NCAA Basketball

Another Miracle, Another Title for Kansas

By EDDIE PELLS,

Posted: 2008-06-09 22:45:58

SAN ANTONIO (April 7) - So patient for 20 years, Kansas had no problem working an extra five minutes to bring a long-awaited championship back to the heartland.

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Kansas' Comeback
Takes NCAA Title

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NCAA Title Game: Kansas 75, Memphis 68
Twenty years after Danny and the Miracles claimed Kansas' second championship, the Jayhawks get another miracle as they claim a third NCAA title with a dramatic comeback victory.

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Mario Chalmers hit a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation to push the game into overtime, and the Jayhawks grinded it out from there for a 75-68 victory Monday night over Memphis in one of the best title games in recent memory.

Chalmers' shot pulled Kansas into a tie after being down nine with 2:12 left. Memphis left the door open by missing four free throws down the stretch. And in a game where every point counted, Derrick Rose's two-point shot off glass that was initially ruled a 3 - and correctly overturned - also made a difference.

Chalmers' 3-pointer was never in doubt.

"We got the ball in our most clutch player's hands, and he delivered," Kansas coach Bill Self said.

It gave Kansas its first title since 1988, when Danny Manning, now an assistant coach for the Jayhawks, led them to an upset of Oklahoma. And the shot earned Chalmers the most outstanding player honor.

"I had a good look at it," Chalmers said. "When it left my hands it felt like it was good, and it just went in."

The most memorable performance in this one, though, came from Rose, the Memphis freshman, who completely took over the game in the second half, scoring 14 of his team's 16 points during one stretch to lift the Tigers to a 60-51 lead with 2:12 left.

But Kansas (37-3) used the strategy any smart opponent of Memphis' would - fouling the heck out of one of the country's worst free-throw-shooting teams - and when Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts made only one of five over the last 1:12, it left the door open for KU.

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First Team: Mario Chalmers, Kansas
It's not just for excellent timing, though his clutch shot-of-the-tournament 3-pointer will live on as a March Madness highlight. But Chalmers locked down defensively and hit double digits in every game.

It also proved all the Memphis critics right - that free-throw shooting really can cost you games, or a championship in this case. That was a theory coach John Calipari scoffed at during his team's run through the tournament, almost all his wins runaways.

Hustling the ball down the court with 10.8 seconds left and no timeouts, Sherron Collins handed off to Chalmers at the top of the 3-point line, and Chalmers took the shot. It hit nothing but net and tied the score at 63.

"Ten seconds to go, we're thinking we're national champs, all of a sudden a kid makes a shot and we're not," Calipari said.

Robert Dozier missed a desperation shot at the buzzer, and Rose went limping to the bench, favoring his right leg. Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson scored the first six points of overtime to put Kansas ahead 69-63. Memphis, clearly exhausted, didn't pull any closer than three the rest of the way.

"Overtime, they kind of beat us down," Calipari said. "I didn't sub a whole lot, because I was trying to win the game at the end."

Mens College Basketball

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self poses with students in Boys Town, Neb., Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Self, who visited Boys Town before appearing at an Omaha sports banquet in the evening, said he'll have no idea what the roster for the defending NCAA champions will look like until after June's NBA draft. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self, center, jokes during a visit to Boys Town, Neb., Wednesday, May 7, 2008, as he stands near Boys Town Executive Director Steve Boes, left. said he'll have no idea what the roster for the defending NCAA champions will look like until after June's NBA draft. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self, left, takes questions from students during a visit to Boys Town, Neb., Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Self, who was in Omaha for a sports banquet, said he'll have no idea what the roster for the defending NCAA championship team will look like until after June's NBA draft. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

** FILE ** In this Jan. 9, 2008 file photo, LSU's Garrett Temple (14) knocks the ball away from Mississippi State's Ben Hansbrough, right, and Temple eventually ends up with the ball during the first half of a college basketball game in Baton Rouge, La. Hansbrough, who helped Mississippi State advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament last month, is transferring to Notre Dame. (AP Photo/Bill Feig, File)

Memphis head coach John Calipari smiles as he answers a question at a news conference at the college basketball Final Four in this April 6, 2008 file photo, in San Antonio. Calipari has signed a contract extension through the 2012-13 season that includes an annual raise of $500,000. Calipari will make $2.35 million per year and will receive a $5 million bonus if he stays through the end of the deal, athletic director R.C. Johnson announced Saturday, April 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

** FILE ** This March 27, 2008 file photo shows Texas guard D.J. Augustin (14) smiling during a news conference at the NCAA South Regional basketball tournament in Houston. All-American point guard D.J. Augustin says he is leaving Texas after two seasons to turn pro. He said Wednesday April 23, 2008 that he has long dreamed of playing in the NBA and that he is "ready to start living this dream." (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

** FILE ** In this March 22, 2008 file photo, Mississippi State guard Jamont Gordon responds to a question during a news conference at the NCAA men's basketball tournament South Regional in North Little Rock, Ark. Gordon has decided to turn pro but won't hire an agent before the NBA draft. Gordon told The Associated Press he planned to file the paperwork. In a phone interview Tuesday afternoon April 22, 2008, Gordon said he intends to go through with the draft if he remains injury free. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

** FILE ** In this March 23, 2008 file photo, Mississippi State guard Jamont Gordon (44) takes a shot as Memphis guard Antonio Anderson (5) defends in the first half of an NCAA men's basketball second-round South Regional game in North Little Rock, Ark. Gordon has decided to turn pro but won't hire an agent before the NBA draft. Gordon told The Associated Press he planned to file the paperwork. In a phone interview Tuesday afternoon April 22, 2008, Gordon said he intends to go through with the draft if he remains injury free. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

** FILE ** This March 19, 2006 file photo shows Bucknell basketball coach Pat Flannery pleading with an official during the first half of their NCAA tournament second-round basketball game against Memphis in Dallas. Flannery is retiring after 14 years on the bench at his alma mater. A person at the university told The Associated Press of Flannery's retirement Friday morning, April 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam, File)

** FILE ** Memphis coach John Calipari talks with Memphis freshman guard Derrick Rose (23) in the first half of the NCAA South Regional basketball final in Houston in this March 30, 2008 file photo, in Houston. Rose announced on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 he was jumping to the NBA, the same day Calipari agreed in principle to a contract extension with the school. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Arthur was dominant inside, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds, lots on dunks and easy lay-ups off lob passes. Chalmers finished with 18 points. Rush had 12 and Collins had 11 points, six assists and did a wonderful job shutting Rose for the first 28 minutes.

Rose wound up with 18 points in a game that showed how ready he is for the NBA. He was 3-for-4 from the line, however, and that one miss with 10.8 seconds left is what almost certainly would have sealed the game and given the Tigers (38-2) their first title.

Instead, the title goes back to Lawrence for the third time in the fabled program's history.

"If we played 10 times, it'd probably go five and five," Self said. "We got fortunate late."

The inventor of the game, James Naismith, was the first Jayhawks coach. It's the school that made household names of Wilt Chamberlain, Manning - and yes, even North Carolina's Roy Williams, the coach who famously left the Jayhawks, lost to them in the semifinals, but was, indeed, in the Kansas cheering section to watch Self bring the title back that he never could.

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When One
Meets One

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2008: Kansas 75, Memphis 68 (OT) Memphis had its first national title all but sewn up with a nine-point lead in the final 2:12. But a Mario Chalmers 3-pointer sends it to overtime and the Jayhawks roll to their third NCAA championship and first in 20 years.

This game was not about coaches or sidestories, though. It was about the game, and what a dandy it was - a well-needed reprieve from a more-or-less blah tournament in which 42 of 63 games were decided by double digits.

This was the first overtime in the title game since 1997, when Arizona beat Kentucky 84-79.

Kansas, mostly Collins, put the clamps on Rose for the first half, allowing the freshman only four shots and leaving him spiking the ball on the floor as he walked to the locker room after a frustrating 20 minutes.

It stayed that way for the first five of the second half, but Kansas couldn't pull away. Douglas-Roberts made sure of it, winning enough of the 1-on-1 matchups that the Memphis offense creates to keep the Tigers in range.

Then, finally Rose took over - a 3-pointer here, a scooping layup for a three-point play next. Then, the capper, an off-balance, 18-foot shot off glass with the shot-clock buzzer sounding. Officials at first credited Rose with a 3, but went to the replay monitor and saw he was clearly inside the line.

"I don't like this being able to go to the monitor," Calipari said. "I'm going to try to get that changed."

Even with the point deducted, Memphis has a 56-49 lead and all the momentum. Most teams would have been demoralized.

Clearly, Kansas is not most teams.

In fact, the Jayhawks are a team that has come together in tragedy over the last several months. The deaths of friends and family of Jackson, Sasha Kaun and Rodrick Stewart all cast a bit of a pall over this team, making Jackson wonder at times if staying at Kansas was even worth it.

But it was an injury, not a tragedy, that might have been most responsible for blending this championship formula. Rush tore up his knee during a practice game last May, and his NBA plans were put on hiatus.

He worked his way back into shape this season and is playing his best right now. He didn't have the most impressive stat line of the night, but it hasn't all been about stats for him in this, his junior season. His defense was stellar, as usual, and surely his experience and resolve played into Kansas' refusal to go away.

"I thought this would be great," Self said, "and it's a lot better than I thought it would be."

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2008-04-08 00:07:59