2008 Woodie Awards
Chalmers, Arthur propel Kansas to Championship
Jayhawks win third title; Tigers finish season with most wins in NCAA history
Eddie Pells
Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: Sports
Mario Chalmers, meet Lorenzo Charles and Keith Smart.
The Kansas guard made one of the biggest shots in NCAA history Monday night, a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to force overtime and lead the Jayhawks to the national championship with a 75-68 victory over Memphis.
Chalmers' shot was the most tremendous moment of a tremendous game that saw Memphis squander a nine-point lead over the final 2:12.
Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts missed four of five free throws over the final 72 seconds to set the table for Chalmers, a junior from Anchorage, who is suddenly a household name.
"Probably the biggest shot ever made in Kansas history," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
"That has to be one of the biggest shots in basketball history," teammate Rodrick Stewart said.
The win gave Kansas its first title since 1988, when "Danny (Manning) and the Miracles" pulled an upset over Oklahoma.
Chalmers' shot came almost 25 years to the date after Charles became famous with his stick-back of Dereck Whittenburg's air ball to give North Carolina State a title, the one that sent Jim Valvano scurrying around the court looking for someone to hug.
Smart's baseline jumper with a second left gave Indiana a one-point victory over Syracuse in 1987.
Chalmers was every bit as clutch, while Memphis was the exact opposite.
The ending made a mockery of Memphis coach John Calipari's theory that his players, among the country's worst with 59 percent free-throw shooting, didn't have to be good because they would always come through when the stakes were highest.
"Ten seconds to go, we're thinking we're national champs, all of a sudden a kid makes a shot, and we're not," Calipari said.
Hustling the ball down the court with 10.8 seconds left, no timeouts and trailing by three, Sherron Collins handed off to Chalmers at the top of the 3-point line, and Chalmers took the shot. It hit nothing but net and tied the score at 63.
The Kansas guard made one of the biggest shots in NCAA history Monday night, a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to force overtime and lead the Jayhawks to the national championship with a 75-68 victory over Memphis.
Chalmers' shot was the most tremendous moment of a tremendous game that saw Memphis squander a nine-point lead over the final 2:12.
Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts missed four of five free throws over the final 72 seconds to set the table for Chalmers, a junior from Anchorage, who is suddenly a household name.
"Probably the biggest shot ever made in Kansas history," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
"That has to be one of the biggest shots in basketball history," teammate Rodrick Stewart said.
The win gave Kansas its first title since 1988, when "Danny (Manning) and the Miracles" pulled an upset over Oklahoma.
Chalmers' shot came almost 25 years to the date after Charles became famous with his stick-back of Dereck Whittenburg's air ball to give North Carolina State a title, the one that sent Jim Valvano scurrying around the court looking for someone to hug.
Smart's baseline jumper with a second left gave Indiana a one-point victory over Syracuse in 1987.
Chalmers was every bit as clutch, while Memphis was the exact opposite.
The ending made a mockery of Memphis coach John Calipari's theory that his players, among the country's worst with 59 percent free-throw shooting, didn't have to be good because they would always come through when the stakes were highest.
"Ten seconds to go, we're thinking we're national champs, all of a sudden a kid makes a shot, and we're not," Calipari said.
Hustling the ball down the court with 10.8 seconds left, no timeouts and trailing by three, Sherron Collins handed off to Chalmers at the top of the 3-point line, and Chalmers took the shot. It hit nothing but net and tied the score at 63.
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