Kansas basketball: Ranking the 10 greatest big men in Jayhawks history

No. 2: Wilt Chamberlain (1956-1958)

Kansas basketball career stats: 48 games, 29.9 PPG, 18.3 RPG, 47.0% FG

Wilt became a blueprint for dominant big men in the pros, but it all began when he played college ball at Kansas. Despite spending just two years in Lawrence, Chamberlain distinguished himself as one of the best big men in the history of the Jayhawks with his exceptional play. Assists, steals, and blocks were not recorded statistics when he played, but it’d be safe to assume that he registered plenty of those on the court.

He led first-year head coach Dick Harp to a national championship appearance in his freshman season, eventually losing in the first and only triple-overtime game in the NCAA finals. Even though Kansas fell to UNC by a score of 54-53, he was elected the NCAA Tournament Most Oustanding Player that year, averaging 30.3 points and 15.5 rebounds across that four-game span.

“Wilt the Stilt” rejuvenated Kansas basketball a year after Phog Allen was forced to retire due to old age. If he had played under the Hall of Fame head coach, there’s a good chance that another championship banner would be hanging from the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse. Chamberlain was a First Team Consensus All-American in both his seasons as a Jayhawk, but surprisingly enough, he never won conference player of the year.

Unfortunately for Chamberlain, college players were unable to play on the varsity basketball team until their sophomore year, according to NCAA rules. If Wilt had spent all three years of his college tenure at the uttermost level of Kansas basketball, he might have been able to top out this list. However, he doesn’t have enough longevity to put him in front of our No. 1 player, who is the undisputed best big man in the program’s history. This leads us to…