Kansas basketball’s Bud Stallworth put up a heroic performance in 1972 against the Jayhawks’ biggest rival: Missouri.
Kansas basketball struggled during the 1971-72 season. The Jayhawks made it to one of their final games of the season with a sub .500 record when they had to face off against Missouri, who was in contention for a Big 8 title at the time.
By this point in his career, Bud Stallworth was a senior, and the leading points scorer for the Jayhawks. He end up averaging over 25 points per game over the duration of his senior season, and he would also end up being named Big 8 Player of the Year in addition to second-team All-American.
In the Kansas Jayhawks’ game against the Tigers, Stallworth scored an incredible 50 points, leading KU to a 93–80 victory in Allen Fieldhouse. While the win didn’t really matter since the Jayhawks were going to miss the NCAA Tournament anyway, Stallworth’s performance is still significant.
Stallworth was the first Jayhawk to score 50 or more points in a game since the great Wilt Chamberlain. Here’s what Stallworth had to say about his legendary game:
"“I guess I just got on a hot streak and the rest is history. To do something like that your last time as a senior is a storybook kind of thing. More so than anything else though, we ended up beating Missouri my last game.”"
After his incredible season, Stallworth was taken by the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Draft with the seventh overall pick. His NBA career lasted five years until he was involved in a car accident which ended his professional basketball days.
Stallworth’s number was retired by Kansas basketball, as it should be. He had a great career with the Jayhawks, and capped it off the right way with his 50-point game against Kansas’ biggest rival.