Kevin Wilmott's Jayhawkers

Lawrence filmmaker and KU faculty member Kevin Wilmott has made several films (Ninth Street, CSA, Bunker Hill, The Only Good Indian). Jayhawkers, shot in northeast Kansas and released in 2014, follows the 1956-57 University of Kansas basketball team and two legendary figures in sports: Forrest Allen (known as “Phog” only to his friends) (1885 –1974) and Wilton "Wilt" Chamberlain (1936-1999).

Jayhawkers (2014)

The major characters in the drama are in various states of transition. Allen’s coaching career closed; the university handed the position to Dick Harp. Chamberlain journeyed from Philadelphia and high school stardom to a very conservative 1950’s Kansas. Though not fully explained in the film, Chancellor Franklin Murphy’s deteriorating relationship with Governor George Docking would lead him to resign three years later and take the Chancellor’s position at UCLA (another fine basketball program of the time under the legendary John Wooden). Thinking about Lawrence itself as a character, it slowly began a change from segregation to integration, thanks in some part to Allen, Murphy and Chamberlain.

The story resonates with us in the present day for all the unresolved college athletics issues, most about money: recruiting tactics, the cult of winning, athlete academics, exorbitant coaching salaries, pay for play and (yes, still) race.

Interesting bits and symbolism...

• The film was shot in black and white. It seems to fit the atmosphere of the times, reminding me of the stark look of Richard Brooks' deadly serious 1967 adaptation of In Cold Blood, also set in 1950's Kansas.
• Kevin Wilmott has a cameo (driving a car).
• There is a scene with Langston Hughes, which is based on an appearance he made in Lawrence at the time. Though it is unclear if it was included in his program at that time, a line from one of his most famous poems I, Too (1926) cuts right to the heart of the film and puts segregation bluntly in front of us: “I, too, sing America / I am the darker brother / They send me to eat in the kitchen…”
• The original use of the word “Jayhawker” referred to anti-slavery Kansans at the time immediately before and early in statehood.
• The film ends with footage of Chamberlain returning to Lawrence in 1998 for his jersey retirement: "I’ve learned over the years that you must learn to take the bitter with the sweet, and how sweet this is, right here."

Learn more about Coach Allen, Wilt Chamberlain, KU Basketball and Langston Hughes at the library.

The Kansas Historical Society has a great article Can Basketball Survive Chamberlain? The Kansas Years of Wilt the Stilt and KU has one titled Center Of Attention. See the additional links at the bottom of that article called "KU Connections".