:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56045205/Schnellbacher_Otto_2_t440.0.jpg)
The only player on this list to play in the Pro Bowl, Schnellbacher is maybe the second best all around athlete in Kansas history. He led the NFL in interceptions in 1951, and played in back to back Pro Bowls. At Kansas, he played wide receiver, helped lead the team to the 1947 Orange Bowl, and had the KU career receptions and yards records for over 20 years.
Alas, this list is about what he did during his KU basketball career. And he did plenty. Schnellbacher is one of three KU players ever to be a four-time first team All-Conference selection. He averaged roughly 11 points per game during his career, and nearly 13 ppg in his senior season, despite having his career interrupted by serving in a little thing called World War Two. Shooting baskets and Nazis. What a guy.
Schnellbacher, as you might imagine, was one of the toughest players in KU history, and one of the most competitive. It’s obviously tough to compare eras, but it’s hard to imagine KU ever having a 4-time first team All-Conference selection again.