Print edition: 
Every Sunday night of his senior year of high school, Raef LaFrentz could count on one thing — a phone call from Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams.
Williams went all-in on the blue-chip prospect from northeastern Iowa and it paid off — LaFrentz went on to become a two-time All-American at KU and was part of a senior class that won more games than any class in KU history.
So it seemed fitting that it was once again Sunday night, with Williams in attendance, that LaFrentz’s career at KU was recognized with his induction into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame at the Wichita Boathouse along with eight others.
“Looking back on it, you think you control your destination,” said LaFrentz, 35. “The amount of time and the amount of energy that he put into recruiting me, I didn’t have a choice to say no to coach Williams. If I had a brain in my head, I’d come to KU.”
Williams’ presence was a surprise to LaFrentz, who did-n’t talk to him before the ceremony. But it was payback for Williams after LaFrentz was one of 21 players to attend his 2007 induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“I didn’t want to tell him because I didn’t want for anything to come up to not be able to make it,” said Williams, now the coach at North Carolina. “It was a great thrill for me to be able to be here. Raef was really a breakthrough recruit for us. He established our program. Kansas had been there before I got there, but getting Raef and Jacque Vaughn and Scot Pollard and those kind of guys really set us at another level.”
LaFrentz certainly made his mark for the Jayhawks. He averaged 15.8 points and 9.1 rebounds during his four-year career at KU, while never losing a game in Allen Fieldhouse.
He was drafted third overall in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets and played 11 NBA seasons before retiring and moving back to Iowa in 2008.
“Any time you’re remembered or honored for your accomplishments that you had in competition, it’s a great honor,” LaFrentz said. “I’m humbled to be a part of this and I’m glad to be here today.”
In his induction speech, LaFrentz kept it brief — thanking his parents, family, coaches and teammates that helped him along the way.
But there will always be a special place for Williams, who gave him the opportunity to play at Kansas.
“Everybody has their opinion on who the best collegiate coach is and they’re entitled to their opinion,” LaFrentz said. “But I challenge anybody to tell me one that is a better one to play for than coach Williams.”
The other inductees were Don Heinkel, Bob Frederick, Mark Simoneau, Kendra Wecker, Willie Jeffries, Ronnie West, John Camien and Dick Harp.
