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del.icio.usChalmers restores the glory
SAN ANTONIO - Twenty years ago, it was Danny and the Miracles. In 2008, it's Mario's Miracle. Everybody knows two miracles are better than one.
Kansas won an improbable national championship at the Alamodome on Monday night, beating Memphis 75-68 in overtime. And although it wasn't like 1988, when Danny Manning put a 6 seed with 11 losses on his back and carried it through the NCAA Tournament, it was just as amazing.
KU trailed by nine points with 2:12 to play in the second half. Memphis could have -- should have -- locked up the game at the free-throw line. But we all know what happens to the Tigers at the free-throw line.
And then, with time running down and nothing coming together offensively with a three-point deficit, Chalmers pulled off the shot Max Falkenstien's great, great, great grandchildren will be talking about.
He had the ball on the right side of the basket, more than 20 feet away. Memphis defenders surrounded him as he dribbled to his left. Two Tigers jumped at him as the basketball left his hands. And it was pure. From the moment the shot started to fly, everybody in the building -- all 43,257 of them -- could tell where it was going to land. Even the people in the cheap seats -- far, far away.
It landed in the net. And it forced an overtime that Kansas, still riding the emotion of Chalmers' shot, dominated.
What a scene as the final seconds wound down. I saw Falkenstien, the KU broadcasting legend who gave way to new blood three years ago, looking down with a smile on his face. I saw a trombone player in the Memphis band leaning against a wall because he couldn't support his worn-out body any other way. I saw Manning, 20 more years showing in his face, hugging the players he now coaches as a KU assistant. I saw streamers and confetti coming down from the ceiling as KU players ran around the court hugging one another and trying to decide, after such a physical, fast-paced game, if they really had the energy to celebrate.
I saw Bill Self, the KU coach, nearly break down when he was handed the championship trophy. He gritted his teeth and held off the tears, but you could tell that this was the emotional high point of his coaching life.
Let's see, he got past the Elite Eight for the first time in five tries. He beat the polarizing and hugely successful coach who preceded him, North Carolina's Roy Williams, in the national semifinals. And then he hoisted the biggest trophy in college basketball, bringing it to Kansas for the third time.
Take Tuesday off, Coach.
And while you're at it, tell those Oklahoma State people to kiss your behind for the distraction they've created the past couple of weeks. I know it's your alma mater and all, but unless Boone Pickens is ready to name the state after you, which he apparently has the power to do, stay where you are to coach basketball. I have a feeling the powers that be at Kansas are going to stuff your wallet nicely in the next few days.
You're at Kansas. You don't want to be at Oklahoma State. No disrespect intended, but if you were to even grant OSU an interview, the ghosts of James Naismith and Phog Allen would play a perpetual game of late night one-on-one in your driveway, never allowing your family to sleep.
So stay put. And create a few more miracles like the one that rose from the ashes Monday night.
Kansas looked whipped after a 10-0 Memphis run put the Tigers up 54-47 with only 5:10 to play. Suddenly, Tigers point guard Derrick Rose, held in check up to the 12-minute mark of the second half, went on a tear. He scored 14 points in eight minutes and the Tigers were rolling.
But they missed free throws. Chris Douglas-Roberts clanked the front end of a one-and-one with 1:11 to play. Then he missed two with 16.8 seconds remaining. Rose hit only 1 of 2 with 10.8 seconds left, setting up Mario's Miracle.
"I got a good look," Chalmers said.
A good look? What I think Chalmers saw was an ocean tide coming his way as Memphis defenders scurried to get to him. Obviously, there was a small opening, but just to be able to find it in such a crucial spot defies logic. To actually get the shot to go down makes no sense. And for it to be so soft and pure -- well, that's what miracles are made of.
The shot, though, barely raised Chalmers' blood pressure. He reacted after the game as if the shot were made in the third practice of the season against walk-ons. Self, however, gave it historical perspective.
"That's probably the biggest shot ever made in KU history," Self said. "It's a remarkable play, remarkable. Mario has no memory. The next thing that happens is the only thing he's ever thinking about."
You could see what Chalmers' shot did for his teammates. It was an instant jolt of energy and they came out in overtime sizzling.
Memphis was a three-day leftover in the extra period. Chalmers' shot shocked them as it shocked everybody. The Tigers had nothing in their tanks, although a deep three-point shot by Douglas-Roberts with 57 seconds left in OT did make it a 71-68 game.
Chalmers, though, didn't throw away his Superman's cape after the miracle shot. He made a couple of free throws with 45 seconds to play to give KU a cushion. Memphis wasn't to score again.
I assume the KU fans who were here will get back to Lawrence in a week or two, once the celebration of this one finishes.
Kansas beat a great team in Memphis, a team that had lost only once all season. It wasn't like Memphis wasn't good Monday, although once again KU's defense was outstanding. If there has been a theme to this postseason for the Jayhawks, it has been that their defense has locked down very good offensive players and made them look just OK.
It's hard to fathom that so many Kansas fans for so long held Self at arm's length. At first, they didn't like the hard-nosed, tough style the Jayhawks were playing. Then they gulped when Self's teams lost first-round NCAA Tournament games to Bucknell and Bradley in 2005 and 2006.
Self, though, weathered the storm. Now he's in the winner's circle with his team, carrying the grand prize back to Lawrence thanks to Mario's Miracle and a whole bunch of smaller miracles that make up any championship season.
Eagle sports columnist Bob Lutz co-hosts "Sports Daily" from 9-11 a.m. weekdays on KFH, 1240-AM and 98.7-FM. Reach him at 316-268-6597 or blutz@wichitaeagle.com.
