Shane Dennis and Leland Wood, two of the best high school basketball players ever in eastern Kansas, were in the spotlight here Saturday. FARNEY SAID an additional 19 scoring efforts of 50 or more points had surfaced since the book was published in 2009, and will be included in a second edition.
Their exploits on the hardwoods drew special mention from Steven Farney, one of 16 authors who talked about their books during the Iola Family Reading Festival at Allen Community College.
Dennis scored 52 points against Humboldt on Feb. 20,1990, when he played for Uniontown. Wood, playing for Prescott, had a 56-point outpouring against LaCygne on Jan. 29, 1965.
They are enshrined in Farney’s book “Club 50,” which has photos and sketches of 70 boys from 52 Kansas towns who scored 50 or more points in a single high school game.
“Every town has a ton of stories about local athletes, but many are like fish stories,” Farney said. “These aren’t fish stories,” with each performance documented and with interviews of the players.
Also, he noted most of the extraordinary performances occurred during regulation play, not “marathon overtime games. The book is about boys who loved the game and had special nights.”
Farney told about Max Henkle, Colony, now dead, who had the third-highest point total ever by a Kansas boy when he made 60 points against Neosho Falls on Jan. 8, 1957.
“And that came before the three-point shot,” which became a part of Kansas prep basketball during the 1986-87 season, Farney said. “Max made 25 field goals, many from long range, and 10 free throws.”
The high-water mark for Kansas occurred in 1966.
Larry Hobbs, a 5-foot-7 guard, had 69 points for Nortonville against Meriden.
“He scored 23 points in the first half and in the second half added 46 when his coach encouraged Hobb’s teammates to feed the ball to him, after asking if they were OK with the plan,” Farney recalled.
They were, although Hobbs, unpretentious then as he was when Farney interviewed him for the book, wasn’t eager at first. Shots started falling from all over the court and, Hobbs told Farney, “I was in a rhythm and just caught the ball and shot.”
Wood’s 56 points came mostly in the first half.
“I had 42 at the half and most of my points in the second half came on free throws,” he said.
When Dennis scored his 52 against Humboldt, one of the Cub players had a night that otherwise would have drawn headlines. Brandon Hart scored 33 for Humboldt in a wild affair won by Uniontown, 90-70.
Dennis wasn’t the first Eagle to have a remarkable single-game scoring record. In 1977, Dean Goodbody scored 50 points in consecutive games against Marmaton Valley and McCune.
As might be expected, some of the stories had light moments.
Jerry O’Niell, Winchester, scored 51 points in a 1965 game and a week later suffered an illness that stopped his heart for several seconds, long enough that doctors feared for his life.
As an adult O’Niell went into the ministry and Farney asked if the illness prompted his career choice.
“‘No,’ he said,” Farney reported. “He said he learned the value of prayer when he as a sophomore he was called on to guard a 6-foot-6 player.”
In addition to the single-game scoring book, Farney has written “Titletown,” about small-town state championship teams, as well as a book about Kansas State University’s rise to basketball fame under its legendary coach, Jack Gardner, in 1939-42 and 1946-53.
The Kansas State book not only recalls Gardner’s leadership, but also gives insight into the running feud between Gardner and KU’s Phog Allen.
“They didn’t get along at all,” Farney said.
His next book, scheduled for publication in 2013, will document winning streaks of Kansas preps.
“There once were 713 high schools in Kansas,” Farney said. “Today there are 360. High schools and their sports teams are the focal point for many smaller towns. Often, when a high school went (closed), the town went with it.”
‘Club 50’ author shares Kansas hoops history
