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2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Commentary: Memphis had it, but Kansas took it

By By Dick Jerardi - Philadelphia Daily News

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Coverage of the festivities after the Jayhawks became the NCAA National Champions.

San Antonio — When legacies are on the line, it is no longer just a game. It becomes something bigger than the moment, something you can feel but not touch. And it makes even breathing difficult.

Which is why a national championship game that seemed over was not really over. Memphis had made almost all of its free throws since the Sweet 16 until it came time to clinch a title with a nine-point lead and just two minutes to play against Kansas at the Alamodome.

A turnover and four missed foul shots - three by star Chris Douglas-Roberts and one by Derrick Rose, who looked as if he had won the game for Memphis with one of the great eight-minute runs in championship history when he scored 16 of his team's 18 points and assisted on the other basket - negated all the Tigers had done to get back in the game and seemingly take control. Then, when they had a three-point lead with just five seconds left, they tried to foul Sherron Collins, but it was not called. So Collins pitched the ball to Mario Chalmers, who got a great look at a three to tie with 2.1 seconds left in regulation. It was perfect and sent the game careening into overtime.

"We were fouling there," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "Our man pushed (Collins) to the floor."

But when Calipari really wanted a foul called on his team, there was no call.

Memphis, so sure it had the title, had let KU off the hook. And had nothing left to give. Calipari, just seconds away from a title and perhaps a season just five points away from 40-0, had to watch as his team took bad shots that missed badly, forgot how to defend and shot 1-for-8 in OT. KU was not going to give it away. The Jayhawks made their foul shots in OT and won the title, 75-68, in overtime.

The inventor of the game, James Naismith, the first coach at Kansas, is buried not far from Phog Allen Fieldhouse, named in honor of the man who coached the Jayhawks' first national champions in 1952. There was the near-miss, triple-overtime loss to North Carolina that Wilt Chamberlain took with him to his grave. There was the Larry Brown-Danny Manning team that came from nowhere to steal the 1988 championship for Oklahoma in one of the great one-game coaching clinics in championship history. And all those four other finals appearances that ended in almost.

And 20 years after that improbable championship, KU had another that, in this one game, was even more improbable and not because this KU team was not most deserving. It surely was that, but this game really did seem lost.

"I thought we were national champions," Calipari said. "That's the great thing about college basketball . . . Then, it's OT and it's on again. You're supposed to win that game."

Only they didn't. Kansas took it away.

Kansas (37-3) outshot 39 of 40 teams. Only USC shot better than the Jayhawks in a season that saw them lose those games by a combined 13 points, all on the road in the Big 12.

They already have that eerie and unforgettable Rock Chalk Jayhawk, the best chant in sports, all of those fans swaying in Allen as KU leads big and it's getting late. Now, they have this.

When the buzzer sounded, KU coach Bill Self just leaned back in his chair, almost in disbelief at what he had just seen.

KU Basketball

Comments

fansincewilt (anonymous) says...

It is different this time than in 1988. In '88, we really didn't think we had much of a chance, even though we were with them all the way. This year, Self built a team much like the '97 and '03 runs where we felt we had a really good chance. I don't know why we won this one. It can be said of this team that they may have had more heart. Their defense was certainly amazing which did contribute greatly. I think, though, this team jelled in a way that they believed in one another. That may be one of the most difficult functions of a coach. The Tigers had some of that, but not nearly as much. This group of coaches and players defines the meaning of "team." The team won.

April 9, 2008 at 6:28 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaw7621 (anonymous) says...

Yeah, I agree fansincewilt... I'll also say that the other teams you mention all had some achilles heel. '97 ran into a quick team in Arizona and couldn't adjust their style. The 2003 team couldn't match up well with the long armed zone that Syracuse presented them. This years team, I think, could have played both of those games much better. One other point... having all 5 players on the floor (starters or reserves) presents a real problem to the defense. It makes it impossible for an opponent to focus on shutting down one or two guys. I'll remember this team fondly for a very long time and I miss them already.

April 9, 2008 at 7:25 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

Jaw... I'm sorry.. but that 2003 KU squad matched up perfectly well against Syracuse and outplayed them in nearly all facets except the free throw line. If we shot under 50% from this line on Monday night... we would not have had a chance, unlike the 03 team did with Syracuse. If that team hit even 66% of their free throws, they win that game without having to hit a tough three to tie in regulation. This team deserves all the credit and love in the world... but don't start putting hit head and shoulders above the 03 team in how they matched up. That team matched up great. Missed charities have nothing to do with matchups in a game like that.

I do agree that this team could battle any team in history... we proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt. We beat UNC & Memphis both on nights when our outside shots weren't falling. Winning ugly is a vital quality in a championship team... and Self will always have that. THAT, to me is the difference between this team and the 03 team.

The east coast analysts still tend to not give credit where it is due. They tend to ignore the fact that Memphis had to work so much harder to generate offense against KU that hitting FT's late is that much harder when you're exhausted and your shot gets flat. It was a different situation in 03 for KU... they were bricking free throws right from the onset.

April 9, 2008 at 8:44 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

ldaxon (anonymous) says...

Lebowski,

I agree with your point that KU is not being given credit for the fact that we wore MU out and the Tigers were just too tired in the final 2 minutes of regulation to hold on to their lead.....so Collins gets the steal and the 3 pointer, they miss their free throws, they don't foul even when they are trying to and they let Chalmers get his clutch shot off. The Tigers were just out of gas. Defense wins championships and our defense has been outstanding all year and just wears the other team out. Same thing happened to UNC. They almost came back but just ran out of gas at the end.

Give it up for the Jayhawks. Rock Chalk.

April 9, 2008 at 9:34 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

milehighhawk (anonymous) says...

wearing memphis out is one thing...but I think Dorsey fouling out was just as crucial.

April 9, 2008 at 9:47 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

Here's a good article on Mario and the game.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/column...

April 9, 2008 at 10:08 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

docnchg (anonymous) says...

Bill Self will surely consider some history. Very good to great college coaches i.e. Pitono, Floyd, did well in college, failed miserably in the NBA and are now back in college doing well.

Coaching 18-21 year olds is a lot different than coaching those NBA millionaires.

Boone Pickens owns osu Athletic Dept. He said fire Sutton and they did. If any coach (Self included) had a couple of bad years old, impatient Pickens would say fire him. any they would.

April 9, 2008 at 10:11 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jayhawkhud (anonymous) says...

Let's stop the historic distortion of this play right now. Rose was NOT fouling. It's not that he didn't push Collins "hard enough" as Calapari claims. He didn't push him at all. As Rose sees Collins falling, he throws up his hands with an "I didn't touch him" plea.

Watching the replay, I'm not so sure he isn't right. Collins may have tripped himself, but either way there's not an official in the country who would have whistled that foul at that point in the game, "bailing out" an out-of-control player. If tangling feet with Collins was Rose's idea of an intentional foul, he was too clever by much more than half.

Calapari is the goat, not the officials or Rose, and I have no respect for his failure to step up and say he let his team down. He should have called timeout and set his defensive strategy, whether it be to foul or defend the 3-point line. His team didn't know what to do.

As the game crumbled before him, Calapari choked right along with his star players. He lost sight of time, score and possession. He became a spectator while Self kept coaching, Jayhawks kept playing and Chalmers delivered.

Let's not have this tainted as another Don Dinkenger moment. KU needed the Tigers' help winning, but the win was clean, fair and square!

April 9, 2008 at 10:22 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jhawk52 (anonymous) says...

I think Calipari was thinking about how to cut down the nets, and what he was going to do with that trophy. He lost focus of the game 10 seconds too early.

April 9, 2008 at 10:57 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

oldboy (anonymous) says...

fansincewilt, you said "they believed in one another. " This was so obvious all year the way they played. I don't know whether any of them voiced this belief in public but when Jackson said that Self told them that they had to believe it appears to me that he told them just what they needed to hear at that time, corny or not. At a time like that they had to hang their hats on something and that seems to me to be the single best thing they could have heard.

They played that overtime just like that and as one Philadelphia writer said, they acted like they were socialists in that they took turns scoring in the overtime with the two bigs taking the first turns.

That was the best finish I have ever seen and their belief in their "team" concept carried them to the shoa by Mario.

April 9, 2008 at 11:58 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Strikewso (anonymous) says...

I have a great idea! Why don't they do a joint parade this Saturday with the football and basketball teams?

April 9, 2008 at 1:13 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

doctsmith (anonymous) says...

Jayhawkhud... I totally agree. I've watched the replay many times and I don't believe for a second that they were trying to foul. If they were trying to foul, it was a very pour effort. I think Mario could show them how to do it properly!! (he sure put Hansbrough on his ass) That was awesome.

They knew their tanks were empty with 5 or 6 minutes to go. That's when they started the stall game. I hate watching basketball when someone is just stalling out the shot clock.

Watching the rest of the game from the beginning, I never thought KU wasn't playing better than Memphis. I thought many of Memphis' shots that went in were well guarded/lucky/sloppy. (banking in a 3/2 with one sec on shot clock etc)

If KU doesn't win in Reg... I would have felt like we gave it to them. I never felt like they were better or outplayed us. All these analysts who say Memphis gave it to us are blind. They were lucky to have ever been 9 points ahead at any point in this game.

Rock Chalk

April 9, 2008 at 1:42 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

TXJayhawk92 (anonymous) says...

Not to minimize anything about the way the guys played, their heart, their unselfishness, or anything else, I'd like to add that they were set up to win both the Memphis and the UNC game by Bill's locker room talk before each game. I'm so happy that CBS aired those because a lot can be learned there. Bill never said "we've accomplished our goals" or "we should just be happy to be in the Final Four." What he did say is "Go out there and have as much fun playing as I'll have coaching." He following that with "We have nothing to lose tonight, but a lot to gain". With two lines he lifted the pressure off of a group of 18-21 year olds and gave them the confidence to go out there and do what they do - play great basketball as a team. They never panicked, even down by nine. Against UNC the came out like they were playing pick up in school yard - and kicked butt!

Rock Chalk to our guys and huge kudos to an excellent coaching job.

April 9, 2008 at 1:54 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jhawks (anonymous) says...

I heard Kelvin Sampson is looking for a job. I wonder if that would be a good fit at OSU.

April 9, 2008 at 2:38 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Strikewso (anonymous) says...

We destroyed Carolina. That's what I want to remember.

April 9, 2008 at 3:50 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

CasperCorps (anonymous) says...

This team had defense, the others didn't..

April 9, 2008 at 4:19 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

MacinAlbq (anonymous) says...

Was it the talent of Mario Chalmers or the spirit Wilt Chamberlin who guided the shot in the last 3 seconds?

I think both!

April 9, 2008 at 4:58 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jhwkfan162515 (anonymous) says...

I'll be at the parade. And I'll have a friend with me, too.

April 10, 2008 at 12:55 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

melrank (anonymous) says...

I see you added the 15 jhwkfan - nice tribute.

April 10, 2008 at 3:14 p.m. ( | suggest removal )