Friends, fans remember Shocker basketball great Dave Stallworth

Former assistant coach Lanny Van Eman remembers the day Wichita State basketball changed.

Van Eman, who played for the Shockers 1958-62, was in the Roundhouse’s basketball office when Dave Stallworth arrived by bus from Dallas to report for his freshman year at the University of Wichita. He carried two small bags and his sneakers over his shoulder.

From that modest beginning came a basketball career that lifted the Shockers into national prominence and set the stage for much of what the program became.

“He had talent and a superstar aura,” Van Eman wrote in a letter read during Friday’s memorial service at Koch Arena. “The fandom grew rapidly.”

Stallworth died at 75 on March 15. On Friday, family, former teammates and fans gathered at the arena, renovated but still round, where he thrilled standing-room-only crowds from 1962-65.

Bob McGrath said he started watching Wichita State basketball games in Henrion Gymnasium in 1946. He estimates he missed no more than five or six home games. The Stallworth years hold a special place in his memory. The banner marking Stallworth’s career in the arena reminds McGrath to pause and remember.

“That man could do anything on a basketball court,” McGrath said. “He was smooth as silk, and it was nothing but a pleasure to watch him play. Over and above that, he was a perfect gentleman.”

Gloria Stallworth, wife of Dave, thanked the fans and teammates for their part in Stallworth’s life. She praised the work of teammate Bob Powers, who serves as the social committee chairman for the 1965 Final Four team and helped organize Friday’s program.

The memorial started with the Pledge of Allegiance and ended with the crowd singing “Auld Lang Syne,” both favorites of Stallworth.

The scoreboard video board showed a tribute from the New York Knicks, the team Stallworth helped to a 1970 NBA title. Knicks broadcaster Walt Frazier, a teammate of Stallworth’s on that 1970 team, remembered rooming with Stallworth and listening to the Dells, his preferred musical group.

Five of Stallworth’s Shockers teammates attended — Tommy Newman, Jerry Reimond, Al Trope, Mohamed Sharif (formerly Kelly Pete) and Powers.

Sharif guarded Stallworth in practice as freshman, an experience that carried hard lessons about how to play the game. Sharif described that year as torture. Things got better when Sharif joined the varsity.

“He taught me so much about the game,” Sharif said. “Dave was very analytical. He could figure out what was possible and what was not possible. When I got on the same team with him as a sophomore … it was a delight.”

Newman, a long-time high school coach in Texas, said he came to Wichita with no experience playing or socializing with blacks until he met teammates such as Stallworth. Newman’s first job as a coach came at a predominantly black school. For his tribute, he read a story from the Dallas Morning News that chronicled Stallworth’s status as one of the greatest Texas players.

“That would never have happened if I had not come to Wichita,” Newman said. “They changed my entire outlook on life.”

Stallworth earned Associated Press All-America honors in 1964 (first team) and 1965 (second team) after helping the Shockers become a nationally prominent program. He ranks third on Wichita State’s career scoring list. He totaled 1,936 points, averaging 24.2 a season.

His No. 42 jersey is one of five retired at WSU.

Stallworth’s time at Wichita State featured the program’s first NCAA Tournament bids, first Missouri Valley Conference titles and a No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll.

A private service is scheduled for family and former teammates on Saturday.

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Friends, fans remember Shocker basketball great Dave Stallworth."