10 years of Big 12 supremacy: 2011
Posted by Benton Smith
March 6, 2014 at 8:53 a.m.Advertisement
KUsports.com graphic by Janella Williams
From the time of Big 12 divisions, through realignment and the subtraction/addition of teams and a new 10-team format, one thing has remained constant in the conference for the past decade: Kansas University's men's basketball team has always finished in first place.
All week long, we'll be looking back at KU's 10 consecutive Big 12 championships by highlighting the top players and moments of each conference schedule, from 2005 to today.
Our five-day blog series will feature two seasons daily, Monday through Friday, so check back each day for more.
2011
Big 12 record: 14-2
Top 5 scorers:
Marcus Morris (jr., F), 17.2 points, 7.6 rebounds
Kansas forward Marcus Morris floats a bucket past the Oklahoma State defense during the first half on Monday, Feb. 21, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse. by Nick Krug
Markieff Morris (jr., F), 13.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks
Kansas forward Markieff Morris delivers a dunk before Texas A&M forward Ray Turner during the second half on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse. by Nick Krug
Tyrel Reed (sr., G), 9.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.5 steals
Kansas guard Tyrel Reed pulls up for a shot over Missouri guard Marcus Denmon during the first half on Monday, Feb. 7, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse. by Nick Krug
Tyshawn Taylor (jr., G), 9.3 points, 4.6 assists
Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor salutes after a three-pointer against Colorado during the first half on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse. by Nick Krug
Josh Selby (fr., G), 7.9 points, 2.2 assists
Kansas guard Josh Selby (32) shoots against Oklahoma State during the second half Monday, Feb. 21, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse. by Kevin Anderson
3 memorable moments
No. 1 — Uplifting experience: Robinson heroic vs. 'Cats
- Grief-stricken, Thomas Robinson returned to the Kansas lineup three days after his mother, Lisa, was buried. The backup power forward struggled early on before finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds in a 90-66 rout of Kansas State at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I played tonight because I cannot sit around too long. I knew my mother wouldn’t want me to sit around crying about it forever."
— Thomas Robinson
No. 2 — Seventh heaven: Jayhawks beat Missouri, claim league title outright
Kansas players Josh Selby, Thomas Robinson, Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris (22) collide in celebration on the court after defeating Missouri 70-66 and clinching the outright Big 12 conference championship Saturday, March 5, 2011 at Mizzou Arena. by Nick Krug
- Marcus Morris went for 21 points and 10 rebounds as Kansas closed out the regular season with a 70-66 win at rival Missouri, snapping a 17-game home court win streak for the Tigers and clinching KU's seventh straight Big 12 title outright in the process.
“We think of it as, a lot of teams can’t win one (title), so to get to two all the way to seven, that’s a big deal, especially when you have some legendary coaches telling you that’s a big deal. It speaks for itself. It’s Kansas. We do some impossible stuff here.”
— Elijah Johnson
No. 3 — Fitting tribute: KU basketball pays 'respect' to Lisa Robinson in win over Colorado
- The initials "L.R." were worn on KU's jerseys as the Jayhawks honored Lisa Robinson, the mother of forward Thomas Robinson, just days after she died unexpectedly. Marcus Morris paid tribute to his friend's mother by tapping the initials before every free throw, and hit two late to help Kansas win, 82-78, at Colorado.
“Me, Kieff and T. Rob were sitting in the room. He got a voicemail from his sister. She said to call him, and it was serious. He called back. He said he didn’t want any more bad news (his grandmother died in December and his grandfather a couple of Sundays earlier). She told him. He dropped down in tears. He felt he lost a big piece of everything in his life."
— Marcus Morris, on Thomas Robinson learning his mother, Lisa, had died
2011 BIG 12 STANDINGS
Kansas, 14-2
Texas, 13-3
Texas A&M, 10-6
Kansas State, 10-6
Missouri, 8-8
Colorado, 8-8
Nebraska, 7-9
Baylor, 7-9
Oklahoma State, 6-10
Oklahoma, 5-11
Texas Tech, 5-11
Iowa State, 3-13
10 years of Big 12 supremacy
Thursday: 2011 and 2012
Friday: 2013 and 2014
Comments
Dirk Medema 8 years, 2 months ago
In the "Where are They Now" category, where is Selby? So sad that he got injured and never reached his potential at KU. What a difference he could have made the next year for KU and for himself. It is sad when kids from disadvantaged situations get lured away too early by NBA $. So glad BRush came back in '07-'08 after his injury.
Aaron Paisley 8 years, 2 months ago
Selby is currently out of basketball. He played for a team in Croatia for about a month and was released about a month ago. He played 3 games for a Chinese team before that. The kid had a ton of potential, but these are the kind of stories that happen when a kid acts on the selfish advice of others.
Shannon Gustafson 8 years, 2 months ago
He's in the D-League last I heard.
Brian Mellor 8 years, 2 months ago
The thing I actually remember the most about that KSU game was at the end after the buzzer, Jacob Pullen ran up to Robinson and gave him a big hug. It was a really classy move. I always liked Pullen. Really I was pretty fond of KSU under Martin. I'm not sure I really like Weber very much. Too many snippy comments and underhanded jabs.
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