Kansas Legends: Darnell Valentine

Darnell Valentine, one of the top defensive players to ever play basketball for Kansas, played 10 seasons in the NBA for a variety of teams after graduating from the school. Valentine, later had his number retired by the school.

Right from the start, Valentine was known as a great defensive player. He wasn’t known to be much of a scorer in school, though had some good games. Valentine

would often get the opportunity to guard the opponents top scorer. Kansas’s instate rival Kansas State, had a top guard in Rolando Blackman. Standing in at 6-7, Blackman had a four-inch advantage on Valentine. Yet the Jayhawks guard often got the better of Blackman. Valentine as a freshman averaged 14 points and three rebounds per game. The Jayhawks went to the NCAA tournament only to lose in the first round. The tournament only had 32 teams at this time.

In 1978, Valentine increased his point total per game to 16 points per contest. As a junior, he increased his point total to 17 points per game. His point total hung around the 16 point land as a senior. Kansas though made it past the first round in 1980, defeating Mississippi, and Arizona State before falling to Wichita State in the elite eight.

After college, Valentine was drafted by Portland with the 16th pick in the 1981 NBA draft. He played 4 and a half seasons with the Blazers, averaging nearly 10 points per game and five assists. After Portland, Valentine made stops at the LA Clippers and Cleveland before retiring in 1991.

Valentine wasn’t the best scorer or player, but he played the hardest, gaining the moniker of a defensive stopper while at Kansas and in the NBA.