Legendary basketball coach John Wooden has always said, ""Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self has always impressed me as being a guy of sound character. Family man. Community minded. Leader. Successful basketball coach. Today, one of my fraternity brothers, Steve Purdy, called to tell me a story that solidified my impressions of Coach Bill Self, and I thought it worth sharing.

A little background. As a young man, I grew up in a household that was crimson and blue -- my parents went to KU, I had grandparents that went to KU -- and so, yeah, it was pretty well engrained in my soul. I played basketball at Salina Central here in Kansas and had some success -- playing alongside some tremendous teammates. Basketball was something I truly loved. In the summer, I would work odd jobs to earn enough money to go to Ted Owens Jayhawk Basketball Camp. And that was a great thrill, as well. I met guys like JoJo White and other NBA players who had attended Kansas who would work the camp during the summer, as well as kids from all over the United States.

Completing my high school career, I decided to head to KU. I wasn't good enough to get a full-ride scholarship at Kansas, and didn't really want to play small college ball, so I thought I'd join a fraternity (Phi Gamma Delta) and just go to school in Lawrence. It came to enrollment time, and fraternity brother Steve Purdy told me that they were having tryouts for the KU basketball squad, and that I should come along with him to see if we could make the team as walk-ons. So I decided to give it a try.

Forty-five guys showed up for three spots and when they posted names on the bulletin board outside the locker room, Steve and I had both made the squad. We were officially Jayhawks. Coach Owens called me up to the office to congratulate me, and welcomed me to the team. He politely mentioned it might be a good idea for Steve and me to get haircuts (hey it was the early '70s). So Steve and I found the only barber in Lawrence open on a Monday, and we got crew cuts, eliminating the hair locks that formerly touched our shoulders. We would have done anything to be part of the team, and we were pumped.

You have to know Steve Purdy to understand as a fraternity brother (or in that case, a real brother) why you would want him on your team. He is one of a kind: loyal like the mutt you had as a kid, and one of the most fun guys you will ever meet. He's built for fun and has a lot of energy. That was kind of a good and bad thing in college, but man, I love him just the way he is. It's guys like Steve that still keep our pledge class corresponding now some 30 years out of college.

The next day, we went to check in, and that's when I learned that Steve Purdy's brother, Chuck Purdy, was the team manager.

Chuck was great as a manager. He checked us out our shoes and issued us our reversible Jayhawk jerseys -- one side crimson, one side blue. The words Kansas were across our chests, and walking into Allen Field House as a player for the first time was like a dream. Chuck would always have an encouraging word for us as we made our way toward the court, where Assistant Coach Sam Miranda would waiting for us like a bulldog as he began to put us through our paces and whipped us into shape.

We young Jayhawks would be required to learn the plays of incoming teams, so that the varsity group could prepare for the next game. I was a scrub, and loved it. Tom Kivisto was the on-court leader of the team, and I played every day with guys like Danny Knight, Randy Canfield, Rick Suttle, Dale Greenlee, Tommy Smith, and Brady Morningstar's dad, Roger Morningstar.

Chuck Purdy was always there. Helping us with equipment. Keeping our stuff clean for the next day. He was a great manager. He was, in point of fact, our only manager.

Fast forward to today, as Chuck approaches his 58th birthday. Steve called to tell me this afternoon that Chuck has been fighting cancer for awhile. He's had it for five or six years and he has fought the good fight, but even with lots of chemo and radiation, the cancer has just migrated to his liver. Chuck probably doesn't have long to live.

But Steve and Chuck have made up a "bucket list" for Chuck -- you know, important things to do before Chuck transitions from this life to the next.

On the list was this "thing to do": Chuck wanted to go back to visit KU and see some guys from the team, so his old pals Tommy Smith and Roger Morningstar set up a time, and they brought Chuck down to Lawrence from South Dakota. They met and had lunch at The Wheel, one of our old stomping grounds at KU. They were about halfway through lunch, and who walks in? It was KU basketball Coach Bill Self. They had a great little visit and Coach Self invited Chuck to come sit in on practice. First came the tour of the new facilities, and then Chuck, Roger and Tommy settled in to watch the team at work.

About midway through practice, a voice called up to the stands, "Hey Chuck! Chuck! Why don't you come down here?" It was Coach Self, motioning him down. Chuck happily obliged as Coach Self introduced Chuck to each of the team members, telling them Chuck was the one manager of our team, back when one manager did it all. (Today, there are 14 managers at KU.) Coach Self asked Chuck to say a few words about what he was going through, and to give the players some words to live by. Chuck spoke to "never giving up" and "rising to the challenge," and spent about 30 minutes in the middle of practice with the team, as the squad listened on.

As Chuck finished speaking, he looked around, and noticed that the team had dropped to a knee, and with heads bowed, someone began to lift Chuck and his cancer up in prayer, and the entire Jayhawk team, the managers, and coaching staff prayed together for him. It had to be a very special moment for Chuck.

You see, Chuck is part of the legacy of Kansas basketball, but he's a very real person. And this team was demonstrating its walk in the decision they made to be involved with collegiate athletics, in playing ball at Kansas, and in affiliating with Coach Bill Self. It's clearly a relationship that goes well past being a basketball player. It's very much about who you will be and how you will conduct yourself in life. It's top-down stuff, and it's not done for the cameras, for the press, or for show, but it comes from the heart.

It's also about developing character, and it's something Bill Self demonstrates in his walk, as he leads by example. This will be a great Kansas team to watch, as they compete, and further as they grow into men, and then head out into the world. I'm guessing (I believe correctly) that regardless of the number of hoops they make, or line drills they run while players at Kansas, they'll be better people for their experience under a coach like Self -- a guy who cares about people first, a proven leader and a great person.

Kudos to Coach Self and the Jayhawk team for recognizing what's really important in life, and good luck this season.

And to Chuck, from everyone you selflessly helped each day and from everyone who is part of the KU family -- we send our thoughts and our prayers your way. God's blessings to you. Hang in there, bud.

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