Ken Sailors

Kenneth Lloyd Sailors (January 14, 1921 – January 30, 2016) was an American professional basketball player and played in the 1940s and early 1950s. A point guard, he is regarded as being one of the players who developed the jump shot as an alternative to the two-handed, flat-footed set shot. After being named All-American in college basketball for Wyoming in 1942 and 1943, Sailors served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II and returned to play for the Cowboys after the war again winning All-American honors in 1946. Sailors played pro basketball for several teams, then moved to Alaska with his wife and became a high school basketball coach in Glennallen, Alaska north of Valdez.

Early life Sailors was born January 14, 1921 in Bushnell, Nebraska southwest of Scottsbluff, and grew up on a farm south of Hillsdale, Wyoming. Hillsdale is east of Cheyenne. Sailors developed his effective jump shot while playing on the farm against his older brother Barton (known as Bud). He was the unanimous selection as College Basketball Player of the Year in 1943. He was one of several team members who had their sporting careers interrupted by their wartime military service; Sailors enlisted in the U.S. Marines and was promoted to captain by war's end.

Sailors earned All-American honors again after his return to college in 1946. He was the only player in the history of Wyoming Cowboys basketball to be selected as an All-American three times, in 1942, 1943, and 1946. He scored 3,480 points in his professional career.

Legacy After retirement from pro basketball, in 1951 Sailors chose to move to Glennallen, Alaska where he became a high school teacher and coach. Women's basketball teams at Glennallen High School won three state championships under Sailors's coaching.

Sailors was inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame on October 29, 1993.

John Christgau, author of the book The Origins of the Jump Shot, said that Sailors’ jump shot technique was the one that modern fans would recognize as the "jump shot".

Sailors died on January 30, 2016 in Laramie, sixteen days after his 95th birthday, of complications from a heart attack he had in December 2015.

BAA/NBA career statistics Legend GP Games played FG% Field-goal percentage FT% Free-throw percentage RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team GP FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1946–47 Cleveland 58 .309 .595 – 2.3 9.9 1947–48 Chicago 1 .000 .000 – .0 .0 1947–48 Philadelphia 2 .667 .000 – .0 2.0 1947–48 Providence 41 .300 .692 – 1.4 12.7 1948–49 Providence 57 .341 .766 – 3.7 15.8 1949–50 Denver 57 .349 .721 – 4.0 17.3 1950–51 Boston 10 .160 .625 .3 .8 1.8 1950–51 Baltimore 50 .348 .738 2.3 2.8 9.5Career 276 .329 .712 2.0 2.8 12.6

Playoffs Year Team GP FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1947 Cleveland 2 .375 .750 – 2.0 7.5Career 2 .375 .750 – 2.0 7.5