KU Scores!!: The Basketball Issue

 

There comes a time in Lawrence when there’s a basketball season coming up here in KU. And when it happens here, the madness happens here at Allen Fieldhouse.

Now if you wanna join me for going to another KU basketball game, let’s go over the rules.

1. Find out when the Jayhawks are playing this year.

2. Plan ahead on a time and date on when to go to the game.

3. Have everything ready and enjoy the game.

In case you haven’t heard of it yet, Big Jay and Baby Jay are the mascots. And not just KU basketball but also of KU football too. If you’d like to know more about him, listen to this because you might learn something.

Big Jay is one of the costume mascots of the Kansas Jayhawks. Together, Big Jay and Baby Jay are Jayhawks and are the mascots used by the University of Kansas. Did you know that another mascot named Centennial Jay was temporarily used in 2012? Well, now you do! But the real question is...

Who is Centennial Jay?

Another Jayhawk costume mascot was Centennial Jay, or C Jay. C Jay was created by student cartoonist Henry Maloy and featured in the University Daily Kansan in 1912. Maloy's depiction of the Jayhawk helped answer the question of what the mythical bird would look like. When asked why he gave the bird shoes Maloy responded, "Why? For kicking opponents, of course." C Jay was reintroduced as a full-sized mascot on February 25, 2012 in the final Border War against Missouri to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Jayhawk. C Jay was used only in 2012 for the 100-year anniversary of the original Jayhawk design.

If you'd like to know what the original design of Centennial Jay looks like...

Well...

This is him back in 1912. Now you know.

Okay, and now for the good parts of the story. This year I think there’s a chance that the Jayhawks are gonna win the basketball game. So fingers crossed to that.

Now let’s discuss some cool facts about Jayhawks basketball.

The Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Kansas. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference. Kansas is considered one of the most prestigious college basketball programs in the country with six overall national championships including four NCAA Tournament Championships and two Helms National Championships, as well being runner-up six times and having the most conference titles in the nation. The Jayhawks also own the NCAA record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with 28 consecutive appearances. It’s also an original tradition to the University of Kansas!

Groovy, huh!

Now check this out. The Jayhawks' first coach was the inventor of basketball, James Naismith.

Ironically, he is the only coach in Kansas basketball history with a losing record. The Kansas basketball program has produced many notable professional players, including Clyde Lovellette, Wilt Chamberlain, Jo Jo White, Danny Manning, Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce, Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, Mario Chalmers, Andrew Wiggins, and Joel Embiid.

Politician Bob Dole also played basketball at Kansas.

That was before he represented Kansas in the U.S. Senate from 1969 to 1996. For us, we call him ‘the American Hero’ of Kansas. You also know him from appearances on TV and on television commercials such as Pepsi, Visa, and Dunkin Donuts. (To name a few.) Cool!

The Jayhawks had been ranked in the AP poll for 231 consecutive polls, a streak that had stretched from the poll released on February 2, 2009, poll through the poll released on February 8, 2021, which is the longest streak in AP poll history. Of the 24 seasons the Big 12 conference has been in existence, Kansas has won at least a share of 19 regular-season conference titles.

In 2008, ESPN ranked Kansas second on a list of the most prestigious programs of the modern college basketball era. And Kansas currently has the longest streak of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances of all-time, the longest current streak of consecutive NCAA winning seasons, the most winning seasons in Division I history, the most non-losing seasons in NCAA history, etc.

Since the opening of Allen Fieldhouse, the Jayhawks’ home arena, in 1955, the Jayhawks have earned a well established home court advantage. Allen Fieldhouse is often considered one of the best home court advantages in college basketball. As of 2022, the Jayhawks have won over 87 percent of their games in the 67-year history of Allen Fieldhouse, losing just 110 games. Under current head coach Bill Self, the Jayhawks have had three home court winning streaks over 30 games and two over 50 games. In addition to Allen Fieldhouse, the Jayhawks frequently play games at the nearby T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

Now guess who also played for the Jayhawks…

Is it Michael Jordan? No!

Is it Shaquille O’Neal? No!

It’s…

Wilt Chamberlain!

He was one of the top centers to ever play for the team. Now that’s really cool! Wilt played his varsity years under Harp, making his job a rather easy one for the first two seasons. In his first varsity game, Chamberlain scored 52 points and grabbed 31 rebounds, breaking both all-time college records in an 87–69 win against Northwestern. In 1957, he led the Jayhawks to the championship game against North Carolina coached by Frank McGuire, whom they had defeated in the 1952 title game when McGuire was at St. John's. McGuire triple-teamed Chamberlain and, as a result, KU was defeated 54–53 in triple overtime. The game is considered one of the greatest in NCAA history. Chamberlain also continued to average 30+ points per game until leaving KU early to play professionally with the Harlem Globetrotters.

Now let’s fast forward to the years 1988-2003.

After Brown’s department, Roy Williams was hired as head coach in Kansas.

Under the direction, the Jayhawks had a record of 418–101, a .805 winning percentage. Williams' Kansas teams averaged 27.8 wins per season. Except for his first season at Kansas (when the team was on probation), all of Williams' teams made the NCAA tournament. On Roy's first KU team Patrick Richey, Adonis Jordan and Richard Scott could not visit campus because of recruiting violations by Larry Brown, so they committed sight unseen. From 1990 to 1999 Kansas compiled a 286–60 record, giving them both the most wins and best winning percentage of any team in that decade. From 1994 to 1998, the Jayhawks won 62 consecutive home games at Allen Fieldhouse, which was the longest such streak in the NCAA at the time. The seniors of 1998 (Raef LaFrentz, Billy Thomas, and C.B. McGrath) went 58–0 at home during their KU careers.

He also coached the North Carolina Tar Heels during March Madness in 2009. North Carolina defeated Michigan State 89-72 to win its fifth NCAA basketball championship.

Now it’s time to jump to the era that’s from 2003 to present.

Bill Self was introduced as the new head coach for the 2003–04 season and in his first season at Kansas, Self inherited Williams' players and recruits, which often caused turmoil as the style of play differed between the two coaches. Nevertheless, Self led his new Kansas team to the Elite Eight at the NCAA Tournament for his first year.

In 2008, Kansas fans celebrate in Downtown Lawrence, Kansas after the Jayhawks win the National Championship. And the crowd goes wild!

During the 2008-2009 season despite losing seven of their top nine scorers and the entire starting line-up, the Jayhawks earned their 20th consecutive NCAA tournament bid after going 25–7 (14–2), winning the conference regular season title and extending their home winning streak to 41 straight at Allen Fieldhouse. On March 22, 2009, Kansas defeated Dayton, advancing to their 3rd consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. But the Jayhawks' season ended on March 27 when Michigan State came from behind in the final minute to defeat Kansas 67–62, ending their year at 27–8. Coach Self's record, after 6 seasons with the Jayhawks, was 169–40, an .809 percentage. After the season, Self was named National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, CBS Sports' Chevrolet Award, USBWA (Henry Iba Award), and Sporting News.

And the rest was history.

In 2021, Kansas signed Self to a lifetime contract. So the 2021–22 team earned a number 1 seed in the 2022 NCAA tournament. They defeated Providence in the tournament to become the winningest program in the nation. They defeated Villanova in the Final Four. The Jayhawks defeated North Carolina 72–69 in the national championship game to win Self's second championship, and the team's fourth NCAA championship. In the championship game, they completed a 16-point comeback, including being down 40–25 at halftime, the largest in NCAA championship history.

Here's why I wanna go see the Jayhawks basketball game.

I wanna go to Allen Fieldhouse to see if the Jayhawks will win the basketball game sometime in the future. I know a lot about March Madness and saw the highlights about it on TV when I was at C-Tran. I was thrilled that the Jayhawks won the tournament back in 2008. Face is that the shot would later come to be known as "Mario's Miracle" in a nod to 1988 championship nickname "Danny and the Miracles". That was historical from back in the day, I think.

Now on March 22, 2009, Kansas defeated Dayton, advancing to their 3rd consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. But the Jayhawks' season ended on March 27 when Michigan State came from behind in the final minute to defeat Kansas 67–62, ending their year at 27–8. Coach Self's record, after 6 seasons with the Jayhawks, was 169–40, an .809 percentage. That was about the time I came over to Kurt's house where I was playing around with the VideoToaster via Tricaster. After the season, Self was named National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, CBS Sports' Chevrolet Award, USBWA (Henry Iba Award), and Sporting News.

And as I always say to everyone who reads this blog, let's hope that the Jayhawks will win the game again this year. I will always root for the Jayhawks to be the champions in KU. I can't wait to see what's going on when I get together to go to the Jayhawks game every year. So let's keep the 'Rock Chalk' KU spirit up and our fingers crossed for this one. Let's go Hawks! And who knows, maybe while at the game, I can even give Big Jay and Baby Jay a high five and maybe I can take another selfie with him. You know how much I love taking photos for myself. Click click, snap! Flash!

Now if I wanted to go to the Jayhawks game with someone, I'd bring my best buddy with me. Or maybe I would bring Mr. Andrew with me. Or perhaps I might bring my friends Stephanie and David for a special time of hanging out. I'll hope that someday I'll take my friends with me to the game. I just wondered of KU knows my way of going all the way by the mile. Duh!

This blog goes out to all the Jayhawk players here at KU who are making it real big this year in basketball. Let's wish them a fantastic basketball season.

I'll see you guys next time for another blog entry for Lawrence.

Until next time...

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWKS, GO KU!