Camila Sosa
The University of Kansas is the fifth largest producer of professional players in the United States. Second to Kentucky, UCLA, North Carolina and Duke, the Jayhawks have seen more than 70 names who have worn their uniform go on to become professionals and several of them NBA stars. Taking advantage of the fact that Kansas is still in the fight for the NCAA 2022 national championship, here we list five of its stars that dazzled and still dazzle in the best basketball in the world.
5.- Clyde Lovellette
During his time at Kansas, Lovellette was a true machine and in the 1952 season he was the top scorer in the NCAA and was selected as MVP. That performance earned him a pick by the Minneapolis Lakers, in the 1952 Draft, as the 10th overall pick and where he would begin his journey to becoming one of his college’s NBA all-stars.
Lovellette ended up playing 11 seasons in the NBA in which he played in four All-Star Games, made the All-NBA team for the 1955-56 campaign and culminated his career with three titles, being the only player in history so far to win a title with the Lakers (1) and the Celtics (2). In 1988 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
4.- Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid‘s career has been so grand and so interesting that the Cameroon native belongs to this list as one of the NBA’s stars.
The current Philadelphia 76ers center did not start playing basketball until he was 15 years old. When he moved to the United States he was able to play only one year with Kansas due to various injuries, but that one performance alone earned him being named the 2014 Defensive Player of the Year and part of the Big 12 All-Star Second Team.
Embiid took the great step that same year to the NBA as he was taken as the third overall pick by the 76ers, however, a right foot injury caused him to miss two seasons. It wasn’t until 2016 when he made his debut on the circuit and from then on he has been a true spectacle by winning the 2016-17 Rookie of the Year, playing in five All-Star Games, being on three All-NBA teams and three All-Defensive teams. At just 27 years of age, his future is more than promising.
3.- Jo Jo White
White had modest success with the Jayhawks, being selected in 1968 and 1969 as part of the NCAA All-American second team, as well as being part of the U.S. team that won the Gold medal at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
The point guard was selected by the Boston Celtics as the ninth overall pick in the 1969 Draft and he performed for the organization immediately by winning the 1969-70 Rookie of the Year award. Despite coming to a team in an unexpected restructuring, White was a fundamental part of the process that led them to win two NBA Finals in 1973-74 and 1975-76.
White ended up being the MVP of the latter and in 12 NBA seasons, 10 of them with Boston, he was selected to seven All-Star Games, two All-NBA teams and in 2015 was elected to the circuit’s Hall of Fame.
2.- Paul Pierce
Pierce came to the Jayhawks in the 1995 campaign as a young man who was destined for great things, and boy, so he was! During his collegiate days, Pierce was named Big 12 MVP on a couple of occasions, made first team All-American in 1998 and was responsible for the Kansas program raising its recognition in the NCCA.
The shooting guard was selected as the 10th overall pick in the 1998 Draft by the Boston Celtics, the team with which he played 15 of his 19 NBA seasons and achieved glory on the circuit.
Pierce won the Rookie of the Year award in the 1998-99 season, was selected 10 times to the All-Star Game, was on the All-NBA team four times and in 2007-08 won his only NBA title with Boston being the MVP of that final. In 2021 he was elected to the Hall of Fame and this year he was selected as one of the best 75 players in history for the NBA’s 75th anniversary.
1.- Wilt Chamberlain
After being offered jewelry, films, salaries and much more after leaving high school, Chamberlain finally chose Kansas following his meeting with Kansas coach Phog Allen. A year later Allen would retire, but Wilt still finished his college career as a two-time first-team All-American and MVP of the 1957 NCAA championship.
With his 216 centimeters of height, Chamberlain revolutionized college basketball and in 1959, after having to play one year with the Harlem Globetrotters for leaving Kansas early, he was taken in the draft by the Philadelphia Warriors. That same season he averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game to lead the league and win Rookie of the Year.
Because the center’s dominance in the court was so superior, after he averaged 50.4 points per game in his third season, the NBA decided to increase the three-second zone from 10 to 15 feet, a measure that helps reduce Wilt’s abuse somehow, but not as much as they had hoped.
Chamberlain ended up playing 14 seasons in the NBA, being called to the All-Star Game in 13 of them. On 11 occasions he was the league’s best rebounder, he was seven-time scoring champion, he was on the All-Pro team ten times, he was on the All-Defensive team twice, and he was named MVP four times.
In addition, he won two championship rings: one with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1966-67 and one with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971-72, where he was selected as the MVP of the series. In 1979 he was elected to the Hall of Fame and that year he was considered one of the best 75 players in the history of the NBA’s 75th anniversary.
