Except for the day he was married and the day his daughter was born, there has been no bigger day in Darnell Valentine’s life than Saturday.

“This is large. This is incredible. This is the crowning moment for me, the crowning moment of my adult life right now,” said Valentine, whose jersey No. 14 was hung in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse at halftime of Saturday’s KU-Georgia Tech game.

“Twenty four years since I played is a nice place to be. I can certainly appreciate this and relish the fact it’s happening now.”

Valentine, KU’s all-time leading steals and free-throw leader and fifth-leading scorer in school history, says he couldn’t have made it alone.

“The people I played with … they know what I was like as a player. Ken Koenigs, John Crawford, Clint Johnson and all the guys … it’s such a blessing to be the one honored from that era,” Valentine said. “Coach Ted Owens, (assistant) Lafayette Norwood, so many people have helped me become the person I am today.”

Valentine, a Wichita point guard who played at KU from 1977 to ’81 and went on to play nine years in the NBA, didn’t stress the past couple of decades over the fact he had yet to be honored by his alma mater.

“It hadn’t happened for so long, so I hadn’t given it much thought,” said Valentine, whose jersey hangs next to that of fellow Wichitan Lynette Woodard. “Times change, and it’s a new time now. It seemed with Roy Williams’ success, the program had a number of jerseys retired from the teams he coached. With a lot of jerseys retired in a relatively short period of time, some others might have possibly been (overlooked).

“You weigh my accomplishments with some products who’ve worn a University of Kansas jersey, and I think I fall somewhere in there favorably,” Valentine added modestly.

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Owens was on hand Saturday, along with Valentine’s high school coach and lifelong friend Norwood.

“Lafayette … I don’t know if he adopted me, or if I grabbed his leg, but we’re attached,” said Valentine, director of player development for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Valentine, who was a prize recruit in high school, was asked if he would have skipped college for the NBA if today’s climate existed back in the early ’80s.

“That’s a good question,” he said. “I was dealing with the mentality of Wichita, and at the time I was blessed at the forefront of breaking down barriers, the mentality of the basketball world seeing Wichita as a hotbed.

“We had a period with myself, Antoine Carr, Aubrey Sherrod, Greg Dreiling, Ricky Ross … players with a lot of ability. I was proud I was at the beginning of that, breaking down a lot of doors for Wichitans.”