As Duke and Kansas prep for Tuesday’s game in the Champion’s Classic, ESPN’s Martenzie Johnson has a nice piece up on Kansas native John McClendon, the legendary coach and Kansas native who was at NCCU from 1941-1952. He’s in the Hall of Fame twice, once as a contributor and also as a coach, and was one of the most innovative coaches to ever roam the sidelines. He persuaded James Naismith to mentor him and credited Naismith for everything he did in basketball, which was a lot.
Among his many contributions, McClendon basically invented the fast break and the press.