1970s Connections | Wyandotte High School Basketball, Kansas City, Kansas

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F. L. Schlagle High School, Kansas City, Kansas, Class of 1975

Early Life

Jamison attended Hawthorne Elementary School (now Bertram Caruthers Elementary School), Northwest Junior High School and entered Wyandotte in the fall of 1972. Jamison was a classmate at Northwest Junior High School of several members of the 1976 Bulldog state championship team.

High School Career

When F. L. Schlagle High School opened as a new school in 1973, Jamison transferred there from Wyandotte for her junior and senior years.
In Jamison’s senior year of 1974-1975, she averaged 24 points a game for the Schlagle Stallions in the inaugural season of varsity high school girls’ basketball competition in the Kansas City Kansas League.

College Career

Played women’s basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks from 1975-1979.
In 1979 became the 1st Jayhawks women’s basketball player to compete in professional basketball.

Coaching Career

Served as a high school basketball coach in Kansas City, Missouri for Northeast High School (1989-1999) and Central High School (2005-2013).
On January 18, 1999, coached her Northeast Vikings team in Earl Austin Jr.’s Gateway Classic at the Kiel Center, (now the Enterprise Center), home of the St. Louis Blues, in St. Louis, Missouri, where they fell to East St. Louis Lincoln 55-50.
- The 1999 edition of the Gateway Classic (annually held on Martin Luther King Day) attracted a crowd of 13,800 which is the largest crowd ever to attend a game played by a Kansas City-area high school girls’ basketball team.
- The Vikings squad featured four future NCAA Division I players - Tennille Grant (USC & UMKC), Ebony Haliburton (University of Kansas & Oral Roberts), Tamara Ransburg (University of Kansas & Old Dominion), and Antionette Wells (Wichita State)

Karen Jamison, playing for the Kansas Jayhawks.

1976-1977 Team

The Wichita Heights Falcons and Wyandotte met in the Class 5A State Championship games in both 1976 and 1977 which were held both years at Kansas City Kansas Community College. In the 1976 state title game, the third-seeded Bulldogs earned their 17th state title by upending the top-seeded Falcons, 58-54, to hand Heights their second loss of the season. In the 1977 state title game, the top-seeded Falcons capped an unbeaten season by ousting the Bulldogs 92-52.

Led by Coach Lafayette Norwood (the next season a University of Kansas assistant coach) and two players who played a combined 26 seasons in the NBA in Darnell Valentine (#14 in team picture) and Antoine Carr (#44 in team picture), the Falcons’ average margin of victory for the 1976-77 season was 34 points per game.

Wichita Heights Falcons, 1977 State Basketball Champions

Wichita Heights High School, Wichita, Kansas, Class of 1977

High School Career

Two-time 1st Team All-State and Kansas High School Player of the Year, 1976 & 1977.

College Career

Played college basketball at the Kansas Jayhawks (1977-1981) earning 4-time All-Big 8 honors.
Selected as the 16th overall pick in the 1st Round of the 1981 NBA draft by the Portland Trailblazers.

Professional Career

Played in the NBA for 10 seasons with Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Darnell Valentine, playing for the Kansas Jayhawks.

Wichita Heights High School, Wichita, Kansas, Class of 1979

High School Career

College Career

Played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers from 1979-1983 where he was a teammate of future NBA players Xavier McDaniel and Cliff Levingston.
Drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the first round (8th overall pick) of the 1983 NBA draft.

Professional Career

Played 16 seasons (1984-2000) in the NBA for 6 teams (Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets, and the Vancouver (now Memphis) Grizzlies).
Played in the NBA Finals twice (1997 & 1998) for the Utah Jazz losing both years to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.

Antoine Carr, dunking for the Wichita State Shockers.