Tonight, I went to the KU basketball game, and I sat next to Al Kelley, as I have done several times in the past. So, who's Al Kelley? Today, Mr. Kelley is an 80-year-old man. He's a little gaunt, a little frail, and walks a little slow. And he is still, after all these years, endlessly entertained by a basketball game. He's a first class gentleman, and has always been so friendly to me. Very pleasant to talk with. You would think that Mr. Kelley was one of those guys who wished he could have played ball with all the popular kids on the playground. Mr. Kelley is also in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Today, you would never know it. He does not talk about it. Never brags about how good he was back in the day. Mr. Kelley played on the Kansas team that won the 1952 NCAA Championship under Coach Phog Allen. He was also on the 1953 NCAA Runner-Up team at Kansas. Mr. Kelley was a first team all conference player in 1953 and 1954 at KU. He is in the Naismith Hall of Fame as part of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal, a team that included Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. KU is justifiably proud of its winning tradition in men's basketball. It was built by players like Chamberlain, Manning, Lovellette, Collison, Valentine, JoJo White, and so many others that are too numerous to count. It was built by coaches like Phog Allen, Larry Brown, Roy Williams, Ted Owens and Bill Self. And it was built by guys like Al Kelley, if you take the time to find it all out. They say there are no heroes anymore, and this past week we have been tragically reminded of this. Maybe we just need to look a little deeper.
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