Russell Robinson, Darnell Jackson, Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Sasha Kaun - those guys were the key pieces of Self's first two recruiting classes at Kansas, and they went through opening round losses in their first two seasons to Bucknell and Bradley. In the national media they were labeled chokers, underachievers and were written off as mentally weak - whether or not that was actually an accurate portrayal.
Now, they are national champions. And not just that, but they exhibited an unbelievable amount of composure and mental fortitude down the stretch of one of the most competitive title games in years. Even when Memphis got a 9 point lead late in the game, they never backed down and just made play after play while the Tigers wilted at the free throw line.
Congratulations Jayhawk upperclassmen, your legacy as champions is now secure.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Don't forget the great play of Collins. He is the one that made the incredible steal in the last 5 seconds and fed the ball to Chalmers. Kansas had the drive and passion to win. They never stopped pushing, and it is awesome to see a team so hard working do everything it could. Memphis has better talent, but clearly Kansas was a team in every sense of the word, and definitely a championship one.
Posted at 2:55AM on Apr 8th 2008 by Mike
2. I am most happy for Self and his hard work and the team (not Rush) that made the mad rush to win in regulation and then overtime. Hats off to an amazing, amazing victore. Rock chalk Jayhawks. Self is golden has a good thing going. How much more do you do you need ? You can keep a good thing going or try to build sometime from a semi-scratch. Need a challenge? Keep on building here in Lawrence !
Posted at 11:51AM on Apr 8th 2008 by dreric1kansas
3. I am delighted with our Jayhawks victory but Lets not second guess what went wrong for Memphis. They played long and hard and should be holding their heads high. Another day, another game, who knows.
Both teams deserve our respect.
Posted at 1:09PM on Apr 8th 2008 by Mary
4. Mary is correct but I have to wonder why Memphis didn't foul in the closing seconds. A three point lead in the closing seconds and instead of sending the Jayhawks to the line for two, they let them shoot a three-pointer. Poor coaching, player fatigue or what? Too much at stake not to know the game circumstances. I am a died-in-the-wool KU fan but I still wonder what happened to playing heads up.
Posted at 4:09PM on Apr 8th 2008 by john