Being a Kansas men's basketball coach means you’re in rare company with some of the greatest who have ever coached the game. From James Naismith to Bill Self, there has been no shortage of leaders at Kansas who have made their mark on college basketball.
Ted Owens is one of those eight coaches whose legacy at Kansas has now been enshrined forever in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
On Thursday, Owens was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame alongside Jay Wright, Tubby Smith, Glen Rice, Danny Ainge, and Walt Hazzard (posthumously). The ceremony took place at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City, Missouri.
Owens coached at Kansas for 19 seasons from 1964 to 1983, amassing a record of 348-182 (657). In that time, he took the Jayhawks to two Final Fours, won six Big Eight titles, and coached some of the greatest players in KU basketball history – including Jo Jo White, Walt Wesley, Darnell Valentine, Bud Stallworth, and Dave Robisch.
“When I was growing up on a farm in southwest Oklahoma, on a cotton farm, I had time when hoeing cotton or pulling cotton to have a lot of dreams,” Owens recalled. “My dreams were never great enough to imagine that I’d have the chance to play at the University of Oklahoma and coach at the saint Andrews of college basketball at the University of Kansas. It’s incredible.”
Owens went on to thank the people in his life, namely his friends and family, who helped get him to where he is today.
“One thing I’ve learned in 97 years is that no matter how hard you work and prepare, you don’t experience success without the help and support of others. So, while they honor me tonight, they also honor some special people.”
Owens is now one of 15 former Jayhawks in the College Basketball Hall of Fame. The others honored include Wilt Chamberlain, Phog Allen, Dutch Lonborg, Larry Brown, Roy Williams, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Ralph Miller, John McLendon, William Johnson, Paul Pierce, Danny Manning, Paul Endacott, and Clyde Lovellette.
A replay of the induction ceremony can be found on the National Association of Basketball Coaches YouTube page with Owens’ portion beginning at approximately the 1:02:30 mark.
Ted Owens, the Storyteller
Earlier in the day during the induction celebration that happened a few hours prior to the official ceremony, members of the media had the opportunity to talk to the inductees.
A small crowd quickly formed around Owens who had no shortage of stories to tell about his playing and coaching days. And even at 97 years old, he still remembers the call he received to come coach at the University of Kansas.
“I was playing baseball with my Cameron (Junior College) team,” Owens said. “My old friend Monte Moore, from Hollis – from my hometown – who was the telecaster for Kansas City (Athletics) and then Oakland (Athletics). He was at Kansas at the time, and he called me during a game. He said, ‘Jerry Waugh, the assistant coach, has resigned, and I’ve recommended you for the assistantship.’ And they (KU) said ‘We’ll interview you the day after tomorrow before we interview anybody else.” If we win the game, I can’t get the guys back to Lawton (Oklahoma) and get there (Lawrence). We were up 12-0 and I did the worst job of coaching from then on and we lost 13-12. I loaded the guys up, took them back to Lawton, and headed up to Kansas and got the job.”
Owens was also able to recall the infamous Kansas-Texas Western game in which Jayhawk legend Jo Jo White’s game-winning shot was called off by stepping out of bounds.
“Jo Jo hit the basket to win the game for us,” said Owens. “Back then it was filmed, so you didn’t have the video replay. So, we don’t think Jo Jo stepped out of bounds… I said when Jo Jo died that he’s going to find out because God will surely get it right.”
Owens also had kind words for White’s teammate Walt Wesley, who passed away in March 2024.
“Walt Wesley was my first All-American at Kansas,” Owens said. “Incredible person. Sweetest spirit I’ve ever known. I love Walt.”
You could see the sincerity in Owens’ eyes and hear it in his voice through his stories how much he appreciates being a Jayhawk and all the players he coached over the years.
Well, the storyteller now has a new chapter in his own book – one titled, “College Basketball Hall of Famer.”
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