An iconic starting five of Kansas State basketball greats includes Bob Boozer, Mitch Richmond, Mike Evans, Rolando Blackman and one-year wonder Michael Beasley.
Yet the greatest of the grand was Boozer, a two-time, first-team All-American (1957-58 and 1958-59), who led Kansas State to a pair of Big Seven/Eight championships and NCAA tournament appearances.
Boozer, the most decorated player in Kansas State history, passed away on Saturday at 75. His wife, Ella, told The Associated Press Boozer, a native of Omaha, Neb., died of a brain aneurysm after becoming ill last Friday.
Boozer was the landslide leading vote-getter for Kansas State’s All-Century team in 2003. He averaged a then-school-record 25.6 points per game his senior year and finished his three-year career with 1,685 points and 824 rebounds.
Boozer ranks fifth in career points and fourth in career rebounds for the Wildcats. His 21.9 career scoring average is second only to Beasley’s 26.2 average during the 2007-08 season.
After his college career, he played on the 1960 Olympic Team, which also starred Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Jerry Lucas.
Boozer, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward, averaged 14.8 points and 8.1 rebounds during an 11-year NBA career that started with the Cincinnati Royals, where he was No. 1 overall pick. He also won the 1971 NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks, and was inducted into the Omaha Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2010.

 — Mack McClure