Stuart Lantz the Headliner at Doc Sadler's Fundraiser

A charter member of the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame and the first Husker player in history to have his jersey retired was the headliner Friday at Doc Sadler’s third annual golf tournament, a fund-raising event sponsored by the Rebounders Club at Lincoln’s Hillcrest Country Club.

Stuart Lantz, a two-time All-Big Eight guard who played eight seasons in the NBA, said he’s never swung a golf club in his life, but he’s glad he accepted an invitation to the tournament so he could connect with 25 former Husker players.

One of the 25 in the 140-player field was former teammate and fellow Husker Hall of Famer Tom Baack, who arrived from Indiana at the same time Lantz landed in Lincoln from Uniontown, Pa.

Sadler pointed out that a former Husker assistant football coach, John Melton, was the key to recruiting Lantz. He saw Lantz play basketball while recruiting one of his best friends, the late Ben Gregory, a former Nebraska running back, and tipped off the basketball staff about Lantz.

“Stu was the most dedicated player I’ve ever seen in all the years I was in coaching,” said Glenn Potter, a former longtime Husker assistant coach who participated in Friday’s tournament.

Lantz and Baack became one of the best 1-2 scoring punches in Nebraska basketball history. Even though Baack barely edged Lantz in career scoring, Baack said his more talented teammate was the best basketball player he ever saw play for the Huskers.

“When Stu first got here, he could do so many things and jump so high, I was almost intimidated,” Baack said. “We became good friends and close teammates and are proud of what we accomplished.”

“Tommy was a real leader, and I was fortunate to play with him,” Lantz said of Baack.

Hoppen Recalls Constant Kudos for Lantz

“When Coach Baack was an assistant coach here, he would always tell me how he wished I could have seen Stu Lantz play, so I’ve been looking forward to meeting him for a long time,” said former center Dave Hoppen, Nebraska’s all-time leading scorer and one of three Huskers to have their jerseys retired.

Eric Piatkowski, the third player to have his jersey retired after Lantz and Hoppen, met Lantz when he played for the Los Angeles Clippers.  Lantz was the color television analyst for the Los Angeles Lakers. “He’s a legend and when you meet him, you understand why,” Piatkowski said.

Lantz just finished his 23rd year covering the Lakers, but enjoyed taking a stroll down memory lane this weekend.

In 1966, Lantz and Baack led Nebraska to its first ever 20-win season (20-5) and a second-place finish in the Big Eight.

“They were part of the reconstruction of Nebraska basketball,” Sadler said, cognizant that the Huskers had not had a winning season in 15 years before that 1966 team turned things around.

“We had a good team,” Baack recalled.

“A very good team,” Lantz added, pointing out that fellow guard Grant Simmons was All-Big Eight that season, and the Huskers finished with the No. 11 ranking in the final UPI poll.

Huskers Made NIT, Won KC Holiday Tournament

The next two seasons, Lantz became Nebraska’s first ever, two-time, first-team All Big Eight player. As juniors, he and Baack led the Huskers to their first ever NIT Tournament bid, and as seniors, they won the Big Eight Holiday Tournament championship in Kansas City.

IN 75 games at Nebraska, Lantz scored 1,269 points ? an average of 16.9 points per game.

A third-round NBA draft choice of the San Diego Rockets, Lantz played for five teams in his eight seasons in the NBA. “We moved to San Diego right after college, and we never left,” he said, “even though I played for those other teams.”

In 547 NBA games, Lantz scored 6,782 points ? a 12.4-point average.

“The best thing that ever happened to me was meeting my wife in Lincoln and being married to her for 43 years,” Lantz said. “We’ve been blessed with three children and four grandchildren, and we trace it all right back here to Lincoln, Nebraska.”

Lantz’s wife, Linda, and her 92-year-old father, Dale Theobald, who still lives in Lincoln, attended the Rebounders Club banquet Friday night where Lantz was honored.

Theobald is as happy now as he ever was that Lantz decided to come to Nebraska more than four decades ago. "If I could draw up a recipe for a son-in-law, I don't know how I could come up with anyone better than the one I already have," he said.