Jo Jo White, the former Kansas star guard who went on to NBA fame with the Boston Celtics, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 71.
Joseph Henry White, a St. Louis native, was a seven-time NBA All-Star and played for league championship teams in 1974 and 1976, when he was the NBA Finals MVP.
White had his No. 10 jersey retired by the Celtics, and his Jayhawks jersey hangs in the Allen Fieldhouse rafters. White was one of the greatest players in KU history. He was a leader on two NCAA Tournament teams and one NIT team and was at the center of a memorable moment in NCAA Tournament history.
In the 1966 Midwest Regional championship game against Texas-El Paso, then known as Texas Western, White appeared to have hit a game-winning shot from the deep wing. But an official ruled that White's foot was out of bounds before taking the shot. The Miners went on to win 81-80 and defeated Kentucky for the championship a week later.
White started his college career at mid-semester that season. The Jayhawks won the Big Eight championship for a second straight year in 1967 and reached the NIT finals in 1968. Because White started his career at semester, it ended there, midway through the 1968-69 season.
He played on United States teams that won gold medals in the 1968 Olympics and 1967 Pan American Games.
After finishing at Kansas, White was a first-round draft pick of the Celtics. He averaged 17.2 points over 12 NBA seasons. He finished his career with the Kansas City Kings in 1982. In retirement, he had served as a community ambassador with the Celtics.
In 2015, White was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and thanked KU head coach Ted Owens and assistant Sam Miranda during the ceremony.
"I always tried to be the best," White said. "I had two great mentors at Kansas: Ted Owens and Sam Miranda. I love you. I had so many wonderful teammates and I want to thank them all."
