-f6WexCk

 1957 NCAA Final Kansas vs North Carolina. Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo6fsyEH0tA&feature=related

1957 NCAA Final Kansas vs North Carolina: Wilt Chamberlain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPH05iwWm0U&feature=related

Wilt Chamberlain at Kansas University: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJkZEPEMI0A

900: K.U. Plays Oke City For Regional Trophy, March 17, 1957

K.U. in Dream Clash With Tar Heel Quint -3/23/57

N.C. Proves Ranking By Edging Jay Quint, March 25, 1957

Harp thinks his Jay Battlers Deserve Win as Final Reward, March 23, 1957