Ted Owens’ place in Kansas basketball history is now permanent in another way.
The former Jayhawks coach was inducted Thursday into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Missouri, joining Jay Wright, Tubby Smith, Glen Rice, Danny Ainge and Walt Hazzard, who was honored posthumously. Owens becomes one of 15 former Kansas players and coaches in the Hall, a group that also includes Wilt Chamberlain, Phog Allen, Dutch Lonborg, Larry Brown, Roy Williams, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Ralph Miller, John McLendon, William Johnson, Paul Pierce, Danny Manning, Paul Endacott and Clyde Lovellette.
Owens spent 19 seasons at Kansas from 1964 to 1983 and built a 348-182 record. His teams reached two Final Fours and captured six Big Eight titles, with a roster that included Jo Jo White, Walt Wesley, Darnell Valentine, Bud Stallworth and Dave Robisch.
At 97, Owens still speaks about his path with the kind of wonder that makes the numbers feel bigger. Reflecting on his upbringing, he said, “When I was growing up on a farm in southwest Oklahoma, on a cotton farm, I had time when hoeing cotton or pulling cotton to have a lot of dreams,” Owens recalled.
“My dreams were never great enough to imagine that I’d have the chance to play at the University of Oklahoma and coach at the saint Andrews of college basketball at the University of Kansas. It’s incredible.”
He also made sure to credit the people around him for helping him reach this moment.
“One thing I’ve learned in 97 years is that no matter how hard you work and prepare, you don’t experience success without the help and support of others. So, while they honor me tonight, they also honor some special people.”
Earlier in the day, during the induction celebration before the formal ceremony, Owens drew a crowd from the media and had no trouble filling the space with stories from his playing and coaching days. He still remembers the phone call that changed everything.
“I was playing baseball with my Cameron (Junior College) team,” Owens said. “My old friend Monte Moore, from Hollis - from my hometown - who was the telecaster for Kansas City (Athletics) and then Oakland (Athletics).
He was at Kansas at the time, and he called me during a game. He said, ‘Jerry Waugh, the assistant coach, has resigned, and I’ve recommended you for the assistantship.’
And they (KU) said ‘We’ll interview you the day after tomorrow before we interview anybody else.” If we win the game, I can’t get the guys back to Lawton (Oklahoma) and get there (Lawrence).
We were up 12-0 and I did the worst job of coaching from then on and we lost 13-12. I loaded the guys up, took them back to Lawton, and headed up to Kansas and got the job.”
Owens also revisited the Kansas-Texas Western game remembered for Jo Jo White’s game-winning basket that was waved off because he was ruled out of bounds.
“Jo Jo hit the basket to win the game for us,” said Owens. “Back then it was filmed, so you didn’t have the video replay. So, we don’t think Jo Jo stepped out of bounds… I said when Jo Jo died that he’s going to find out because God will surely get it right.”
And when the conversation turned to Walt Wesley, Owens didn’t hesitate to show how much he still treasures his former player.
“Walt Wesley was my first All-American at Kansas,” Owens said. “Incredible person.
Sweetest spirit I’ve ever known. I love Walt.”
The affection in Owens’ voice matched the stories he told. More than 50 years after arriving in Lawrence, he remains deeply connected to the players and moments that defined his time with the Jayhawks.
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