Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball

History

Kansas ranks second all-time in NCAA Division I wins with 2,198 wins (as of December 31, 2016), against 837 losses (.724 all time winning %, 3rd all-time). This record includes a 750–109 (.873) mark at historic Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks are first in NCAA history with 97 winning seasons, and tied for first in NCAA history with 100 non-losing (.500 or better) seasons with Kentucky. Kansas has the fewest head coaches (8) of any program that has been around 100 years, yet has reached the Final Four under more head coaches (6) than any other program in the nation. Every head coach at Kansas since the inception of the NCAA Tournament has led the program to the Final Four. Kansas has had four head coaches inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame, more than any other program in the nation. A perennial conference powerhouse, Kansas leads Division I all-time in regular season conference titles with 60 in 110 years of conference play (the MVIAA Conference was created in 1907) through the 2016–17 regular season. The Jayhawks have won a record 17 conference titles and a record 10 conference tournament titles in the 21 years of the Big 12's existence. The program also owns the best Big 12 records in both those areas with a 274–57 record in conference play and a 41–10 record in tournament play. The Jayhawks won their 2,000th game in school history when they defeated Texas Tech in the 2009–2010 season, joining the University of Kentucky and the University of North Carolina as the only schools to boast such an achievement at that time.

Naismith and early years

The men's basketball program officially began in 1898, following the arrival of Dr. James Naismith to the school, just six years after Naismith had written the sport's first official rules. Naismith was not initially hired to coach basketball, but rather to be a chapel director and physical education instructor.

During those early years, the majority of the university's basketball games were played against nearby YMCA teams, with YMCAs across the nation having played an integral part in the birth of basketball. Other common opponents were Haskell Institute and William Jewell College. Under Naismith, the team played just one game against a current Big 12 school, a matchup with rival Kansas State University. Naismith was, ironically, the only coach in the program's history to have a losing record (55–60).

Including his years as coach, Naismith served as the Athletic Director and a faculty member at Kansas for a total of almost 40 years before retiring in 1937. Naismith died in 1939, and his remains are buried in Lawrence, Kansas. The basketball court in Allen Fieldhouse is named James Naismith Court. Beyond inventing the game, his next greatest basketball legacy may be his coaching tree, whose two trunks are the well-known Phog Allen and the more recently better recognized Kansas native John McLendon. (McLendon attended KU in the 1930s when Allen was head coach, but segregation prevented McLendon from actually playing for Allen. Naismith mentored McLendon from his arrival at Kansas through degree completion and beyond.)

On December 10, 2010, the David Booth family purchased Dr. James Naismith's 13 Original Rules of the game at a Sotheby's auction in New York City for the sum of $4.3 million. They brought the founding document of basketball back to KU's Lawrence campus, where it is currently housed at the DeBruce Center.

Phog Allen era

In 1907, KU hired one of Naismith's players, Dr. Forrest C. "Phog" Allen as head coach. Naismith provided Allen with a now infamous piece of wisdom: "You can't coach basketball; you just play it." Allen would set out to prove the adage wrong and through success and an unrivaled coaching tree has become known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching", having passed on his knowledge of the game to some of the most well-respected names in the history of college basketball, including National Basketball Hall of Fame coaches Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, Dutch Lonborg and Ralph Miller (all except Lonborg were born and raised in Kansas). Allen coached the team from 1907–09, but William O. Hamilton coached from 1909–1919, with Allen taking over again in 1919. The team went 125–59 and won five conference championships under Hamilton's direction.

Allen coached KU for 39 seasons and amassed a record of 590–219, with two retroactively-awarded Helms Foundation national titles and one NCAA Tournament championship in 1952. Numerous basketball greats would play at Kansas during Allen's era, including Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Dutch Lonborg, and Ralph Miller (all future Hall of Fame coaches), Paul Endacott, Bill Johnson, and Clyde Lovellette (Hall of Fame players), two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Bill Hougland, and even former United States Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.

In 1952, the Jayhawks won the national title with an 80–63 victory in the final game over St. John's, coached by Frank McGuire. Clyde Lovellette of Kansas was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, and is still the only player to lead the nation in scoring and lead his team to a national title in the same year. This tournament was the first to have a true "Final Four" format. Seven members of the championship team represented the United States in the 1952 Summer Olympics and brought home a gold medal for the national basketball team. This was especially poignant for Allen, as he had been the driving force for having basketball added to the Olympics in 1936. Allen was forced to retire when he turned 70 in 1956, because he was getting too "old". Allen had recruited legendary Wilt Chamberlain to Kansas, but would not get to coach him because freshmen were not eligible to play varsity basketball in 1956.

Dick Harp era

Following Allen's retirement, the Jayhawks hired former KU player and assistant, Dick Harp. Under Harp the Jayhawks went 121–82 with two conference titles and two NCAA tournament berths.

Wilt Chamberlain 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 continued to average 30+ points per game until leaving KU early to play professionally with the Harlem Globetrotters.

Ted Owens era

Ted Owens took over for Harp in 1964, and would go 348–128 during his tenure, eventually winning six Big Eight Conference titles.

The team advanced to NCAA postseason play seven times under Owens. The 1971 team went 27–3 and advanced to the Final Four before losing to UCLA. In 1974 the team went 23–7 and again advanced to the Final Four before losing to Marquette.

During this era the program produced All-Americans such as Jo Jo White, Walt Wesley, Bud Stallworth, Darnell Valentine, and Dave Robisch.

After 19 years of coaching at University of Kansas, Owens was fired following the 1982–83 season after the Jayhawks posted back-to-back losing seasons.

Larry Brown era

In 1983, Larry Brown headed to the University of Kansas, after coaching in the NBA. Under Brown, Kansas finished first in the Big Eight in 1986, and second in 1984, 1985, and 1987. In 1988, Kansas got off to a mediocre 12–8 start, including 1–4 in the Big 8. The Jayhawks' 55-game homecourt winning streak in Allen Fieldhouse was snapped with a loss to rival Kansas State, and they would also lose 2 more home games to Duke and Oklahoma. Behind the high-scoring of Danny Manning, KU finished 21–11 at the end of the season and entered the NCAA tournament as a #6 seed. Two early upsets allowed them to face lower seeds, gain momentum, and advance. The Jayhawks would ultimately go on to face the three teams who had given them their three home losses that season. They defeated rival Kansas State in the Elite 8, then defeated Duke in the Final 4, and won the national championship, defeating favored conference rival Oklahoma 83–79 in the final. The 11 losses Kansas accrued in 1988 are more than any other national champion have before or since. The win garnered the team the nickname "Danny and the Miracles". Earlier, near the start of the tournament, Dick Vitale had been asked about Kansas' chances and commented "If Kansas wins, I'll kiss the Jayhawk on the floor of Allen Fieldhouse." Eventually, he did make good on his promise.

During Brown's tenure, Kansas had five NCAA Tournament appearances, which included two second round appearances, one Sweet 16 appearance, two trips to the Final Four and the national championship. He also compiled a 135–44 (.754) overall record. Brown left under a cloud, as NCAA sanctions and a postseason probation were levied against Kansas following Brown's departure in the 1988–1989 season as a result of recruiting violations that took place during Brown's tenure. The major violation was a plane ticket home for potential transfer Vincent Askew to see his sick grandmother. Prior to the investigation, Askew had already decided not to transfer to Kansas.

Roy Williams era

Shortly following Brown's departure, Kansas hired then North Carolina assistant Roy Williams as head coach.

From 1988–2003, under the direction of Williams, 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. 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.

Kansas won nine regular-season conference championships over Williams' last 13 years. In seven years of Big 12 Conference play, his teams went 94–18, capturing the regular-season title in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003 and the postseason tournament crown in 1997, 1998 and 1999. In 2001–02, KU became the first, and so far only, team to go undefeated (16–0) in Big 12 play. From 1995–98, Kansas was a combined 123–17 – an average of 30.8 wins per season. Williams' teams went 201–17 (.922) in Allen Fieldhouse, and won 62 consecutive games in Allen from February 1994 to December 1998. Kansas was a regular in the Associated Press Top 25 from 1991 to 1999, placing in the poll for 145 consecutive weeks. Williams' teams were ranked in the Top 10 in 194 AP polls from 1990.

Kansas led the nation in field goal percentage and scoring in 2002 and in scoring margin in 2003, held opponents to the lowest field goal percentage in the country in 2001 (37.8 percent), and led the nation in winning percentage in 1997 and 2002. The team shot better than 50 percent from the floor for seven different seasons under Williams, and led the country in field goal percentage in 1990 (53.3) and 2002 (50.6). Williams' teams shot a combined 49.4 percent from the floor during his tenure. Williams-coached teams led the nation in assists in 2001 and 2002 and were seventh in the nation in 2003; scored 100 or more points 71 times (once every 13 games); averaged 82.7 points per game over his 15 seasons as coach; and averaged 90 or more points per game in two seasons (92.1 in 1990 and 90.9 in 2002).

The Jayhawks were in the AP Top 25 in 242 of 268 weekly polls, reached the No. 1 ranking in the country in six different seasons, and reached at least No. 2 in the nation in 11 of William's 15 seasons as head coach at Kansas.

Under Williams, the team had several deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, making it to four Final Fours and appearing in the national championship game in both 1991 and 2003, losing both, to Duke and Syracuse respectively. Amidst the tournament successes, there were plenty of woes. The 1996–97 team was said by many to be one of the greatest teams in history, featuring future NBA players such as Paul Pierce, Jacque Vaughn, Raef LaFrentz, and Scot Pollard. The team was upset in the Sweet Sixteen by the eventual champion, Arizona Wildcats.

The Jayhawks advanced to the Final Four in 2002 & 2003. Following the national championship loss in 2003, Williams left Kansas and returned to coach at his alma mater, North Carolina.

Bill Self years

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 his first year.

The next two seasons did not end on such a high note. Big things were expected of an experienced KU in 2004–05, led by seniors Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, Michael Lee, and Aaron Miles. They began the season ranked #1 and started off 20–1, but then they slumped and lost six of their final nine games, including a loss to Bucknell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The team finished 23–7 and settled for a Big 12 co-championship with Oklahoma.

In 2005–06, little was expected of the freshman/sophomore-dominated Jayhawks, and they began the season 10–6, including 1–2 in the Big 12. Although they did post a 73–46 win over Kentucky, they also saw the end of their 31-game winning streak over rival Kansas State with a 59–55 loss at Allen Fieldhouse, and two nights later blew a seven-point lead in the final 45 seconds of regulation en route to an 89–86 overtime loss at Missouri. But afterward, the Jayhawks matured rapidly, winning 15 of their final 17 games and avenging the losses to both Kansas State and Missouri. KU played as the #2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas, and avenged an earlier loss to Texas with an 80–68 victory over the Longhorns in the final to clinch the tournament championship and the highlight win of the season. KU was handed a #4 seed for the NCAA Tournament but stumbled again in the first round with a loss to the Bradley Braves.

In the 2006–07 season, Self led Kansas to the 2007 Big 12 regular-season championship with a 14–2 record, highlighted by beating the Kevin Durant-led Texas Longhorns in come-from-behind victories in the last game of the regular season and in the Big 12 Championship game. At the end of the regular season, Kansas stood at 27–4 and ranked #2 in the nation in both the AP and coaches' polls. Kansas received a number 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but their tournament run ended in the Elite Eight with a loss to 2-seed UCLA.

In the 2007–08 season, Self's Kansas team began the season 20–0 until they suffered their first loss at rival Kansas State, their first loss at Kansas State since 1983. The 2008 Jayhawks won the Big 12 regular-season title and the Big 12 conference tourney. They received a number-one seeding in the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest region. On March 30, 2008, Self led Kansas to a win in an Elite Eight game over upstart Davidson College. KU won by two, 59–57. The Jayhawks played overall number 1 tournament seed North Carolina in the semifinals, a team coached by former KU head man Roy Williams. The Jayhawks opened the game with a 40–12 run over the first 12½ minutes before finally defeating them 84–66. On April 7, 2008, the Jayhawks triumphed over a one-loss Memphis team to claim the national title. With only seconds on the clock, Sherron Collins drove the ball the length of the court and threaded a pass to Mario Chalmers, who connected on a deep three-pointer to force overtime. This shot would later come to be known as "Mario's Miracle" in a nod to 1988 championship nickname "Danny and the Miracles". Kansas then outplayed Memphis in the overtime to win the NCAA Championship game, 75–68. The Jayhawks finished the season with a 37–3 record, the winningest season in Kansas history.

In the 2008–09 season, despite losing 7 of their top 9 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.

On April 13, Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich announced their intent to return for the 2009–10 season. On April 23, top high school recruit Xavier Henry made his commitment to play at Kansas in the fall, prompting ESPN to name the Jayhawks as "the team to beat in 2009–10." By the time the fall of 2009 arrived, Kansas was the unanimous preseason #1 team in all major publications. The Jayhawks finished the regular season with a 29–2 record and continue to hold the Division I record for the current consecutive home winning streak at 59 straight games in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas passed 2,000 all-time wins in the 2009–10 season, only the third school to do so (finishing the season with a total of 2,003 all-time victories). They won the Big 12 tournament on March 13, clinching their 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, an active NCAA record. However, despite being named the overall #1 seed in the tournament, the Jayhawks fell in the second round to #9-seeded Northern Iowa, finishing the season at 33–3.

Recruiting began immediately for the 2010–11 season, as Kansas landed the nation's top recruit Josh Selby in April. By September 2010, both The Sporting News and Athlon Sports had ranked Kansas in their pre-season outlook as #4 overall and, along with ESPN's Joe Lunardi, were projected to become a #1 seed again in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, which they would again do. Blue Ribbon and the USA Today/ESPN coaches polls both placed Kansas at #7 in the pre-season poll. Josh Selby, became eligible and joined the Jayhawk line-up on December 18. On March 5, the Jayhawks beat Missouri 70–66 to clinch the Big 12 regular-season title for the 7th consecutive time and later went on to finish 29–2 during the regular season, ranked #2 in both the AP Poll and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. Bill Self was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and Marcus Morris was named Big 12 Player of the Year. The Jayhawks defeated 16 seed Boston University, 9 seed Illinois and 12 seed Richmond to reach their 3rd Elite Eight in the past 5 seasons before falling to 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth University in the quarterfinal game. During the season, Kansas moved past North Carolina as the 2nd winningest basketball program in history.

After being considered the top team but falling short in both of the previous two seasons, Kansas lost six of their top 8 scorers for the 2011–12 season. The Jayhawks had to rebuild after winning seven straight Big 12 titles. Prior to the season, the NCAA declared that three of the Jayhawks top recruits were ineligible for the season, which included games against perennial powerhouse programs such as Kentucky, Duke, Ohio State, and Georgetown. Despite 7 games against top 10 ranked opponents, Kansas finished the regular season 26–5, earned their 8th consecutive Big 12 title, and advanced to their 14th Final Four in school history. The Jayhawks would face another 2 seed, the Ohio State Buckeyes, in the National Semifinals. Kansas would come back from a 13-point first half deficit to win the game, 64–62. They then would face the Kentucky Wildcats, who had beaten the Louisville Cardinals on the other side of the bracket, in the championship game. Kansas would fall to the Wildcats, 67–59.

Kansas entered the 2012–13 season with eight straight Big 12 titles in tow. They continued to have the greatest home court advantage in all of sports, ending the season having won 107 of their last 109 games at home. After scoring their ninth consecutive title and winning the Big 12 tournament championship by defeating rival Kansas State for the third time that season, KU set its sights on a sixth national title. They were seeded #1 in the South bracket, defeating Western Kentucky and North Carolina before losing in overtime to Michigan 87–85 in the Sweet 16.

With star freshmen Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid on the roster, Kansas entered the 2013–14 season as the #5 team in the country. They started off well with five straight wins, including a victory over Duke in the Champions' Classic. However, the team went 4–4 over its next eight games, including back-to-back losses to Colorado and Florida and an ugly home loss to San Diego State. The team recovered from this rough stretch and began Big 12 play with seven straight wins, ultimately finishing 14–4 to win its 10th consecutive Big 12 title. A back injury to Joel Embiid, however, left the Jayhawks vulnerable on their interior defense, and they fizzled out at season's end with four losses in their final seven games, including a loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City and an NCAA Tournament Round of 32 loss to Stanford to end the year. Kansas concluded the year 25–10, the first ten-loss season for Kansas since Roy Williams' 1999–2000 Jayhawks went 24–10.

After the exodus of Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid to the NBA draft, the Jayhawks reloaded with freshmen Kelly Oubre Jr. and Cliff Alexander, the Jayhawks looked poised for another Big 12 season title, which would be their 11th straight. After a disappointing loss in the Champions Classic to Kentucky, the Jayhawks finished 11–2 in the non-conference. In what many regarded as the toughest conference in the nation (Big 12) the Jayhawks won their 11th straight title outright with a record of 13–5, having lost their arguably strongest post presence in Cliff Alexander due to an investigation by the NCAA of improper benefits being given to Alexander. Evidence never clearly materialized, but Alexander was held out and played his last game as a Jayhawk at Kansas State, where they lost by 7. They then lost in the Big 12 Championship game to Iowa State 70–66, and had a final record going into the tournament of 26–8. The Jayhawks were given a two seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they ousted 15 seed New Mexico State by 19 points, but exited the tournament early at the hands of Wichita State by 13 points. Both Oubre Jr. and Alexander declared for the draft shortly after the conclusion of the NCAA tournament.

Kansas played in the 2015 World University Games in South Korea as the United States representatives in July 2015. The Jayhawks went undefeated in the World University Games, winning the championship to give the United States its first gold medal in World University Games men's basketball since 2005.

Rank in notable areas

Above totals are through the end of the 2014–15 season.

Notable games

In the NCAA title game in 1957, Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas were defeated by the North Carolina Tar Heels 54–53 in triple overtime in what many consider to be the greatest NCAA Championship game ever played. Chamberlain was later was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, the first to win the award and be a part of the losing team.

In the 1966 Midwest Regional Finals, Kansas, the favored team to face Kentucky, played Texas Western. Texas Western got a controversial double overtime victory, 81–80. The would-be winning shot, a 35-footer, at the buzzer was made by All-American Jo Jo White at the end of the first overtime, but White was called for stepping on the sideline, ironically being penalized for being too far away from the basket and the shot was negated. This has always been highly contested and a photograph of the play shows his heel over the line but not on the floor. Being the only piece of impartial evidence, it is impossible to tell whether his heel came up from the line prior to the photo, or whether his heel dropped to the line following the photo. Also noted in the photograph is the fact that the referee is not looking at his foot. This supports Ted Owens' objection that the call was made late, if the ref did not see his foot until after the shot. The Kansas players were celebrating when they were told the game was going to a 2nd overtime Regardless of what actually happened, Texas Western was given the victory and advanced to the Final Four. The game is immortalized in the 2006 film Glory Road which is based on that season's Texas Western team.

On February 26, 1972, near the end of a disappointing 11–15 season for the Jayhawks, senior forward Bud Stallworth scored 50 points against archrival Missouri, who were in the running for the Big 8 Conference championship. Behind Stallworth's mammoth effort, the second-highest number of points in a game in KU history (Wilt Chamberlain scored 52 in his first game as a Jayhawk), KU defeated Missouri 93–80 on Senior Day at Allen Fieldhouse. Stallworth averaged 25.3 points per game for the 1971–72 season.

On April 4, 1988, in the 50th NCAA Tournament National Championship game, Kansas defeated the heavily favored Oklahoma Sooners 83–79 to win its second NCAA Men's Basketball championship. Led by senior forward and Player of the Year Danny Manning, Kevin Pritchard, Milt Newton, Chris Piper and a roster of players who came to be known as "The Miracles" raced the Sooners to a 50–50 halftime tie that had the referees shaking their heads and smiling as they left the court. Upon their return for the second half, Larry Brown convinced his Jayhawks that now that they proved they could run with the Sooners, they needed to slow the game down and take the Sooners out of their fast break offense. The Sooners built a 5-point second half lead until the Kansas defense finally clamped down. The Jayhawks, led by Manning (31 points, 18 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 blocked shots), caught up with them around the 11 minute mark. The rest of the game was neck and neck, until Manning finally sealed the victory from the free throw line.

On December 9, 1989, AP #2 Kansas beat Kentucky 150–95 in Allen Fieldhouse. The 150 points scored by the Jayhawks set the school record for most points scored in a game, and the team's 80 first-half points set the record for most points scored in a half.

On January 27, 2003, Kansas defeated Big XII Conference Texas 90–87 at Allen Fieldhouse behind a 24-point, 23-rebound performance by Nick Collison. Upon Collison fouling out of the game, his effort moved longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale to give him a standing ovation, only the second time Vitale had ever done so. (the first being for David Robinson) Both Kansas and Texas would make the Final Four that year.

On March 3, 2007, Kansas recorded its 1,900th all-time program victory and won its 50th conference title against the Kevin Durant-led Texas Longhorns, 90–86. Texas led 54–42 at the half and led by as many as 16 early in the game.

On April 5, 2008, in their Final Four game leading up to their 2008 NCAA tournament victory over Memphis, the Jayhawks defeated North Carolina 84–66. Kansas ran up the score to 40–12 late into the first half and never looked back. The Jayhawks held the Tar Heels without a basket for over nine minutes of the first half. After Brandon Rush buried a triple in transition to give Kansas a startling 38–12 lead, moving UNC coach Roy Williams to uncharacteristically call a timeout so early in a game, CBS announcer Billy Packer exclaimed, "This game is over!" even though there was 7:32 left in the first half. While the Tar Heels would rally within four points of the lead, KU put on a second run to pull away for an 18-point victory. The Jayhawks shot 53 percent from the floor, while holding the Tar Heels to 35 percent. Kansas had 10 steals, 9 more rebounds and assists, six more blocks, and held North Carolina to 23 points below its average.

On April 7, 2008, in one of the most memorable NCAA National Championship games ever, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Memphis Tigers 75–68 in a come from behind overtime victory to become the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament Champions. Mario Chalmers made a three-point shot with 2.1 seconds remaining, bringing the 'Hawks all the way back from a 60–51 deficit with two minutes remaining. The Jayhawks went 4–4 from the field, including 2–2 from 3-point range, and also went 2–2 from the line in the final 2 minutes. The Jayhawks then continued their hot flurry by going 4–6 from the field in OT and 4–4 from the line, outscoring the Tigers 12–5 in overtime to capture their third NCAA title, and fifth overall, including the retroactively awarded Helms Foundation Championships for the 1922 and 1923 seasons. Chalmers finished with 18 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals, and was chosen the Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four, the fifth Jayhawk all-time to be selected FF MOP.

On March 11, 2010, the Jayhawks claimed their 2,000th victory with an 80–68 win over Texas Tech. With this win, Kansas became the third program to achieve 2000 victories, and moved into a tie for #2 in all-time victories. The Jayhawks moved into sole possession of #2 in all-time victories the next day by defeating Texas A&M 82–75.

On January 15, 2011, Kansas celebrated its 69th consecutive home win (over Nebraska), the longest such Division I record since 1992 and the longest home winning streak in KU's history. (The streak ended on January 22, 2011 with a loss at home to the Texas Longhorns.)

On September 24, 2011, Bill Self and the University of Kansas made use of the NBA lockout by inviting former players and coaches to the first-ever "Legends Of The Phog" exhibition game. The money raised went to Lawrence's Boys & Girls Club and the family of the late Neil Dougherty. Former coaches Larry Brown and Ted Owens led the teams, featuring Paul Pierce and a slew of Jayhawk legends.

On February 25, 2012, in possibly the most epic finish in Allen Fieldhouse to date, the Jayhawks played their final Border War with longtime rival, the Missouri Tigers. The Kansas Jayhawks came back from a 19-point deficit in the second half to take the team to an 87–86 overtime win against the Tigers. The volume level inside the arena was a sustained 120 dB, with a high point of 127 dB when Thomas Robinson blocked Phil Pressey's shot at the end of regulation to preserve the tie.

On February 25, 2013, at Iowa State, Bill Self got his 500th victory as a head coach with a 108–96 overtime win.

On February 24, 2014, the Jayhawks won their 10th consecutive Big 12 regular season championship with a 83–75 win at home against Oklahoma. Bill Self also passed Wooden and Rupp for most consecutive league championships.

On March 3, 2015, the Jayhawks won their 11th consecutive Big 12 regular season championship with a 76–69 win at home against West Virginia.

On January 4, 2016, the Jayhawks, who were ranked 1st in the AP poll and 2nd in the coaches poll, played Oklahoma, who was ranked 2nd in the AP poll and 1st in the coaches poll. The game was back and forth the last few minutes of regulation. The game eventually went to 3 overtimes and KU won 109–106. Kansas forward Perry Ellis scored 27 points and got 13 rebounds while Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield scored 46 points. The game was the first time in Big 12 history that a conference game featured the number 1 ranked team and the number 2 ranked team.

On February 27, 2016, the Jayhawks won their 12th consecutive Big 12 regular season championship with a 67–58 win at home against Texas Tech. Kansas is one regular season conference championship behind UCLA's record of 13 straight.

On March 24, 2016, the Jayhawks won their 100th NCAA tournament game, with a 79–63 victory over Maryland in the Sweet 16. Kansas only trails North Carolina, Duke, and Kentucky for all-time wins in the NCAA Tournament.

On January 7, 2017, the Jayhawks claimed their 2,200th victory with an 85–68 win over Texas Tech.

On February 22, 2017, the Jayhawks won their 13th consecutive Big 12 regular season championship with a 87-68 win at home against TCU. Kansas ties a record set by UCLA of 13 consecutive league championships.

Coaches

Despite having a program for almost 120 years, the Jayhawks have only had 8 head coaches. The longest tenured was Phog Allen at 39 seasons, the shortest tenured coach was Larry Brown, who coached for 5 seasons. Allen is also has the most wins in Kansas basketball history at 590. The next closest coach is Roy Williams with 418. Ted Owens is the only coach in Kansas basketball history to ever be fired.

† – Inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

Notes:

In 1919, Karl Schlademan coached, and won, the first game of the season before relinquishing the coaching position to Allen in order to concentrate on his duties as head track coach.

In 1947, Howard Engleman coached 14 games (going 8–6) after Allen was ordered to take a rest following the 13th game of the season. Engleman's record is not listed in this table as he was never officially a head coach at the university.

Updated April 8, 2015

Facilities

Prior to 1907
Before 1907 the Jayhawks played in various venues, ranging from the basement of the original Snow Hall (even though the ceiling was only 14 feet high) to the skating rink at the local YMCA. Although a current campus building bears the same name, the original Snow Hall was demolished in 1934.

Robinson Gymnasium (1907–1927)
Robinson Gym was the first athletic building on the KU campus and featured a 2,500 seat auditorium used for basketball purposes. The building was demolished in 1967.

Hoch Auditorium (1927–1955)
Hoch Auditorium was a 3,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Lawrence, Kansas. It opened in 1927. It was home to the University of Kansas Jayhawks basketball teams until Allen Fieldhouse opened in 1955.

Many of Hoch's nicknames during the basketball years were "Horrible Hoch" and "The House of Horrors." Such nicknames were in reference to the difficulty opposing teams had in dealing with the tight area surrounding the court and the curved walls and decorative lattice work directly behind the backboards. The curvature of the walls made the backboards appear to be moving causing opponents to miss free throws.

On June 15, 1991, Hoch Auditorium was struck by lightning. The auditorium and stage area were completely destroyed. Only the limestone facade and lobby area were spared. When reconstruction of the building was complete, the rear half of the building was named Budig Hall, for then KU Chancellor Gene Budig. The name on the facade was altered to reflect the presence of three large auditorium-style lecture halls within the building: Hoch Auditoria.

Allen Fieldhouse (1955–present)

Allen Fieldhouse was dedicated on March 1, 1955 when the Jayhawks defeated in-state rival, Kansas State 77–67.

Since February 20, 1994, the Jayhawks have lost only 14 regular season games in Allen Fieldhouse, a 263–14 record (.951). Since February 3, 2007, the Jayhawks have gone 140–3 (.979) at Allen Fieldhouse, as of April 2, 2015, the best home record in all of basketball.

Allen Fieldhouse is also notorious for its noise level as well. On November 4, 2010, ESPN The Magazine named Allen Fieldhouse the loudest college basketball arena in the country, reaching sustained decibel levels over 120. On February 13, 2017 in a game against Big 12 opponent West Virginia, fans at Allen Fieldhouse broke the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd roar at an indoor sporting event with a roar of 130.4 decibels, which had been broken by Kentucky on January 28 against Kansas.

The Booth Family Hall of Athletics is the future home of Dr. Naismith's Original 13 Rules Of Basketball, purchased at auction by the Booth family for $4.3 million on December 10, 2010. Plans for the document's enshrinement there are in the early stages.

Kansas won 69 consecutive games at the Fieldhouse between February 3, 2007 and January 17, 2011 until Texas ended the longest streak in NCAA Division I since 1992 with a 74–63 win against Kansas on January 22, 2011. This streak broke Kansas' previous school record, which lasted from February 26, 1994 through December 18, 1998 (during which time, the Jayhawks, along with the remaining members of the Big Eight Conference merged with the remaining members of the Southwest Conference to become charter members of the Big 12 Conference). The Jayhawks also completed a 55-game streak between February 22, 1984 through January 30, 1988, which remains a record for the Big 8 era.

Home game traditions

Before the start of every Jayhawks home game, before the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner", it is a tradition to sing the alma mater, "Crimson and the Blue". The song is concluded by the Rock Chalk Chant.

After singing The Star-Spangled Banner, while the opposing team is being introduced, members of the student section take out a copy of the student-run newspaper, The University Daily Kansan, and wave the paper in front of their faces, pretending to be reading it in an effort to show lack of interest in the opposing team. After the opponents are introduced, a short video is shown, detailing the history and the accomplishments of Kansas basketball. As the Jayhawks are introduced, the students rip up their newspapers and throw the confetti pieces of paper in the air as celebration. Whatever confetti remains is typically thrown in the air after the first basket made by the Jayhawks.

If an opposing player fouls out of the game, the fans will "wave the wheat", waving their arms back and forth, as a sarcastic good-bye to the disqualified player, to the tune of "You Didn't Have Your Wheaties", from a series of 1970s television commercials promoting Wheaties breakfast cereal. The same waving motion to the tune of "A Hot Time in the Old Town" follows a Jayhawk victory.

If the Jayhawks are leading comfortably near the end of the game, the crowd begins a slow version of the Rock Chalk Chant, which has become the signature tradition of Allen Fieldhouse.

Fans and students will also line up early for Late Night In The Phog, which is the first practice of the season. The practice is viewable to the public and includes skits with past players as the hosts.

Season by season results

Under Bill Self:

Regular season conference championships

The Jayhawks have won 60 conference championships since their inception, including 13 consecutive. The Jayhawks have belonged to the Big 12 Conference since it formed before the 1996–97 season. Before that, the Jayhawks have belonged to the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association from the 1907–08 to 1927–28 seasons, the Big Six Conference from 1928–29 to 1946–47, the Big Seven Conference from 1947–48 to 1957–58, the Big Eight Conference from 1958–59 up until the end of the 1995–96 season. It should be noted that the Big Six and Big Seven conferences were actually the more often used names of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which existed under that official name until 1964, when it was changed to the Big Eight.

Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association/Big Eight Conference (43)

1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996

Big 12 Conference (17)

1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

Conference tournament championships

The Big Eight Conference did not regularly have a post-season tournament until after the 1977 season. Prior to that teams usually played in the Big Eight (before that, Big Seven) Holiday Tournament in December. The Holiday tournament ended after the 1979 season.

Big Seven/Big Eight Holiday Tournament (13)

1951, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1978

Big Eight Conference (4)

1981, 1984, 1986, 1992

Big 12 Conference (9)

1997, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013.

NCAA Tournament seeding history

The NCAA began seeding the tournament in 1979.

* – Overall number one seed. The committee began ranking 1 seeds in 2004.

In 1989, Kansas was under NCAA probation and therefore ineligible to participate in the tournament.

Their combined tournament record to date is 94–44

Final Four history

1940-Finalist

1952-Champion

1953-Finalist

1957-Finalist

1971-Semifinalist

1974-Semifinalist

1986-Semifinalist

1988-Champion

1991-Finalist

1993-Semifinalist

2002-Semifinalist

2003-Finalist

2008-Champion

2012-Finalist

Men's NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player

1952 – Clyde Lovellette

1953 – B. H. Born

1957 – Wilt Chamberlain

1988 – Danny Manning

2008 – Mario Chalmers

1988 Championship results

The 1988 Jayhawks, at 27–11, had the lowest winning percentage (.710) and most losses of any team to win the national championship.

Complete NCAA tournament results

The Jayhawks have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 45 times. Their combined record is 99–45.

*Following the introduction of the "First Four" round in 2011, the Round of 64 and Round of 32 were referred to as the Second Round and Third Round, respectively, from 2011 to 2015, then from 2016 moving forward, the Round 64 and Round of 32 will be called the First and Second rounds.

NIT results

The Jayhawks have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 3–2.

Consensus first team

Kansas leads all NCAA teams with 28 consensus First Team All-American selections, 21 different players have received the honor.

‡ indicates player has made at least 2000 points and 1000 rebounds in his college career.

Academic All-Americans

1971 – Bud Stallworth

1974 – Tom Kivisto

1977 – Chris Barnthouse

1977 – Ken Koenigs

1978 – Ken Koenigs

1979 – Darnell Valentine

1980 – Darnell Valentine

1981 – Darnell Valentine

1982 – David Magley

1996 – Jacque Vaughn

1997 – Jacque Vaughn†

1997 – Jerod Haase

1999 – Ryan Robertson

2010 – Cole Aldrich†

2011 – Tyrel Reed

† indicates Academic All-American of the Year

National Player of the Year awards

1923 – Paul Endacott (Helms Foundation Player of the Year)

1924 – Charlie T. Black (Helms Foundation Player of the Year)

1952 – Clyde Lovellette (Helms Foundation Player of the Year)

1988 – Danny Manning (John R. Wooden Award, NABC Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year)

2002 – Drew Gooden (NABC Co-Player of the Year)

2003 – Nick Collison (NABC Player of the Year)

McDonald's All-Americans

The 42 McDonald's All-Americans listed below have signed with Kansas. An asterisk, "*", Indicates player did not finish his college career at Kansas. A cross, "†", indicates player did not begin his college career at Kansas

Retired jerseys

Notes:

KU only retires the jerseys, and not the numbers, of past basketball players.

While there are no longer any definite prerequisites for a player to have his or her jersey retired, the University does follow some guidelines, namely: any player named a National Player of the Year by one of either the Associated Press, the Sporting News, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, or by winning the Oscar Robertson Trophy, the John R. Wooden Award, or the Naismith College Player of the Year. Also, being named Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, a consensus All-American, a two-time first team All-American selection, a NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, or an Academic All-American of the Year.

It is current policy that no player will have his jersey retired within five years of their last season at Kansas. This rule has not always been the case but Coach Self has indicated that it will remain policy during his tenure as head coach.

Wayne Simien became the 26th player to have his jersey retired when the raising ceremony was conducted during the halftime of the game against rival Kansas State on January 29, 2011.

Mario Chalmers, the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player, became the 27th player to have his jersey retired on February 16, 2013 at halftime of the Texas game. Fittingly, Chalmers' most exciting moments in a Kansas uniform outside of 'The Shot' came against Texas as he averaged just under 18 points per game against the Longhorns in his collegiate career, made the game tying 3 to force overtime in the 2007 Big 12 Championship Game on a play nearly identical to the one he made in 2008 against Memphis, and recording his career high point total in the 2008 Big 12 Championship Game of 30 points .

In addition to Simien and Chalmers, five additional players meet the general guidelines: Brandon Rush, a two-time first team All-American selection, Cole Aldrich, the 2010 Academic All-American of the Year, Sherron Collins, a 2010 consensus first team All-American, Marcus Morris, the 2011 Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, and Thomas Robinson, a 2012 consensus first team All-American.

¹ Falkenstien is currently the only non-athlete to be honored in Allen Fieldhouse. His "number" 60 is in recognition of the sixty seasons he called Jayhawk basketball on radio.

Players, graduates and coaches in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Phog Allen, player and coach

Larry Brown, coach

John Bunn, player and freshman team coach (enshrined as a contributor)

Wilt Chamberlain, player

Paul Endacott, player

Bill Johnson, player

Allen Kelley, player (enshrined as member of 1960 Olympic gold medal team)

Dutch Lonborg, player (enshrined as a coach)

Clyde Lovellette, player

John B. McLendon, Jr, graduate (in NMBHOF twice: 1978 as contributor; 2016 as coach. Mentored by Dr. Naismith, but could not play due to 1930s segregation)

Ralph Miller, player (Wichita State University and Oregon State University coach)

James Naismith, coach (inventor of basketball)

Ernie Quigley, player (enshrined as referee)

Adolph Rupp, player (former University of Kentucky coach)

Dean Smith, player (former University of North Carolina coach)

Jo Jo White, player

Roy Williams, coach (current University of North Carolina coach)

Olympians

Representing the United States men's national basketball team unless otherwise noted.

*Valentine was selected to the US team, but the USA boycotted the 1980 summer Olympics.

Current management

R. C. Buford – General Manager San Antonio Spurs (former KU assistant coach 1983–88)

Milt Newton – General Manager Minnesota Timberwolves

Kevin Pritchard – General Manager Indiana Pacers

Coaches

Alvin Gentry – Head Coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, Gentry was an assistant coach on the Jayhawks 1988 Championship team

Gregg Popovich – Head Coach of the San Antonio Spurs, Popovich was a volunteer assistant coach under Larry Brown for the 1985–86 season. He worked alongside fellow assistant, and current Spurs GM, R.C. Buford.

Jacque Vaughn – Assistant coach of the Brooklyn Nets, former player, won the Big Eight Player of the Year award as a player at Kansas.

Current players

In 2008, five Jayhawks were drafted: Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers, Darnell Jackson, Sasha Kaun and Brandon Rush. This tied the record for most players selected in the draft in one year from one school. Kansas tied with Connecticut in 2006 and Florida in 2007. This record was broken in the 2012 NBA Draft by Kentucky.

Cole Aldrich — Minnesota Timberwolves

Darrell Arthur — Denver Nuggets

Tarik Black — Los Angeles Lakers

Nick Collison — Oklahoma City Thunder

Cheick Diallo – New Orleans Pelicans

Joel Embiid — Philadelphia 76ers

Ben McLemore — Sacramento Kings

Marcus Morris — Detroit Pistons

Markieff Morris – Washington Wizards

Kelly Oubre Jr. – Washington Wizards

Paul Pierce — Los Angeles Clippers

Thomas Robinson – Los Angeles Lakers

Brandon Rush — Minnesota Timberwolves

Wayne Selden — New Orleans Pelicans

Andrew Wiggins — Minnesota Timberwolves

Jeff Withey — Utah Jazz

Recently became a free agent

This list is for former Jayhawks that played in the most recently completed NBA season, but are currently a free agent and have not officially retired.

Mario Chalmers, most recently played for the Memphis Grizzlies

Drew Gooden, most recently played for the Washington Wizards

Kirk Hinrich, most recently played for the Atlanta Hawks

Jayhawks in the NBA D-League

Cliff Alexander — Long Island Nets

Perry Ellis — Greensboro Swarm

Xavier Henry — Oklahoma City Blue

Brannen Green — Salt Lake City Stars

Draft history

82 total NBA draft picks.

36 players drafted 30th or better. 37 if including territorial pick Wilt Chamberlain. (Equivalent to 1st round picks by modern draft standards.)

21 players drafted 31–60th. (Equivalent to 2nd round picks by modern draft standards.)

Territorial Picks
From 1947–65 the draft allowed teams not drawing fans to select a local player, in place of their first round pick.

Regular Draft

Current Jayhawk college coaches

Division I Head Coaches – former head coaches

Roy Williams, North Carolina (KU head coach 1989–2003)

Division I Head Coaches – former players

Tad Boyle, Colorado

Rex Walters, San Francisco

Division I Head Coaches – that were a player and an assistant both

Jerod Haase, Stanford

Danny Manning, Wake Forest

Mark Turgeon, Maryland

Division I head coaches – former assistants

John Calipari, Kentucky

Joe Dooley, Florida Gulf Coast

Barry Hinson, Southern Illinois (Former Director of basketball operations)

Tim Jankovich, Southern Methodist University

Bill Self, Kansas

Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt

Division I head coaches – Kansas alumni

Tim Carter, South Carolina State (Bachelor's degree from Kansas)

Mark Fox, Georgia (Master's degree from Kansas)

Division I assistants – former players

Jeremy Case, Southeast Missouri State

Michael Lee, San Francisco

C.B. McGrath, North Carolina

Steve Woodberry, Missouri State

Brett Ballard, Tulsa

Division I assistants – former assistants

Justin Bauman, San Francisco, Director of Basketball Operations (Manager under Williams and Self, Bachelor's degree from Kansas)

Jay Price, Illinois, Assistant Coach (Manager under Brown and Williams, Bachelor's degree from Kansas)

John Robic, Kentucky

Steve Robinson, North Carolina

Division II head coaches

Blake Flickner, Dallas Baptist (Former KU manager under Roy Williams)

Jeff Guiot, Southwest Baptist (Guiot is a former KU player, finished at Pitt State)

Shawn Scanlan, Eastern New Mexico (Bachelor's degree from Kansas)

Ben Miller, NC-Pembroke (KU assistant 2000–03)

Jeff Boschee, Missouri Southern State University (Former KU Player 1998–2002)

Active streaks

25+ win seasons: 10, since 2006

20+ win seasons: 26, since 1990

NCAA Tournament appearances: 27

Most consecutive coaches leading team to Final Four: 6

Most consecutive conference titles: 13

As of the conclusion of the 2015–2016 season

Team

Largest unranked-to-ranked jump: From unranked to No. 4 after beating #1 (UNLV), #2 (LSU), and #25 (SJU) in the 1989 preseason NIT.

Most wins over an opponent in a single calendar year: 5 (Over Nebraska in 1909 and Kansas State in 1935)

Individual

Career games scoring in double figures: 132, Danny Manning

Rebounds in first career game: 31, Wilt Chamberlain, vs. Northwestern, Dec. 5, 1956

Most blocks in a single NCAA tournament: 31, Jeff Withey

Other

Most winning seasons: 95

Most non-losing seasons (.500 or better): 98

Most regular season conference championships: 60

Most Consensus first-team All-Americans: 21

Most Consensus first-team All-American selections: 28