After gaining a wealth of knowledge as a player and assistant under Allen, Harp became the Jayhawks' head coach himself from 1956 to 1964.
In 1957, the Jayhawks captured the Midwest Regional and made it to the finals, only to be stopped by the University of North Carolina in a memorable 54–53 loss in triple overtime in Kansas City, Mo.
Prior to that Harp was head coach for two seasons at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.
Harp played basketball at KU, lettering from 1938 to 1940 and was one of the starting guards on the 1940 team that lost to Indiana University in the NCAA finals.
He was survived by his wife of 56 years, Martha Sue (d. 2009), and a son, Richard Layne Harp, of Las Vegas.