I chuckled often during a recent re-viewing of irreverent Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson as they cavorted through the film “White Men Can’t Jump.” It reminded me of three former Kansas University basketball players who refuted the fiction regarding uni-hued leapers before many began to accept it as fact.

I think the “jump” concept took root in the middle 1950s and throughout the ’60s as people like Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Johnny Green, Elgin Baylor and Co. set the tone for above-the-rim antics. They heralded oh-so-dramatically the rising prominence of black athletes in basketball.

But I saw and enjoyed at least three high-soaring caucasian pioneers at KU before the jibe at white guys became popular. Not that they were superstars, but they could really “sky.”

I’m talking about Gary Padgett (’54 and ’55), John Cleland (’56-’57-’58) and Harry Gibson (’62-’63-’64). Harry was a KU co-captain with Al Correll his senior year. All of them have kept in close touch with KU activities, sports and otherwise, and have contributed much to the school. You’ll often find them where Jayhawks gather for productive purposes.

Padgett, from Greenleaf where he still resides as a banker, would take the court to the delight of fans in old Hoch Auditorium. He didn’t play a lot, but when he did, people couldn’t wait to relish his leaps. At 6-foot-2, 175, you’d see him soar and wonder if he would ever come down. Didn’t score a lot or nail a lot of rebounds but sure provided thrills and looked awfully good in the suit.

No matter what anyone tells you, this white guy COULD jump. Dunk the ball? Lordy, you didn’t so anything so gross and sinful in the early 1950s. Maybe in practice, perhaps even sneakily in warmups. But in a game? Whatsa-matter, ya crazy or somethin’? as Jerry Colonna used to barb Bob Hope.

Moving on to Cleland, a Topeka High grad who played on KU’s 1957 NCAA finals team where Wilt was setting all sorts of standards for stratospheric activity. Cleland, later a big success with the Security Benefit group in Topeka, was really a skyhawk. Yet people were so busy watching The Big Dipper cruise without wings or a flying belt that Cleland, at a mere 6-3, 172, got lost in the shuffle no matter if he spurted over the backboard.

Later when John appeared as a guest financial genius on Louis Rukeyser’s Wall Street TV show, Lou gave John credit for having played here when Wilt did as well as being a dandy in the money field.

Among my three spring-legged forerunners, Gibson from Kansas City Wyandotte High posted the best figures. He played in 80 games as a Jayhawk at 6-3, 190, and finished his career with averages of eight points and seven rebounds a game. The records don’t show how many times he scraped his head on the Allen Fieldhouse girders, because this kid could get up. Again, still not a lot of dunking with Wilt gone.

Consider, too, that the ’64 team’s five key scorers were Gibson, 6-11 Walt Wesley, 6-7 George Unseld, 6-3 Al Correll and 6-4 Steve Renko. Had the climate been right, all five of them could have stuffed the ball.

“Oh, we’d dunk in practice and now and then in warmups for games, just for fun,” says Gibson. Harry’s now retired in Lawrence after a long career in a top-echelon job with Exxon.

“But even though Wilt and Russell and Elgin Baylor had become so noted for their jumping ability, you didn’t see much dunking. I think the first guy I ever saw dunk in college, or at least somebody who dunked while I was playing against him, was a 6-5 named Jumpin’ Joe Caldwell of Arizona State.”

Arizona State beat Kansas 71-62 at Manhattan in the old Sunflower Doubleheader format in 1963, Gibson’s junior year.

“Joe could really soar and I’m surprised the dunking bit didn’t become a lot more prominent sooner. But the game was not as rough and tumble then and there was more flow and finesse than the rough-housing you see so much of today.”

Kansas State had a kid named Gene Wilson in the middle ’50s who could dunk and was one of the early Big Seven guys to do it. But he was a reserve who didn’t get much of a showcase.

Then in case you forgot, college ball outlawed the dunk in 1967-68, during the Lew Alcindor reign at UCLA. The NCAA didn’t legalize the stuffer again until 1976-77. There were a lot of guys, black, red, yellow and white, who moaned about coulda-shoulda-woulda on the jam unless it was in practice. During that period, you couldn’t even dunk during warmups.

Footnote: Even though my three leapers didn’t make major all-star lists as collegians, they might qualify as All-Americans under Phog Allen’s measuring stick. Doc never picked his best or favorite team, saying that you find out if somebody is an All-American 20 years later, after you see what he does with his life.

Well, Harry Gibson, with a deep Harry Darby family-Roy Edwards-Ray Evans background, did well with Exxon and busts his gut to help KU now. Banker Gary Padgett has done well as a citizen and is always around when KU needs good things. John Cleland has remained active for KU and made quite a mark with Security Benefit.

They’re three white guys who could definitely jump, especially when KU issues a call for help to complete some worthwhile program.