Kansas Basketball Legend Expected to Return to Lawrence for BYU Matchup

The No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks (15-5, 5-2) welcome in the No. 13 BYU Cougars (17-3, 5-2) on Saturday afternoon for one of the most anticipated games of the season in college basketball.

It’s a star-studded matchup between two all-world freshmen in KU’s Darryn Peterson and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa – both of whom have a chance to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft this summer.

The game also has big consequences for the Big 12 title race as the Jayhawks currently sit tied for fourth in the conference with BYU and Iowa State (18-2, 5-2).

Sitting courtside in Allen Fieldhouse to see the big game this weekend is one former Jayhawk who’s considered one of the most talented and beloved players in Kansas basketball history.

On an episode of the KG Certified podcast (1:00:50 mark) with former Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets teammate Kevin Garnett, former KU wing and Naismith Hall of Famer Paul Pierce shared that he plans to be in attendance for the game.

Pierce said it will be his first time back to Lawrence in “over 10 years.”

The last time Pierce was known to be in town was in 2014 where he and other former KU basketball players participated in the first ever “Legends of the Phog” scrimmage in front of thousands of Jayhawk fans as part of the 60th anniversary celebration of Allen Fieldhouse.

He and former KU guard Mario Chalmers were battling back and forth before Chalmers ironically hit the game-tying three to make the final score 111-111.

Pierce as a Jayhawk

Pierce was recruited to Kansas by former head coach Roy Williams. Coming out of high school in Inglewood, California, Pierce was considered to be the top prospect on the West Coast and one of the top prospects in the country with offers from UCLA, North Carolina, and others.

He was named the California Gatorade Player of the Year in 1995 and was chosen to play in the McDonald’s All-American game that same year where he scored a game-high 28 points alongside some future NBA pros in Garnett, Vince Carter, Stephon Marbury, and future Kansas teammate Ryan Robertson.

Most assumed Pierce would stay close to home but ended up choosing Kansas after falling in love with Allen Fieldhouse during a visit.

Pierce quickly acclimated to the college game and became one of the best freshmen in the country during the 1995-96 season when he averaged 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 42% from the field. He shared Big 8 Freshman of the Year honors with Colorado’s Chauncey Billups following the Big 8 regular season.

Pierce took a big leap as a sophomore (1996-97), averaging 16.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while helping lead the Jayhawks to a 15-1 record in Big 12 play. He averaged nearly 49% shooting from the field and 47% from 3-point range. He also won the first ever Big 12 Tournament MVP award in March 1997 when the Jayhawks beat Missouri to win the league’s first Big 12 Tournament Championship.

The 1996-97 team is regarded as one of the best in KU and college basketball history despite losing to Arizona in the Sweet 16 that spring. In fact, Williams recently called that squad “the best team I ever coached.”

Pierce’s best year came as a junior in 1997-98 when he upped his scoring average to 20.4 points per game on 51% shooting from the field and 34% from 3-point range. In the spring of 1998, he took home just about every honor you could as he was named First Team All-Big 12, Big 12 Tournament MVP, and a consensus First Team All-American.

He finished his Kansas career with 1,768 points which currently ranks 10th all time in the KU history books. His No. 34 jersey was retired on Jan. 25, 2003, during halftime of the Jayhawks’ game versus Arizona.