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BA
CHAMPIONSHIPS BY THE DOZEN
KANSAN.COM
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STARTING FIVE
RUSSELL ROBINSON Junior guard
Robinson started in all but one game for Kansas, shooting an efficient 43.6 percent from the field. He finished third in the Big 12 in steals and was once again named to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team.
MARIO CHALMERS
Sophomore guard Chalmers scored more efficiently this season, averaging 12.2 points per game, second to only Brandon Rush on the team. He was third-team All-Big and All-Big 12 Defensive Team with 97 steals, a Kansas single-season record at the time.
Saphomore guard
Rush picked up where he left off in his freshman year. He started every game and was named an All-American Honorable Mention. He dominated in the four tournament games, averaging 14.3 points and six boards per game.
BRANDON RUSH
Sophomore forward Wright was named a third-team All-American before deciding to leave Kansas. His 30 points against Missouri were possibly the best individual performance of this season.
JULIAN WRIGHT
SASHA KAUN
Kaun was a building block down low again this season, as he averaged 5.9 points and 3.8 boards per game, with a bump in each during Big 12 play.
SEASON AT A GLANCE
Jeff Jacobsen/KU Athletics
A nice recruiting class of Darrell Arthur, Sherron Collins and Brady Morningstar made this team relatively deep, but still a bit young, with no veteran leadership. Kansas won the Big 12 outright in the regular season, but the real story was Self, who earned a contract extension then finally had some NCAA Tournament success. Kansas, a two-seed, cruised in the first three games of the tournament, but eventually fell to UCLA, 68-55, in the Elite Eight.
Undisputed: Kansas claims title
MICHAEL PHILIPS
MICHAEL PHILLIPS originally published in 2007
Freshman Kevin Durant was making highlight-reel shots from everywhere on the court. So what did coach Bill Self do?
He told his players to back off of Durant.
"We said to make Durant beat us, because everybody else was lighting us up," he said. "Just try to keep the other guys under wraps."
That, combined with a textbook example of the law of averages, fueled a second-half comeback that led to a 90-86 Kansas victory.
The Longhorns shot 11-for-14 -79 percent - from three-point range in the first half, including a perfect 5-for-5 from Durant. That number plummeted to just 19 percent in the second
Meanwhile, the Jayhawks never dropped below 50 percent from behind the arc, not panicking or rushing shots during the Longhorns' hot streak.
half.
At halftime, Self told his players not to focus on Durant, because he was going to be spectacular no matter how many hands were in his face, but to focus on the rest of the Texas team.
Wright and junior center Sasha Kaun scorednine of the first 11 points in the second half, cutting the Longhorns' lead to two.
"Coach told us that there were no 12-point plays, but we can be aggressive and try to put pressure on them," Wright said. "We were able to get inside more and get to the rim."
"It's a long game," sophomore guard Mario Chalmers said. "We just wanted to keep playing the way we were defensively."
Self said he was pleased with the way his players handled the halftime deficit.
Sophomore forward Julian Wright led the charge as the Jayhawks took back the paint, denying Texas guard D.J. Augustin open shots off screens and keeping him away from the basket.
"It's good to be under pressure situations, and I think our guys felt pressure in the first half," he said. "It's good to be able to play out of that."
On the offensive end,
The game also changed when Durant went down midway through the second half, re-aggravating an ankle injury.
the game, Kansas outscored Texas 10-7. He returned three minutes later, although he played with a noticeable limp for the remainder of the game.
With Durant out of
The Longhorns left Allen Fieldhouse impressed by the depth and talent of the Jayhawks.
"They have somebody for every position," Augustin said. "They have big guys and they have guards."
Wright took his turn stepping up on Saturday, holding Durant in check with man-to-man coverage and allowing the rest of the team to neutralize the Longhorns in the second half. Self tipped his hat to all the players, saying the athleticism was at a high level.
"There wasn't a lot of play running out there," he said. "There were a lot of guys making plays."
BY THE NUMBERS
BY THE NUMBERS 14 — Kansas had won 14-straight games before losing to UCLA in the Elite Eight.
82-80 Kansas defeated No.1 Florida, 82-80 in overtime, in non-conference play. But despite that, Florida would go on to win the NCAA championship for the second year in a row.
NEWS
22 Kansas completed a 22-point comeback against Texas to win the Big 12 tournament championship, the largest comeback in team history.
California Democrat Nancy Pelosi became the first woman speaker of the House on Jan. 4.
Minimum wage increases to $5.85, up from $5.15, on July 24, the first jump in the minimum wage in 10 years.
SPORTS
The Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears, 29-17, in Super Bowl 41.
The Florida Gators defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, 84-75, in the NCAA Basketball Championship.
POP CULTURE
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" were the highest grossing films of the year.
Daughtry's self-titled album was the best-selling album in America.
NOTABLE DEATH
Kurt Vonnegut
Anna Nicole Smith
Evel Knievel
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