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Volume 1 Issue 1
KANSAN.COM
Page 5B
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JAYHAWKERS JAR ST.JOHN'S,80-63
KANSAN
STAFF
MARCH 27
1952
Kansas won its first NCAA championship last night as the Jayhawks rolled over St. John's of Brooklyn 80-63 in the tourney finals in Seattle. The win sends Kansas into the Olympic playoffs in Kansas City on Saturday.
Control-playing and ball-hawking by the Kansans proved to be too strong a factor for St. John's Redmen as Kansas took an early 1-0 lead on a free throw by All-American Clyde Lovellette and was never heeded.
Lovellette turned in his usual impressive game, hitting 12 from the field and nine from the charity stripe for 33 points. He was important to the rebounding as he controlled the boards for Kansas.
Lovellette swept the NCAA record book clean as he garnered the most field goals (56) the most free throws (35) and the most points (141) made by one player for the four-game round of NCAA play. The old records stood at 41,27 and 53, respectively.
Going into the game, Lovellette only had to make two free throws to break the existing record. Within one minute of play, he had tied the record. It was broken before the first period ended.
Lovellette was given the "outstanding player" of the tournament award.
Lienhard open on the outside to shoot.
Bill Lienhard was impressive with his ball hawking and sharp shooting from the outside. He sank five field goals and two free throws for 12 points. St. John's attempted to stop Lovelette by dropping back to two or three men to guard him, which left
Bob "Trigger" Kenney was an important aspect in the Kansas win as he knifed through the Redmen defense to steal the ball.
Dean Kelley was sharp in his floor play and rebounding.
Bill Hougland, playing with a bad leg, also was a factor in the win with his long shot artistry. Charlie Hoag, hitting for nine points, and John Keller showed speed and good defense in the win.
University Archives
MANNING LEADS KANSAS TO CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
ELAINE SUNG APRIL 5,1988
in 1980, when the U.S. hockey team defeated the Soviets at Lake Placid, N.Y., in the Winter Olympics, sports commentator Al Michaels uttered his now-famous question: "Do you believe in miracles?"
The Jayhawks did. They defied all logic, beat the odds and conquered the previously unstoppable Oklahoma Sooners last night 83-79 in Kemper Arena and took the 1988 NCAA Championship, the first national title for Kansas and the Big Eight Conference since 1952.
But the situation did not look good for the Jayhawks' when they fell behind by five points with more than 13 minutes left in the game. The Jayhawks looked grim as they huddled during their time-out, and the Sooners did some preliminary dancing, thinking the championship was all theirs.
The Sooners, though, overlooked two things: substitution and experience. Oklahoma coach Billy Tubbs substituted only 12 times the entire game compared to Kansas' 42. In addition, forward Dave Sieger, who hit six of eight three-point shots in the first half, faltered at the three-point line and eventually gave up long-range shooting and passed it inside to Stacey King.
The Sooners also thought that their full-court press would carry them through. It had intimidated other teams, but not the Jayhawks, who had seen it twice before and were no longer afraid of it.
"We know what they do in the game," said Kansas forward Milt Newton. "With other teams, they're in shock with the press. But we're accustomed to that. We didn't think that we could get beat a third time. This third time was for the national championship."
The Sooners tried to speed up the tempo as they had done in the first half, but several times the Jayhawks deliberately held the ball at the top of the circle to rest and throw Oklahoma off the game.
Oklahoma called a time-out with 1:39 remaining. The score was 77-73, and Grace just completed two free throws. After the time-out, guard Terrence Mullins fouled Kansas guard Clint Normore and Normore missed the front end of his one and one.
Kansas coach Larry Brown sent in Scooter Barry, one of the team's top free-throw shooters. Sieger fouled Newton, who made the front end of his one and one. He missed the second shot.
With less than a minute in the game, Grace hit a jump shot for a 78-75 score, and Oklahoma called a time-out. With :41 left, guard Mookie Blaylock hit a jump shot and made the score 78-77. Tubbs called for another time-out.
Oklahoma applied pressure as the Jayhawks passed the ball around the perimeter. Blaylock fouled Barry, but Barry completed only the first of his free throws with 16 seconds left in the game.
Oklahoma called its last time-out. On the in-bounds pass, Piper was stuck and could not find anyone open. He called a time-out, and on the second try he pushed it in to Manning.
No. 1 team in the country. How do you like us now?"
"That was about as nervous as I was in the game," Piper said. "They switched a couple guys on us. I didn't have a clear pass, and I wasn't going to take a chance. I told Danny out of the huddle that the ball was coming to him. The other guys were so quick, we needed to use Danny's size."
With 5 seconds left, Grant fouled Manning. And Manning sealed the victory by once more completing both his free throws to make the final score 83-79.
"This feeling is great to be able to close out my career like this in Kansas City, in front of people that have supported me for four years," Manning said. "It's something that's well deserved for them, but it wasn't a gift. Some people said we got lucky, but what's luck? Luck presents opportunity, and we took that opportunity.
"This is for all the people who said it couldn't be done, that we wouldn't make it. This is from the national champions, the
When the final buzzer sounded, the players rushed onto the center of the court and became one tangled mass, surrounded by cheerleaders, security officers and cameraman desperately trying to capture the moment.
The crowd was screaming in the stands, and Kansas students who were lucky enough to get tickets for the game were dancing on the press tables that lined the court. The Kansas basketball band played "Goin' to Kansas City." The CBS cameras were pushing to get Manning, who finished with 31 points and 18 rebounds and was voted the tournament's most outstanding player.
Kansan File Photo
The players donned national championship T-shirts. Guard Kevin Pritchard searched for his parents and saw that they were still in the stands waving. He demanded that the security officers let his parents on the floor, and together they celebrated the victory.
Somewhere in the middle was Brown, who has taken two different schools to three different Final Four appearances in the last seven years. Brown, at age 47, had succeeded in leading the Jayhawks to his first national championship.
The crowd had its eyes fastened on the Kansas team as each player received his chance to cut the net. The Sooners linked off to their dressing room, heads down. There would be no victorious dancing on the basketball rims this night.
Just two months ago, Kansas was 12-8, and people wondered whether the Jayhawks would receive a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Last night, they shook off the skeptics, played the game of their lives and sent Manning and fellow senior forwards Piper and Archie Marshall off with the greatest farewell present possible.
The stepladders were set up under the baskets at each end, and Marshall, as he did in Pontiac, Mich., was the first to mount the ladder and cut the net.
Kansan File Photo
BE A PART OF A NEW TRADITION.
RECYCLE LANDFILL COMPOST
ROCK CHALK RECYCLE was developed to promote waste reduction efforts by diverting recyclable and compostable waste from the landfill at all Kansas Athletic events. There we educate fans about reducing our environmental, social, and economic impacts through responsible waste diversion.
recycle.ku.edu
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