Bob Lutz: Even after drought, Wyandotte remains Kansas’ basketball kingpin

Wichita East is chasing its ninth boys state basketball championship and got off on the right foot Wednesday with a 59-46 quarterfinal win over Maize at Koch Arena.

The Blue Aces won their first title in 1915 as Wichita High School and their most recent in 2005. East has had great coaches, great players and has built one of the state’s best basketball traditions.

But there isn’t a moment in that great history that shines more than the state championship game in 1962, when an East team led by Mohamed Sharif (formerly Kelly Pete) and Jamie Thompson met up with Kansas City Wyandotte in the Class AA championship game at the Roundhouse.

Wyandotte had won five consecutive state championships and carried an aura and intimidation factor that had the players on opposing teams gulping before the basketball was tossed into the air.

But that night, in front of several thousand fans who were excited to see the Wyandotte juggernaut, East had its way. The Blue Aces clamped down defensively and won 46-26. Mighty Wyandotte beaten by 20? It was a shocker.

“They were the powerhouse in the state,” Sharif said. “They were so well-coached. Winning that game was probably the most exciting point in my high school career. We dominated. We totally controlled the game from the defensive point and view and I think that surprised them. They had such a mystique – they were the dominant force in our time.”

Wyandotte played in every Class AA championship game from 1953 through 1965, winning eight titles during that run. 　

For us old-timers, Kansas City Wyandotte still resonates.

Wyandotte hasn’t won a state championship since 1998, but its 20 titles are still seven more than Newton, the school with the second-most championships.

Wyandotte is the state’s leader in state tournament appearances (61), championship games (30), consecutive tournaments (17), state tournament wins (123), semifinal appearances (40), and consecutive state tournament wins (20).

After those 13 consecutive championship games from 1953-65, the Bulldogs took a one-year hiatus as Garden City defeated Pittsburg for the 1966 AA title.

But Wyandotte was back in 1967 to begin a string of four more state championships until losing to Wichita Southeast 71-68 in overtime in 1971 at the Roundhouse. Two years earlier, Wyandotte beat Southeast 45-43 in the championship game at Allen Fieldhouse.

“I have some pretty tough memories of that,” said former Southeast standout Ron Allen, who later led East to two state championships in 2002 and 2005 as coach. “We were ranked No. 1 in the state that year and we got to the semifinals against Topeka. I went up for a shot in that game and a kid tried to block it and he knocked me out of the air and my knee got twisted.”

Southeast won the game, setting up a showdown with mighty Wyandotte. Allen did everything he could to try and play in the game, including making a trip to the KU Medical Center to ask if doctors there could help alleviate the swelling in his knee.

“I had started every game that season,” Allen said. “But the doctors wouldn’t give the authorization to drain my knee. We ended up losing on a last-second shot by Ron Russell. I’ll never forget that game.”

Wyandotte’s dynasty was overseen by Walt Shublom, the John Wooden of Kansas high school basketball coaches. In 14 seasons with the Bulldogs, Shublom compiled a 296-26 record, 10 state titles and three second-place finishes. He guided two unbeaten teams and five others that lost only one game.

“(Shublom) is the one who created that Wyandotte aura for me,” Allen said. “He always added a little wrinkle to everything. I remember how their kids would rush out real quick to the free-throw line during pre-game introductions, then rush back to the bench and that’s how they would attack you during a game. They really pressured you with great athletes.”

Wyandotte is a huge, picturesque high school that sits in the heart of Kansas City, Kan. It once had more than 3,000 students, all of whom seemed to play on the basketball team.

But the Wyandotte mystique suffered as attendance declined and the big school at 2501 Minnesota became more empty than full.

The Bulldogs suffered through 12 consecutive losing seasons before finishing 15-6 this season under first-year coach Jeff Kreiling, a 24-year-old who started as Wyandotte’s freshman coach when he was 20 and still in college.

“As a 20-year-old, I knew about the name and some of the tradition, but I didn’t know nearly the depth of it,” Kreiling said. “I didn’t know about all the great individual players and great coaches and the number of state titles. But I really got immersed in all of that when I was hired as head coach.”

Wyandotte was 8-0 in its fabulous home gym this season and Kreiling said former Wyandotte players and fans are starting to pay attention again. The Bulldogs hosted a Class 6A sub-state, but were beaten by Shawnee Mission West.

It’ll never be like it was. But high school basketball is better in Kansas when Wyandotte is relevant.

“We’re headed in the right direction,” Kreiling said. “It was a good season with a lot of nice takeaways. It didn’t end the way we would have liked, obviously. But it leaves room for great improvement.”

This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Even after drought, Wyandotte remains Kansas’ basketball kingpin."