The 2011–12 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 114th basketball season. As in every season since 1955–56, the team played its home games at

Allen Fieldhouse Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena on the University of Kansas (KU) campus in Lawrence, Kansas. It is home of the Kansas Jayhawks men's and women's basketball teams. The arena is named after Phog Allen, a former player and head coach for th ...

on its campus in Lawrence,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, US. After defeating rival

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

on February 25, the Jayhawks clinched their 8th straight outright

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

championship. After defeating

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, the Jayhawks advanced to their 14th Final Four in school history, where they defeated

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

64–62 in the national semifinals. On April 2, Kansas faced

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

for the national title, losing to the favored Wildcats 67–59. Kansas had played both of its Final Four opponents during the regular season, losing to Kentucky on November 15 and defeating Ohio State on December 10. They finished the season with a 32–7 overall record, and 16–2 in Big 12 play.

Pre–season

Departures

The Jayhawks lost graduating seniors Brady Morningstar, Tyrel Reed, and Mario Little. Juniors and twin brothers

Markieff Morris Markieff Morris ( ; born September 2, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks before being drafted 13th over ...

and

Marcus Morris Marcus Thomas Morris Sr. (born September 2, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks befor ...

, plus freshman Josh Selby, departed early to enter the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponso ...

. On June 23, Markieff and Marcus were drafted #13 and #14, respectively, in the first round of the draft, while Selby went in the second. Royce Woolridge also announced on April 16, 2011 his intent to transfer to another school for the following year, signing with

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

Recruiting

On October 12, 2010, 4-star point guard Naadir Tharpe signed a letter of intent to join the Jayhawks as a freshman for the 2011–12 season. The 6-foot prep all-star chose Kansas over offers from Oklahoma, Minnesota, Boston College, Marquette, NC State, UNLV and others. He was previously committed to Providence. On January 24, 2011, combo-guard Christian Garrett joined the team as a walk-on. He was also recruited by NC State, Auburn, Alabama, and others. On April 3, 2011, 5-star shooting guard Ben McLemore from St. Louis, Missouri, verbally committed to Kansas after the ''Next All-American Classic High-School All-Star Game'', over offers from Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Arkansas, Purdue, and others. On April 10, 2011, Canadian forward Braeden Anderson committed to the Jayhawks over Kentucky, Arizona, Memphis, and Missouri. Jamari Traylor joined in May, while June saw the additions of Kevin Young and Merv Lindsay.

Eligibility

Three of Kansas' six recruits were declared ineligible for the 2011–12 season. Braeden Anderson was not approved to play by the Big 12 Conference due to their policy on partial qualifiers. Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor were also declared ineligible but were able to practice with the team during the spring semester, and would be eligible to play in the 2012–13 season.

Class of 2011

Kansas Class of 2011 – Rivals
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Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

: 28

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

: 28 247 Sports: 17

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

: 22 Transfers

Roster

Schedule

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Rankings

Awards

;Bill Self *Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year *

Naismith College Coach of the Year The Naismith College Coach of the Year Award (officially known for sponsorship reasons as the Werner Ladder Naismith College Coach of the Year) is an award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to one men's and one women's NCAA Division I collegiate c ...

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

National Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year *

Adolph Rupp Cup The Adolph Rupp Cup was an award given annually since 2004 to the men's college basketball head coach in NCAA Division I competition "who best exemplifies excellence in his dedication to the game of basketball and to his student athletes." The a ...

;Thomas Robinson *1st Team All-American (Sporting News,

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The U ...

, NABC, ESPN.com, AP, John R. Wooden) *

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

National Player of the Year *Big 12 Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Big 12 *Sporting News Big 12 Player of the Year *Associated Press Big 12 Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Big 12 *4x Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week (November 28, December 12, January 2, February 27) ;Tyshawn Taylor *1st Team All-Big 12 *Associated Press 1st Team All-Big 12 *2x Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week (January 16, March 4) *Sporting News 3rd Team All-American *USBWA 3rd Team All-American *NABC All-District 8 First Team *Associated Press 3rd Team All-American ;Jeff Withey *Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year *Big 12 All-Defensive Team and 3rd Team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball seasons

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Jay Jay