Kansas Basketball: 15 greatest scorers in Jayhawks history
By Brian Rauf
Greatest scorers in Kansas basketball history: 15. Darnell Valentine
Darnell Valentine was a terrific all-around point guard for the Jayhawks in the late 1970s and early 1980s, ranking in the top six in school history in points (1,821 – sixth), assists (609 – fifth) and steals (336 – first) for his career.
Unsurprisingly, he was an extremely consistent and productive scorer as well. He shot over 48 percent from the field in three of his four seasons in Lawrence, including 50.3 percent as a senior. That’s a very high number for a small 6-foot-1 point guard.
Valentine was a four-year starter for KU, but there may have been a reason for that – the Jayhawks teams he was on weren’t as dominant as we know the program to be today.
He only led the Jayhawks to two NCAA Tournament appearances during his time (1978, 1981), won one conference regular-season title (1978), one conference tournament (1981) and only made one Sweet 16 appearance (1981).
For many schools, that’s an impressive resume – but this is Kansas.
A four-time First-Team All-Big Eight performer, Valentine spent 10 years in the NBA after being a first-round pick in the 1981 NBA Draft. His No. 14 is retired by Kansas.
Speaking of No. 14…