20 years later, Kansas does it again. As expected, Memphis and Kansas gave college basketball fans a thrilling championship game. Kansas cut down the nets to claim the 2008 NCAA Tournament crown after a thrilling finish in overtime. Memphis had the chance to win the game in regulation, but missed free throws will continue to haunt Chris Douglas Roberts and the rest of the Tigers until the next season begins. All season long, Memphis coach John Calipari has lashed back at the media arguing that free throws will not give his team any trouble and that they will be able to hit them in the clutch. Seems like Calipari’s biting his tongue now as the Tigers went 1-5 from the charity line at the end of regulation.
Nevertheless, the night and one shining moment belonged to Jayhawk Nation. With a solid combination of an inside and outside game, Kansas demonstrated what it takes to win a championship. Kansas flew under the radar for most of the season, while, UNC, UCLA and Memphis garnered all of the attention. However, over the course of the season and the tournament, Kansas made its way to the top of NCAA basketball world again.
While Mario Chalmer’s clutch three pointer with 2.1 seconds left will go down as one of the greatest shots in KU history, it was the stellar team play and the maturity demonstrated by the players.
Kansas will celebrate this championship for a long time because as of now their future is uncertain. Brandon Rush has already declared for the NBA twice and I am certain he will declare again this year. Collins and Chalmers have increased their draft stock after their impressive tournament run. However, the best NBA prospect will be Darrell Arthur who is almost a lock to go in the middle of the first round. He has the explosiveness and athleticism to be the next Antonio McDyess (before the 2…3…some number of knee surgeries)-like player. Even if KU loses these 4 superb athletes, the biggest loss would be losing Coach Bill Self to Oklahoma State. Let Mario Chalmers and the rest of Jayhawk nation celebrate the championship that has eluded them for twenty years for the time being, because they will have a long uncertain off season of personnel change.
