He could have put his grandson on his knee and told him plenty about the good old days.

Bill Hougland could have told Mikel Ruder about how he transferred to Beloit High for his junior year and took the school to its first two state championship basketball title games.

He could have told his grandson how he was recruited by the legendary Phog Allen to play basketball at Kansas University, where he won a national title as a senior in 1952, then went on to win gold medals for the U.S. in Helsinki, Finland, and Melbourne, Australia, the second time as team captain, accepting the medal on the stand.

“I try to get him to talk about it, but he doesn’t talk about it too much,” said Ruder, the rugged anchor of Free State High’s offensive and defensive lines. “For one thing, shoot, it was 50 years ago it happened, so he probably doesn’t remember it all.”

It’s not that Hougland doesn’t remember. It’s that he knows that this is not his time, rather his grandson’s.

Linemen do the dirty work, and Free State coach Bob Lisher doesn’t have anyone who does it better than the 6-foot-4, 255-pound guard on offense and nose guard on defense. Wyoming has taken notice and offered him a scholarship. Ruder said he hadn’t received any interest from KU.

Hougland, retired from Koch Industries and living in Lawrence, blends in, at least as well as a 6-foot-5, broad-shouldered man can blend in, at the Free State team functions and games and at KU sporting events. His role is not that of KU legend, rather as spectator and quietly proud grandfather.

“He’s been around all my games, since, what, shoot, fourth grade, I think,” Ruder said. “He’s been real supportive, always wanted me to play sports and encouraged me.”

Hougland laughed when asked why he doesn’t share tales of his glory days with his grandson.

“Oh no,” said Hougland, moments before he left his house for Thursday’s KU women’s basketball game. “My time’s way past. They’re trained so much better than we were. We never went to weight-lifting programs, never heard anything about them. We all had summer jobs on farms. Those were the only jobs in Beloit.”

The grandfather and grandson share big frames and big smiles.

“He’s a good grandson, comes over here and helps us all the time,” Hougland said. “We don’t ever have to ask. He comes over to see us and asks what he can do for us.”

Former KU assistant and head football coach Don Fambrough, one of Hougland’s all-time favorites, “tried to get me to play football,” but Hougland concentrated on basketball. Hougland tried to get Ruder to improve his shot in basketball, but the grandson gave it up for football.

“He tries to teach me the underhanded free throw and things like that,” Ruder said, laughing.

Evidence in support of the grandfather: When Rick Barry retired, he had the best free throw percentage (.900) in NBA history. (Please, don’t ask, “Who’s Rick Barry?” Look it up.)

Hougland will be in the stands tonight at Shawnee Mission South District Stadium for the state semifinal between Free State and Shawnee Mission West, a pair of 11-0 teams playing for the right to advance to the state title game. As usual, he’ll be focused on the present, not the good old days.