THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2006 4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS WWW.MYSPACE.COM/JACKPOTUSCHALL THE.THEAKPOTSALOON.COM 943 MASS LAWRENCE KS 785.832.1085 Stallworth CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B The herniated disc in his back caused by the accident continues to plague him, but the 56-year-old Stallworth, still a competitor, continues to stay active. Stallworth, one of only three Kansas players to earn All-America honors for academics and athletics, returned to the University in 1987 and currently oversees budgets for multimillion dollar projects for Design and Construction Management. Over the last decade-and-a-half, the proud parent of five has found a new calling — charity. I thought I was going to be the next Louis Armstrong" Stallworth grew up in Hartselle, Ala., just a jump shot away from the Arkansas border. He attended Morgan County Training Center, an all-black school for grades one through twelve. The school allowed children of cotton farmers to leave school and return once cotton picking season was over. Stallworth, who began playing with the varsity team in seventh grade, said he often competed against older students who were in their 20s. But in the Stullworth household, education and the arts held precedent over athletics. His parents agreed to let him play basketball as long as he kept an 'A' average and learned to play the trumpet. Stallworth would become a firstchair performer in jazz, concert and marching band, and wowed audiences at local talent shows. "I thought I was going to be the next Louis Armstrong," Stallworth said. At the age of 16, his musical talent earned him a scholarship to attend the University of Kansas Midwestern Music & Art Camp, led by Tonight Show band leader Doc Severinsen. His parents encouraged the aspiring musician to attend the camp to hone his gifted musical skills. Little did they know band camp would provide an open lane to a slam-dunk basketball career. TOP SEASON SCORING AVERAGES Bad Stallworth holds the fifth-highest scoring average in KU basketball history. Stallworth is the only player in the top 10 who wasn't a centron Year Player Position Height Avg 1958 Wilk Chamberlain Center 7'0 30.1 1957 Wilk Chamberlain Center 7'0 29.6 1962 Dylie Lovellatte Center 6'9 28.0 1970 Dave Robisch Center 6'10 26.5 1972 Bad Stallworth Forward 6'5 25.3 1988 Danny Manning Center 6'11 24.8 1987 Danny Manning Center 6'11 23.9 1965 Waltar Wesley Center 6'11 23.5 1951 Clyde Lovellatte Center 6'9 22.8 1950 Clyde Lovellatte Center 6'9 21.8 Source: Kansas Athletics *Wayne Hightower also averaged 21.8 in 1960 MOST POINTS IN A SINGLE GAME Stallwort's 50 points came on the last home game of the season in 1972. His total came without the benefit of the three-point line. 1. Wilt Chamberlain Dec., 3, 1958 Northwestern 52 points 2. Bud Stalfworth Feb., 26, 1972 Missouri 50 points 3. John Douglas Feb., 16, 1977 Iowa State 46 points Wilt Chamberlain Feb., 8, 1958 Nebraska 46 points 4. Wilt Chamberlain Dec., 30, 1958 Colorado 45 points Source: Kansas Athletics Coach, "you've got to see this guy" During lunch breaks at band camp, Stallworth would put down his trumpet and put on his Converse Chuck Taylor's to play basketball at nearby Robinson Gymnasium, where players from the 1966 team were playing pick-up games. Sixteen-years-old, 6-foot-5 and skinny as a pole, Stallworth held his own against the likes of Jo-Jo White, Rich Bradshaw and Vernon Vanoy. White said that after witnessing Stallworth's drive to compete, he knew that the young basketball player "had a chance to become something special." He was so impressed with the young Stallworth he went straight into coach Ted Owens' office and emphatically told his coach, "You've got to see this guy." Stallworth said he chose Kansas over local schools Alabama and Auburn, that were recruiting him to break the color barrier, because of its basketball tradition. The cardiac kids Because student athletes were not allowed to participate in varsity athletics as freshman, Stallworth did not see varsity action until 1970. He wasted no time asserting himself as a dominant player by scoring 27 points in the season opener against Marshall. Coach Owens said that Stallworth was an amazing athlete who could "jump out of the gym." Owens said his combination of size and quickness made Stallworth the "prototype of today's NBA guard." Stallworth would play a key role on the 1971 team, the only team in Kansas history to go unbeaten in conference play and win its conference tournament Stallworth said his team earned the nickname "the cardiac kids" after a bomb scare in its home opener against Long Beach State. The nickname stuck after the team won 6 games, its last four regular season games and first two NCAA tournament games, by a combined total of only 13 points. The Jayhawks advanced to the Final Four in Houston, setting up showdown with the UCLA Bruins. Bud's bunch found themselves down by 13 with less than five minutes to go against the talented Bruins. The team began to use a full-court, man-to-man press and the cardiac kids began their charge to resuscitate their national championship dreams. Center Dave Robisch put Kansas ahead by two late in the game, but a controversial traveling call negated the basket. UCLA went on to win the game and its fifth consecutive NCAA championship. Stallworth said he would never forget what UCLA coach John Wooden told him. After the game Wooden walked up to Stallworth, who was receiving treatment for an injury, and remarked, "It's a nice day, isn't it Bud." When Bud replied that it was, Wooden scoffed, "But it could have been nicer." Shooting past the records Fueled by Coach Wooden's comments, Stallworth was poised to return to the Final Four his senior year in 1972. Stallworth averaged 25.3 points per game his senior year, the most ever by a KU player who did not play the center position. Stallworth went on to lead the Big 8 Conference in scoring, averaging 27.9 points per game in conference play. He still holds the record for most points scored in conference play in a season with 381. Bob Frederick, the team's assistant coach and future Athletics Director, remembers Stallworth as a "picture perfect" jump shooter who had the ability to pull up from anywhere on the court. The 1972 team was plagued with injuries and ended the year with a disappointing record, but its last home game was a showdown with archrival Missouri. SEE STALLWORTH ON PAGE 5P MISS. 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