2,000 VICTORIES 17
The march to 2,000 victories
As the Jayhawks approach the historic mark, The Wave takes a closer look at how they got this far
By Kathleen Gier kgier@kansan.com
Editor's Note: The Wave continues its look at the Jayhawks' road to 2,000 victories. This week, The Wave tracks the team's history from the 1500th victory in men's basketball history through the 2008 Jayhawks' National Championship run.
1500th Victory
On January 16, 1992, the Jayhawks suited up to play the Louisville Cardinals at Freedom Hall. They entered the game looking for revenge after losing to the Cardinals at Allen Fieldhouse the year before.
"That was one of only two losses in my career in Allen Fieldhouse," Adonis Jordan said after the game in an interview with Chuck Wooding of the Lawrence Journal-World. "We looked at it as revenge."
The Jayhawks won the game 98-77 to reach their 1,500 victory.
The team shot 64.9 percent from the field. Rex Walters and Adonis Jordan each made four three-point baskets.
"We all like the challenge of playing on the road," Walters said. "When people say they think we can't win,we like to prove them wrong."
The 2008 Championship Team
The most recent of the historically significant victories for Kansas—the 2008 NCAA Championship—took place on April 7, 2008, in San Antonio's Alamodome. Kansas had an interesting road to its 13th Final Four appearance, which started with Portland State, then the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Villanova and Davidson, the Cinderella team of the tournament.
After narrowly defeating Davidson, Kansas fans looked forward to revenge on Roy Williams. They got their revenge when the Jayhawks won the game 84-66. Then the Jayhawks met the Memphis Tigers in the final championship game.
The championship appeared to be slipping away from Kansas, until the 2:19 mark, when Memphis started missing free throws and Kansas made shots on the other end. The most famous play, which still gets cheers during the pregame video, was "the shot" by Mario Chalmers. It tied the game with 2.8
seconds left and sent the game into overtime.
"All of the energy, all of the believing that you are going to win this game and the athletic mentality that you have to have to say, 'We are going into overtime and we are going to win,' Memphis didn't have that," former Kansas standout Bud Stallworth said.
Overtime went down smoothly for Kansas, leading to the 75-68 victory that marked the fifth national championship and third NCAA National Championship for the Jayhawks. Though Chalmers received Most Valuable Player honors, Darrell Arthur led all scorers in the championship game with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
"As a former player, as you are looking at guys, they way they look around, the way that they walk, the way that they communicate with each other, you knew before that game was over that we won the national championship." Stallworth said.
"To be there, and to have a chance to celebrate with the team after the game was priceless. You feel like you are part of it, you just feel like part of the game."
Searching for the 2,000th Win
One year after the championship, the Jayhawks returned to the Sweet 16 and lost to the Michigan State Spartans 67-62. This year has yet to unfold, but as preseason #1 with two preseason All-Americans on the team, it looks promising that the Jayhawks will grab five more victories to reach the mystical 2,000 victory mark.
Only one other team — Kentucky has reached 2,000 victories. Kansas and North Carolina are the next closest schools to the record. North Carolina is only two wins away.
"I think our focus needs to be to win every game we play, and there is the possibility if we do that, that we will reach the 2,000 plateau this year," Stallworth said.
If the Jayhawks were to win their next four games, they would have a chance to earn their 2000th victory in Columbia, Mo., against the Missouri Tigers.
"When you are a part of that and you had the opportunity to contribute even in the smallest way on the way to that legacy, you are fortunate," Stallworth said.
"You can pull up a program or a roster that you were in and one of those games that you won contributed to the 2,000 wins we are getting ready to have."
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Mario Chalmers shoots the game-tying three-pointer against Memphis on April 7, 2008. The Jayhawks defeated the Tigers 75-68 in overtime to win the National Championship and Chalmers was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE WAVE FEBRUARY 17,2010
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