Ken Charlton (2010) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Ken Charlton

Induction:
2010
Class:
1963

1962-63 Consensus All-American
1963 NCAA Midwest Regional Most Outstanding Player
Two Big Eight Conference titles and top 10 national rankings
Eighth all-time leading scorer in CU history with 1,352 points

Ken Charlton, a lanky 6-foot-6, 191-pound forward, battled through a history of knee problems to lead Colorado to a pair of Big Eight Conference titles, two top 10 national rankings and NCAA Championship berths (1962, 1963) ... CU was 19-7 each of those seasons, eventually succumbing to Cincinnati (the '62 national champion) both years in the NCAA tournament ... He capped his career by being named the Most Outstanding Player in the '63 NCAA Midwest Regional, when he scored 26 points in a win over Oklahoma City, and despite being hobbled by a bad knee, came back with 23 in a loss to Cincinnati; the crowd in Lawrence gave Charlton several ovations for his gritty play against the two-time defending NCAA champs ... He often had to have his knees drained weekly so he could play ... CU's eighth all-time leading scorer (1,352 points) and rebounder (671), he was a consensus All-America selection in 1962-63 ... The Buffs were 53-24 during his 3-year career... He scored a career high 35 points on two occasions, at Missouri his junior and at Kansas as a senior, just under half of CU's total points in both victories ... He was CU's all-time leading scorer at the time of his graduation ... He led CU in rebounding as a sophomore (8.8 per game) and as a junior (9.5) and was third his senior season (8.2) ... He averaged 20.0 points per game in four NCAA tournament contests ... During his senior year, he hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal three straight road victories at Nebraska (58-56), Iowa State (58-55) and Oklahoma State (64-61) ... He was also a first-team Academic All-America selection in '63, the first year such a squad was selected for hoops ... Previously had his jersey number (#23) honored in 1999 ... The late Sox Walseth called him "the finest offensive player I ever coached." ... He had the privilege and experience to play for legendary coach John Wooden when he helped the West to an 82-79 win over the East in the annual Shrine All-Star game in 1963; he scored 15 points which was second-most on the West squad ... A long-time Boulder banking executive after his playing days ... He was inducted into CU's now defunct Athletic Hall of Honor in 1980.