The Jayhawks looked absolutely abysmal. Hopeless, beyond any shadow of a doubt. Surely they would lose this game, look how awful they're playing. Not so fast my friend, for the Jayhawks have resilience, are well adapted to pressure, and can overcome stacked odds. In a hotly contested tale of two halves, the Jayhawks captured their 6th national title (3rd in the NCAA era) over the North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69. They found their stride and "loaded the wagons" to victory. In a full team effort, the shots started to fall, the physicality started to take its toll on a beat up Carolina team, and the Jayhawks showed the most poise that we've seen out of them all season, leading a 15 point comeback in what is the largest comeback win in championship history.
Ochai Agbaji played his heart out once again, Christian Braun reclaimed his swagger, Remergy pulsed throughout the building, and Big Dave showed why he's called Big Dave. Strong boards, better shooting, better passing, and an overall wakeup call from what I can only assume was a BRIGHT purple Bill Self in the locker room propelled these Hawks to a second half storming, and when the final whistle sounded relief took the air, and celebration too. When Dajuan stepped out though, I think we can all agree we held our breath a little longer. Goodness I couldn't watch...
For many though, this title means so much more than just another national championship. The raw emotion that I saw from players, coaches, fans, and alumni all showed just how important this game was, and not just in the realm of sport. Bill Self Sr. is looking down smiling at his son, the Agbajis embracing one another post game, thousands of people rushing Mass St to be with friends and like minded people. Sports impacts so much more than just what we see in the product itself, for some, it's their life's blood. It brings communities and families together, brings so much joy in an otherwise bleak reality (and immense pain sometimes but let's focus on the positives shall we? I mean for crying out loud a local team won the national championship smile a little Mizzou and K-State fans), and represents our world at large. That was on full display last night. Congratulations to the Jayhawks, as an alum, I'm extremely proud of the excellence shown this season. Rock Chalk.
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