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

Welcome to part two 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.

Last week, we shared why Kansas men’s basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain should have his No. 13 retired. That was an easy call – not only is he arguably the most iconic basketball player in Kansas basketball history, he’s also one of the most iconic basketball players of all time.

But his KU women’s counterpart who followed years later was equally iconic, and she deserves the same recognition.

No. 31 – Lynette Woodard

The Kansas women’s basketball program was changed forever the day Wichita-native Lynette Woodard decided to commit to KU and play for legendary Kansas coach Marian Washington.

Woodard was a four-year starter at KU from 1977 to 1981 who led the Jayhawks to a 108-32 record and three Big Eight regular season championships (1979-81). She also helped lead the Jayhawks to a Big Eight Tournament title during her senior year in 1981 where she also won her third consecutive Big Eight Tournament Most Valuable Player award.

Standing at 6 feet tall, Woodard averaged 26.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.8 steals, and 3.1 steals per game during her four seasons in Lawrence. For her performance, she was named a four-time Kodak All-American and brought home the Wade Trophy in 1981 – the oldest and most prestigious award given to the best player in women’s college basketball each year.

To this day, Woodard remains KU’s all-time leading scorer in both men’s and women’s basketball with 3,649 points. That record stood as the most in college basketball history until former Iowa Hawkeye Caitlin Clark broke the record in 2024, though Woodard scored all her points before the three-point line was added.

"I just think this is a fantastic opportunity to remind people of what Lynette Woodard did, because she was awesome too." 🗣️#RockChalk x @notthefakeSVP pic.twitter.com/kgZMnBmQ1h
— Kansas Women's Basketball (@KUWBball) February 26, 2024

Woodard also holds Kansas school records for the most made field goals (1,752) and steals (552) among both men’s and women’s basketball.

Her No. 31 jersey was retired the same year she graduated in 1981, and she was the first women’s basketball player to have the honor at Kansas. She later became the first woman to join the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Woodard is also known for being the first woman to join the Harlem Globetrotter’s, where she played for two seasons in 1985 and 1986 after winning an Olympic Gold Medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics as part of the United States’ women’s basketball team – the first-ever for the U.S. women’s team.

She was later inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.

Woodard was a once-in-a-generational player, and she (perhaps above all other Kansas basketball players) deserves to have her No. 31 retired for the rest of time.

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