James Naismith, Phog Allen, Wilt Chamberlain, Bud Stallworth, Jo Jo White, Roy Williams...the list goes on and on like a Who's Who of college basketball. University of Kansas basketball. No program in the world has a richer tradition. For me, it all started back around 1974 when I went to Allen Fieldhouse (the legendary home of KU basketball since March 1, 1955) with my dad to watch my first college basketball game. It was against Notre Dame and Coach Digger Phelps, which at the time was a national powerhouse basketball program. Rick Suttle, Danny Knight, Tom Kivisto, Donnie Von Moore, Norm Cook...names I will always remember from that team. I actually played high school basketball with Danny Knight's younger brothers, Kelly and James, who both played Division I basketball...Kelly with KU from 1979-1983. We went to another game a couple of years later to see KU beat Colorado. On that team was one of my favorites, Roger Morningstar. Roger Morningstar's son, Brady, is now a starter for KU.
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At last, some 30 years later I walked into the hallowed halls of Allen Fieldhouse. I gotta tell ya...I got chills. I've always been a huge fan of KU and rarely miss a game on TV; but I've just never been back to a game there mostly due to the high price and availability of tickets. This year I decided that it had been long enough. Jackson State is no Notre Dame or even Colorado, but it was still a fun game to watch and mostly just great being in that field house and listening to the "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk" echo throughout the arena when the game's outcome had all but been decided. Just absorbing the atmosphere was worth the $55 ticket price. We literally sat IN the rafters as I bumped my head into one on several occasions as I was getting up to use the restroom or take a picture. But the seats were still at mid-court and had an awesome view of everything!
I only hope it won't be another 30 years before I return again.
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