Wilt Chamberlain: The Collegiate Years and Beyond
Wilt Chamberlain, a name synonymous with basketball dominance, left an indelible mark on the sport. This article delves into his formative years at the University of Kansas (KU), his transition to professional basketball, and the extraordinary career that followed.
Early Life and High School Dominance
Born Wilton Norman Chamberlain on August 21, 1936, Chamberlain's athletic prowess was evident from a young age. Standing 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) by age 10, he excelled in track and field before focusing on basketball. At Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, Chamberlain became a basketball phenomenon. His scoring talent, physical strength, and shot-blocking abilities were unmatched. He led the Overbrook Hilltoppers to two city championships, logging a 56-3 win-loss record. During his high school career, Chamberlain had individual games in which he scored 90, 74, and 71 points. In his senior year he averaged 44.5 points.
Recruitment and Arrival at the University of Kansas
Chamberlain wished to experience life away from home, so he eliminated colleges from the East Coast. He also ruled out the segregated South. Kansas, Indiana, and Dayton became the frontrunners. Dayton lost out when Chamberlain discovered that the town’s restaurants were segregated. KU adopted a strategy of getting prominent African-Americans who had ties to the school to contact Chamberlain and extol the virtues of an education in Lawrence. “Of course I used everything we had to get him,” admitted Phog Allen when asked what tricks he used to attract Chamberlain. Upon arriving in Lawrence, Chamberlain confronted Allen about a restaurant in Kansas City that had refused him service. Despite these troubles, Chamberlain’s fellow students immediately embraced him. He was dean of his pledge class in the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He shared a room in Carruth-O’Leary Dormitory with track star Charley Tidwell. During his sophomore year Chamberlain instituted a campus fashion trend when he popularized black leather Ivy League caps. He even had his own thirty-minute weekly radio show on student station KUOK.
Freshman Year Success
In 1955, Chamberlain entered the University of Kansas (KU); he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and was president of his pledge class. Because NCAA rules at the time prohibited freshmen from playing at the varsity level, Chamberlain was placed on the freshman team upon his arrival at Kansas. Chamberlain's freshman team debut was highly anticipated. The freshman team played against the varsity, who were favored to win their conference that year. Chamberlain dominated the contest, pouring in an astonishing 42 points and snaring 29 rebounds to lead his squad to an unprecedented victory.
Sophomore Season: Highs and Lows
Chamberlain’s sophomore season (1956-57) began and ended in heartbreak. In his freshman track season, he set the Big Seven freshman indoor record in the High Jump, placed fourth at the Kansas Relays in the Triple Jump, and captured third in the Big Seven at the Shot Put. Coach Allen turned 70, the mandatory retirement age for Kansas state employees, and was unexpectedly forced to retire. But it was not to be. KU promoted mild-mannered assistant Dick Harp to head coach. According to biographer Robert Cherry, it is doubtful Chamberlain would have chosen KU if he had known Allen was going to retire. Chamberlain had a poor relationship with Allen's successor, Dick Harp. At the same time, pressure on the rising star was growing ever greater.
Read also: Chamberlain University Costs
The 1957 NCAA Tournament
On December 3, 1956, Chamberlain made his varsity basketball debut as a center for the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas finished the regular season 21-2 and were Big Seven conference champions. Chamberlain was named first-team All-American. The Jayhawks were one of twenty-three teams selected to play in the 1957 NCAA basketball tournament. The Midwest Regional was held in Dallas, Texas, which at the time was segregated. In the first game, the Jayhawks played the all-white SMU Mustangs, and KU's John Parker later said: "The crowd was brutal. We were spat on, pelted with debris, and subjected to the vilest racial epithets possible." KU won 73-65 in overtime, and police had to escort the Jayhawks out. In the semifinals, the Jayhawks defeated the two-time defending national champion San Francisco Dons 80-56; Chamberlain scored 32 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and had (at least) seven blocked shots. In the NCAA finals, the second-ranked Kansas Jayhawks played the top-ranked, undefeated North Carolina Tar Heels, led by All-American and National Player of the Year Lennie Rosenbluth. Tar Heels coach Frank McGuire used several unorthodox tactics to thwart Chamberlain. For the tip-off, he sent his shortest player Tommy Kearns to upset Chamberlain; and the Tar Heels spent the rest of the night triple-teaming him, one defender in front, one behind, and a third arriving as soon as he got the ball. With the Tar Heels' fixation on Chamberlain, the Jayhawks shot only 27% from the field in contrast with 64% for the Tar Heels, and trailed 22-29 at halftime. With 10 minutes to go, North Carolina led 40-37 and stalled the game as they passed the ball around with no intention of scoring a basket. Each team scored two points in the first overtime; Kansas froze the ball in return during the second overtime, keeping the game tied at 48. In the third overtime, the Tar Heels scored two consecutive baskets but Chamberlain executed a three-point play, leaving KU trailing 52-51. After King scored a basket, Kansas was ahead by one point. With 10 seconds remaining, Tar Heels' center Joe Quigg pump faked then drove to the basket. Chamberlain blocked Quigg's shot but was also called for the foul. Quigg made his two foul shots to put the Tar Heels up 54-53. Yet Chamberlain did not bring a NCAA championship to Kansas.
Junior Season and Departure from Kansas
In Chamberlain's junior season of 1957-58, the Jayhawks' matches were increasingly frustrating for him. Knowing how good he was, opponents resorted to freeze-ball tactics and routinely used three or more players to guard him. Teammate Bob Billings commented, "It was not fun basketball … we were just out chasing people throwing the basketball back and forth". Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points for the season and led the Jayhawks to an 18-5 record - three of the losses coming while he was out with a urinary infection. The Jayhawks' season ended because KU came in second in the league and only conference winners were invited to the NCAA tournament. After his frustrating junior year, Chamberlain wanted to become a professional player. In June 1958, Chamberlain announced in an article he wrote for Look magazine that he would not return to Kansas for his senior year.
Playing with the Harlem Globetrotters
At that time, the NBA did not accept players until after their college graduating class had been completed; Chamberlain decided to play for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1958 for $50,000. The team enjoyed a sold-out tour of the Soviet Union in 1959; they were greeted by General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev prior to the start of a game at Moscow's Lenin Central Stadium. One Globetrotter skit involved Captain Meadowlark Lemon collapsing to the ground; instead of helping him up, Chamberlain threw him several feet into the air and caught him like a doll. In later years, Chamberlain frequently joined the Globetrotters in the off-season and fondly recalled his time there because he was no longer jeered at or asked to break records, but was one of several artists who loved to entertain audiences. On March 9, 2000, the Globetrotters retired his No.
NBA Career: A Legacy of Dominance
In the 1959-60 NBA season, Chamberlain joined a Philadelphia Warriors squad that was coached by Neil Johnston. All five starters were native Philadelphians: Chamberlain, Tom Gola, Guy Rodgers, Hall-of-Fame forward Paul Arizin, and Ernie Beck. Chamberlain was selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star team, winning the All-Star Game and the All-Star Game MVP award with a 23-point, 25-rebound performance. On January 25, 1960, Chamberlain had 50 points and 40 rebounds in an NBA game, a rare occurrence. In his first NBA season, Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points, 27.0 rebounds and 46.4 minutes played, breaking the previous regular-season records. The Warriors entered the 1960 NBA playoffs and beat the Syracuse Nationals, setting up a game against the Eastern Division-champion Celtics. According to Cherry, Celtics coach Auerbach ordered his forward Tom Heinsohn to commit personal fouls on Chamberlain; whenever the Warriors took foul shots, Heinsohn grabbed and shoved Chamberlain to prevent him from running back quickly. Auerbach's intention was for the Celtics to throw the ball quickly enough to prevent Chamberlain, a prolific shot-blocker, from returning to his own basket in time, and Boston could score an easy fastbreak basket. The teams split the first two games but Chamberlain became annoyed with Heinsohn and punched him during Game 3. Chamberlain then shocked Warriors' fans by saying he was thinking of retiring. He was tired of being double-teamed or triple-teamed, and of teams executing hard personal fouls on him. He also expressed a constant fear that he might lose his temper one day. Celtics forward Heinsohn said, "Half the fouls against him were hard fouls …
Chamberlain exceeded his rookie-season statistics, averaging 38.4 points and 27.2 rebounds per game. He became the first player to score more than 3,000 points, and the first and still the only player to exceed 2,000 rebounds in a single season, grabbing 2,149 boards. Chamberlain won his first field-goal percentage title, scored almost 32% of his team's points, and collected 30.4% of their rebounds. Chamberlain failed to convert his play into team success, this time bowing out against the Nationals in a three-game sweep. According to Cherry, Chamberlain was "difficult" and did not respect coach Johnston, who was unable to handle him. In retrospect, Gottlieb said, "My mistake was not getting a strong-handed coach … In the 1961-62 NBA season, the Warriors were coached by Frank McGuire, who had masterminded Chamberlain's triple-overtime loss in the NCAA championship against the Tar Heels. On March 2, 1962, on a neutral court against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain scored 100 points. He shot 36 of 63 from the field and uncharacteristically made 28 of 32 free throws. Joe Ruklick got the assist for Chamberlain's 100th point. The game was not recorded on video, and only a radio broadcast of the fourth quarter remains. One writer notes the lack of video of the 100-point game "only added to its mystique". For years, former NBA Commissioner David Stern's office phone would play announcer Bill Campbell's call of the 100-point basket to callers on hold: "He made it! He made it! He made it!
Read also: Accessing Chamberlain Resources
In addition to Chamberlain's regular-season accomplishments, he scored 42 points in the All-Star Game. In the playoffs, the Warriors again played against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals; both Cousy and Russell called this season the greatest Celtics team of all time. Each team won their home games so the series was split at three after six games. In the 1963-64 NBA season, Chamberlain got another new coach, former NBA player and ex-soldier Alex Hannum, and was joined by rookie center Nate Thurmond, who later entered the Hall of Fame. Hannum, who later entered the Hall of Fame as a coach, was a crafty psychologist who emphasized defense and passing, and was not afraid to stand up to the dominant Chamberlain, who would not communicate with coaches he did not like. Backed up by Thurmond, Chamberlain recorded 36.9 points and 22.3 rebounds per game, and the Warriors reached the NBA Finals.
In mid-1964, Chamberlain, a prominent participant at Rucker Park basketball court in New York City, made the acquaintance of Lew Alcindor, a tall, talented, 17-year-old who played there. Alcindor was soon allowed into Chamberlain's inner circle and quickly idolized the ten-year-older Chamberlain. In the 1964-65 NBA season, the NBA widened the lane from 12 to 16 feet (3.7 to 4.9 m), especially because of centers like Chamberlain.
Chamberlain won seven straight NBA scoring titles; in 1962 he scored a flabbergasting 100 points in one game during a season in which he averaged a mind-boggling 50.4 points per game. Chamberlain led the NBA in rebounding eleven times; once, he snared 55 rebounds in a single game, and during the 1960-61 season, he averaged an astonishing 27.2 rebounds per game. He finished his career with 31,419 points, now second all time, and still owns the record for most career rebounds with 23,924.
Racial Discrimination and its Impact
Not only was Chamberlain a prominent African-American in a city struggling with desegregation, his athletic career was the subject of intense scrutiny from both local and national media. The issue of racial discrimination and its effect on Chamberlain’s relationship with KU began during his recruitment from Philadelphia’s Overbrook High School. Despite opposing teams’ roughshod tactics and opposing fans’ occasionally racially tinged taunting, Chamberlain never lost his composure.
Legacy and Remembrance
On January 17, 1998, Chamberlain returned to his alma mater to retire his KU jersey. During a halftime ceremony at Allen Field House, an obviously emotional Chamberlain announced that his return was “something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Sadly, Chamberlain passed away less than two years after KU retired his jersey, succumbing to heart failure at age 63. Sy Goldberg, Chamberlain’s lawyer, remembered him this way: “He wasn’t a basketball player. He was a great, great human being who happened to play basketball…He made movies. He wrote books. He became a financial wizard.
Read also: Programming Chamberlain Openers
Chamberlain’s power was legendary. Rod Thorn, who has been a player, coach, GM and NBA executive, remembers a fight in which Chamberlain reached down and picked up a fellow player from a pile of bodies as if he were made of feathers. Chamberlain was one of the few players of his day who had the sheer strength to block a dunk.
tags: #Wilt #Chamberlain #college #career #stats
