KU's incredible impact on the Game, cont. (With a trivia question)

This could be fun if it goes awhile. It would be fun to see some names brought up that maybe don't get mentioned very often.

I have a pretty good idea of who our mystery coach is, but I will take the opportunity in the meantime to offer a couple of other names from the constellations of stars representing Kansas basketball.

So, like HE mentioning Lonborg, who would not seem to fit the criteria for this particular situation, I will note another from the distant past that is not the answer Konza is looking for--- Kansas native, John Bunn.

Bunn played for Phog 3 seasons, Asst. Coach for another 9 before becoming head coach at Stanford. There he struggled to show much success the first few seasons before his final 3 years there where the team won 80% of their games. The '36-'37 cagers finished 25-2 and were retroactively proclaimed the Helms National Champions (same as two of KU's championships). That year's winning percentage has been eclipsed only once in the ensuing years.

He's a Naismith HoF member and has the distinction of having an award given annually by the HoF in his honor for "Lifetime Achievement".

Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

Here's my second (incorrect) answer of another coach with KU roots.

Kansas native, Ralph Miller lettered 3 seasons playing for Phog before graduating in 1941 where he learned the fundamentals of playing and coaching. After serving his country in the USAAF during WW 2, Miller did not land a college coaching position until 1952 with WSU (then University of Wichita) but was a head coach from then through the 88-89 season at Oregon State. At retirement he was 6th on the all-time winningest coaches list with 657 wins.

He never managed a national championship, but was a successful coach at three universities (University of Iowa being the second between those mentioned above) and was known for his own brand of defense aka "Pressure Basketball". In an undefeated Big 10 campaign in 1970 the Hawkeyes averaged over 100 pts/game.

Miller was inducted into the Naismith HoF in 1988 as a coach, the same year as Lovellette entered as a player.

1966 SI article on Miller

So you did. Oops...

The history behind even the more common associated names is fascinating.

McClendon is another eye popping cornerstone to the game with his innovation and association with the color barrier.

Well, since I already stepped in it with my last non-answer that was listed in Konza's original post, and I am enjoying this chance to review some Kansas related basketball history, here's a little more about John McLendon...

Kansas native, John McLendon never laced up for the Jayhawks as his years at KU came before integration anywhere, let alone on the hardwood. His 1936 graduation in Phys Ed represented the first by an African-American in that majorat KU. McLendon learned about the game from Phog Allen and James Naismith, even though he could never apply that knowledge on the court while there.

McLendon spent the bulk of his coaching career at predominantly black colleges and was a successful coach in the small college ranks overall except for his final stop at Cleveland State where he had a losing record as the first African-American coach at a predominantly white university. He is also known for his association with "The Secret Game", a scrimmage his black North Carolina College held against Duke in 1944 in a closed gym in Durham. McLendon's fast break style of play led to a route of Duke that day, 88-44. It is likely that a McLendon coached team could have been a NCAA/consensus national champion given other circumstances allowing for integrated competition...his fast style of play was that innovative. His successes include multiple CIAA championships and 3 NAIA national championships, no small accomplishment in itself.

He has the distinction of being the only two-time Naismith HoF inductee as Contributor (1978) for his pioneering development of the fast break and Coach (2016) as the first professional coach of African-American descent among other firsts related to his moving beyond racial barriers.

For those who enjoy reading about Sports history, there are a couple of excellent books- Breaking Through by Milton Katz and a recent work by Scott Ellsworth called The Secret Game

Good stuff! I had not seen that before. It would seem Coach Wooden was quite happy to be able to share that story with an Allen descendant.

I cheated with a very quick google search and found the answer but feel I'm not worthy of making the guess because of that. Your last clue clinched that I'm correct though! Good one.

That last clue did it for me. I think I know the answer but I will hold out for a little before I say unless k63 wants me to make a guess.

Kevin Stallings comes close but has had a couple losing seasons in the last 20 years.

Same for me as Rainyhawk (your last hint). After reading CorpusJayhawk's answer, thought it was tricky, but think your ? takes the cake.