The late Wayne Hightower wasn’t aware he was a pioneer in his basketball days at Kansas University. But the 6-foot-8 Philadelphian and seven other Jayhawk teammates were making a statement about racial integration five full years before most of us ever heard of Texas Western.

KU, coach Dick Harp and Hightower and Co. were far, far ahead of the Miners and their over-ballyhooed color-line-altering venture.

Wayne the Weathervane died the past week at age 62 after a life of frustrating experiences that never saw him measure up to the tremendous potential he displayed as a Kansas all-leaguer. A pensive, puzzling loner, he never quite hit that niche that gave him the happiness and satisfaction he admitted he so desperately wanted.

Wayne sadly had tough times, often battling depression in later years. KU tried to get him back for various events but nobody seems to recall he ever made one alumni gig.

By now you’ve read about and maybe even bought into the myth that the 1966 Texas Western team that started an all-black lineup revolutionized college recruiting by whipping an all-white Kentucky club for the NCAA title. Sports Illustrated has worked hard at making it seem that way.

But KU was far ahead in that category, in 1960-61, Hightower’s junior, and last, season.

Former Jayhawk captain Al Correll first called my attention to what was happening; in many ways it didn’t seem such a big deal at the time. Al pointed out that the original ’60-61 KU roster counted seven black athletes and one Native American among its top 10 players. They were Hightower, Correll, Bill Bridges, Jim Dumas, Nolen Ellison, Butch Ellison, Ralph Heyward and the Delaware Dandy, Dee Ketchum. Junior Jerry Gardner was the only white starter. Ketchum and Bridges were the co-captains.

Heyward, like Hightower a Philadelphian, fell ineligible at the semester and later wound up a starter at Seattle U.

Other guys of no color on coach Dick Harp’s preseason roster were Carl Deane, Bob Frederick, Marshall Grover, John Matt, Howard Parker, Larry Sterlin, John Williams and Pete Woodward. These fellows never played a lot.

The previous season, 1959-60, KU with Bridges, Hightower, Al Donaghue and Jerry Gardner and Bob Hickman leading the way tied Kansas State for the Big Eight title. KU won a playoff at Manhattan, then reached the NCAA Regional finals before losing to Cincinnati. Things looked tremendous for ’60-61 after a 19-9 record, a title tie and a strong NCAA showing.

But KU suddenly got into hot water because of help Wilt Chamberlain had received from some alumni friends for a car. There was little hope KU would be allowed into the NCAA tourney even if it won the league title. Incentive fizzled down the drain despite the presence of All-American Bridges, all-leaguer Hightower, the prolific Gardner, the veteran Ketchum and the brilliant soph Nolen Ellison.

Kansas tied for second in the league and wound up 17-8. It was Bridges’ senior year, Hightower opted for pro ball in Spain to support his wife and child. Kansas sagged to 7-18 in 1961-62. This despite the guard brilliance of senior Gardner (20.7 points a game) and junior Nolen Ellison (18-1). No potent big man emerged after Hightower’s departure. The main frontline scorers were Loye Sparks at 6-4, Harry Gibson at 6-3 and Jim Dumas at 6-1 Â all gallant warriors but horribly outsized.

Great as the Gardner-Ellison combo was, it couldn’t overcome that altitude disadvantage. Had the versatile Hightower stayed, things could have been far better even though the slender 6-8 Weathervane was no board-banger. Wayne had lots of non-paint talent, though, including timely rebounding and able assist ability. KU at least would have broken .500 with his wheeling and dealing around the hoop.

So strike that jazz about Texas Western (now UTEP) doing such wondrous things for college integration. KU started it, for the whole league, with La Vannes Squires in 1951-52, then had Chamberlain and Maurice King as starters on its 1957 NCAA finalist team.

As for 1966 and T-Western’s alleged color break, Kansas started “minority guys” Walt Wesley, Jo Jo White and Al Lopes against the Miners in the regional semifinal. Bob Wilson came off the bench as KU got shafted out of beating T-Western that night at Lubbock. Suppose KU had won and had beaten caucasian Kentucky while T-Western sat at home. Would four minority kids have been good enough for Sports Illustrated to spill its guts about The Revelation? Not.

If Kentucky’s victory-driven Adolph Rupp was so shaken up losing to black kids, how come Kentucky still didn’t have a black on its roster until 1969-70?

Answer is, the handwriting was on the wall long before that. San Francisco won in 1955-56 with the likes of K.C. Jones, Hal Perry, Bill Russell and Gene Brown, all black guys. Then came Kansas with King and Chamberlain in 1957.

The 1958 consensus college All-America team was Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Bob Boozer and Guy Rodgers, all African-Americans. Man, that was eight years before the Wonder of (Texas) Western.

Then there was Kansas with its 8-out-of-10 minority roster in 1960-61. Further, coach Dick Harp was far, far more caring, respectful, decent and fatherly with his 1960 and 1961 Kansas clubs than hard-crust Don Haskins was with his Texas Western guys.

Just ask anyone who sat near the profanity-laced T-Western bench at Lubbock in 1966.