In light of the recent allegations of misdoing at the University of Memphis, a couple of thoughts popped in my mind. What if the Memphis Tigers had won the National Championship in 2008? What if Mario Chalmers had not hit that miracle three near the end of regulation? With those thoughts, a few more came up.
The Kansas basketball program has given the college basketball world many wonderful gifts since its conception all the way back in 1898. Their first basketball coach was the inventor of the game, Dr. James Naismith. Under his tutelage, Phog Allen became known as the “father of basketball coaching”. He would go on to win a couple of Helms Championships as well as the NCAA National Championship in 1952. The gift he would later impart to the landscape of college basketball was the lineage of great players and coaches to come out of Lawrence, KS as well as the building that bears his name, Allen Fieldhouse, considered to be one of the greatest venues of all time. You might have also heard of a couple of his former players. Adolph Rupp played on those two Helms Championship teams, but is best known for the four National Championship banners hung at Rupp Arena, another great venue in college basketball. Another former player, Dean Smith would go on to lead the North Carolina Tarheels to a couple of championship banners that hang in the arena that shares his name as well. Along with these two Hall Of Fame coaches, Allen coached two others that would one day join them, Dutch Lonborg and Ralph Miller. Oh, there was another former player you might have heard of, one Wilt Chamberlain.
In more recent years, Kansas basketball gave us the story book run of “Danny and the Miracles”, a team that overachieved by winning the 1988 National Championship led by a Lawrence Legend in Danny Manning. That team was coached by a pretty famous coach as well, Larry Brown, the only man to coach both a college and NBA Champion. I could go on and on about countless other gifts, the chilling chant of Rock Chalk Jayhawk, an eerie reminder of KU’s dominance being recited near the end of nearly all their games, as well as other players and coaches that made their mark on college basketball. However, I can’t help but to think that what college basketball is most thankful for at the moment is that shot by Mario Chalmers, that shot that sealed the fate for the 2008 Memphis Tigers. Had Chalmers not had that “one shining moment”, then the alleged infractions would have jeopardized a National Championship team. The NCAA must be thankful that, at worst it will only vacate a Final Four appearance and not a National Championship if these allegations are proven. So thanks KU, thanks for giving to college basketball one more time.
