KU Should Retire the Numbers of These Kansas Basketball Greats: Part 4

Welcome to part four of a four-part series, during which we take a look back at some of the all-time Kansas basketball greats, and why a few select members should have their numbers retired as a way to further honor their legacies at Kansas forever.

In part three, we shared why Kansas men’s basketball legend Danny Manning should have his No. 25 retired as he has firmly cemented his place among the top three KU players to ever step foot in Allen Fieldhouse.

There is one former Kansas great who never got the chance to play in Allen Fieldhouse, but left his mark on Lawrence and the Kansas basketball program for years to come.

No. 16 – Clyde Lovellette

Before there was Wilt Chamberlain, Lynette Woodard, or Danny Manning, there was a Kansas basketball star by the name of Clyde Lovellette whose name often gets lost in the conversation of the all-time greats at KU.

Lovellette played at Kansas from 1949 to 1952 under legendary head coach Phog Allen, helping capture the school’s first NCAA championship in 1952 with an 80-63 win over St. John’s – which would end up being the one and only official NCAA title for Allen in his KU coaching career. (Kansas was awarded the 1922 and 1923 Helms Athletic Foundation national championships retroactively in 1943.)

In the 1952 championship game, Lovellette scored a game-high 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. He was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player for his efforts, and his 33 points stood as the most scored in an NCAA championship game for 13 years, until UCLA’s Gail Goodrich broke the record with 42 points scored in the 1965 national championship. However, the 33 points scored by Lovellette remain top 10 all time for an NCAA championship game.

Lovellete also set a record for most points scored in a single NCAA Tournament at the time with 141 points through four games – good for an incredible average of nearly 35.3 points per game.

The 1952 season as a whole for Lovellete was one of the greatest individual performances in the history of Kansas basketball and is a big reason why he now has a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In addition to becoming a national champion, Lovellette was named Helms Foundation Player of the Year, earned his third consecutive First Team All-Big Seven honor, was recognized by the Associated Press as a consensus First Team All-American for the second year in a row, and led college basketball in scoring with 28.4 points per game.

To this day, Lovellete remains the only player in NCAA history to lead the country in scoring and win the NCAA championship in the same season.

What may be even more impressive is how Lovellette currently ranks No. 4 among Kansas basketball’s all-time scoring leaders with 1,979 points despite playing in only 80 games and without a three-point line. Of the top five all-time KU scorers, all but Lovellette played in 131 games or more, and each of the four others had the three-point line available to them.

Lovellette’s 1952 season and his entire career at Kansas remains one of the most special in Kansas basketball history, and his No. 16 deserves to be retired to preserve that incredible legacy he left in Lawrence.

MORE: KU Should Retire the Numbers of These Kansas Basketball Icons: Part 1
MORE: KU Should Retire the Numbers of These Kansas Basketball Icons: Part 2
MORE: KU Should Retire the Numbers of These Kansas Basketball Icons: Part 3