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PAGE 8
TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FaceoftheStreak
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THE DAILY DEBATE
MARIO CHALMERS
Shane Jackson
@jacksonshane2
EVERY KANSAS FAN
CAN REMEMBER
EXACTLY WHERE
THEY WERE WHEN...
they watched "The Shot," the now-famous moment when Mario Chalmers tied the 2008 National Championship and forced overtime.
Tears were shed that night, and Mass Street was flooded with people from the community. Kansas had won a national title. It was all made possible by one of the greatest shots in program history.
Every game, students save a chunk of shredded newspaper to toss up when Chalmers' shot finds the bottom of the net in the video.
"The Shot" has been played in every single pre-game hype video ever since.
THOMAS ROBINSON
For the last few weeks, The Kansan has been having a contest to find out who exactly has been the face of the streak of eleven consecutive conference title
Eleven years,11 conference titles. But one year stood out from the rest.
In 2007-08, Bill Self coached arguably his most talented team all the way to the National Championship game.
The path to the 2008 NCAA Championship included
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
"CHALMERS FOR THE TIE...GOT IT..."
JIM NANTZ
another conference title, the team's fourth consecutive title at the time.
Self's squad willed its way through one of the toughest routes to the title game that a team could have. They narrowly escaped Davidson in the Elite 8 with current front-runner for the NBA MVP, Stephen Curry. The Jayhawks bullled their way past a Tyler Hansbrough-led North Carolina team in the Final Four.
Kansas capped it off with an overtime victory against a Calipari-coached Memphis team in arguably one of the most thrilling title games in college basketball history.
Chathers had a note something to do with that. Memphis led by nine with 2:12 left in regulation, led by
Derrick Rose. The comeback looked improbable. Missed free throws by the Tigers opened the door, and Chalmers did the honors of shutting it completely.
With 2.1 seconds left in the game, Chalmers netted the game-tying three to force overtime. Kansas would end up cutting down the nets and winning its first title in 20 years.
Chalmers was rightfully awarded the 2008 Final Four Most Outstanding Player immediately following the win.
It's not like the moment Chalmers is now famous for came out of nowhere. He was a vital contributor in his three-year career at Kansas. Chalmers averaged 12.2 points per contest during his time at Kansas. He also added 2.8 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game.
Aside from his obvious accomplishments, Chalmers left a dent in the Kansas history books. He remains the total steals leader in Kansas men's basketball history at 97. He led the Big 12 in steals all three years.
many teams have come and gone over the last 11 years. Bill Self has continued to get the best out of his team, year after year. But only one team has cut down the nets. None of that would have been possible without Mario Chalmers.
Edited by Miranda Davis
EVERY KANSAS FAN
CAN REMEMBER
EXACTLY WHERE
THEY WERE WHEN
Scott Chasen
@SChasenKU
Kansas defeated Missouri in the last installment of the Border War, where Robinson's thunderous block electrified the Fieldhouse in a way that it had never been seen before, and has never been since.
Following Robinson's block,
Allen Fieldhouse reached a
noise level of 127.3 decibels,
which was an NCAA record.
For reference, 130 decibels
produces a noise comparable to a military aircraft takeoff from 50 feet away, according to chem.purdue.edu.
And yes, prolonged exposure to such a noise is not only painful, but can cause long-term hearing loss.
That's what Thomas Robinson did. That's who Thomas Robinson was.
In his three years at Kansas, Robinson improved at an exponential rate, culminating in a junior campaign when he finished as one of the four finalists for Naismith Player of the Year award.
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
That season, Robinson averaged 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, and it was apparent that it was going to be "his year" early on. After all, Robinson posted double-doubles in his first
"TAKES IT ALL THE WAY... BLOCKED...
OVERTIME."
- VERNE LUNDQUIST
six games, and even had a 30-point, 20-rebound outing in nonconference play.
Robinson was a huge part of the Jayhawks' massive success, all the way into March, reaching the Final Four for the second time in a five-year stretch.
In the tournament, Robinson posted 18 or more points in four out of the six games, and he had 13 or more rebounds four times as well. His motor allowed him to continue to relentlessly attack opponents all the way through the end of the season, despite the incredible body of work hed put in throughout the year.
After all, Robinson played more than 1,200 minutes for
the Jayhawks that season. Since Bill Self took over in the 2003-04 season, there have been exactly zero other power forwards or centers that have played that many minutes on the year. Zero.
Whether it was him pumping his fist and letting out a yell after swatting Phil Pressy's end-of-regulation attempt, or pretending to tear off his jersey Superman-style. Robinson was one of the most electric basketball players in the Bill Self era, and, for that, he was also one of the most beloved.
At Kansas, Robinson wore his heart on his sleeve and played with a toughness that is seldom seen in college basketball. Dealing with the loss of family members, Robinson grew up and became a man, and that was present every time he stepped on the court.
While Robinson's accomplishments on the court are obvious, he left another legacy: FOE.
Family Over Everything.
That motto didn't just apply to the team, but to Kansas fans as a whole. In his time at Kansas, Robinson wasn't just another player. He was so much more. Kansas fans cared for Robinson like he was one of their own, and that's why he should move on to the Final Four in Face of the Streak, even at the expense of Mario Chalmers.
— Edited by Miranda Davis
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