The 2008–09 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, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, the Jayhawks' 111th basketball season. The head coach was Bill Self, serving his 6th year. The team played its home games in

Allen Fieldhouse Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena on the University of Kansas 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 the Jayhaw ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, and were the defending National Champions. The AP poll released on January 26, 2009, had the Jayhawks unranked, which was the last poll in which the Jayhawks were not ranked until February 8, 2021. The following week, Kansas entered the rankings at number 21, beginning what is the longest streak in Men’s Basketball history with 223 consecutive polls being ranked and achieved that record on November 30, 2020. They are 2 ahead of UCLA’s 221 straight weeks that was done from 1967-1980.

Pre-Season

The 2007–08 Jayhawks finished the season 37–3 overall with a 13–3 mark in conference play. They won the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

regular season men's basketball championship, which they shared with the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

. In post season play, the Jayhawks won the Big 12 conference tournament championship and received a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The team went on to win the national championship, 75–68, in overtime vs. the

Memphis Tigers The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic C ...

. The Jayhawks finished the season #1 in the final Coaches Poll after the tournament and were ranked 5th in the final AP Poll before the tournament. The team raised a temporary NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship banner to the rafters in an official ceremony to celebrate its 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament victory during Late Night in the Phog event. The official championship and final four banners were raised during the November 18 game against Florida Gulf Coast. The Jayhawks lost five scholarship seniors from their national title team in addition to three underclassmen (Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, and Darrell Arthur) who opted to enter the NBA draft and eventually signed with agents. Returning from the national championship team are stars

Sherron Collins Sherron Marlon Collins (born March 18, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the Kansas City Tornados of the NAPB (NAPB). He formerly played for the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Associat ...

, point guard, and

Cole Aldrich Cole David Aldrich (born October 31, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He previously played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Minnesota Timberwol ...

, center. Other players returning are: seniors Matt Kleinmann and Brennan Bechard, and sophomores Brady Morningstar, Chase Buford, Tyrel Reed, and Connor Teahan.

Recruiting

Coach Self signed seven recruits for the 2008–09 season. The class was led by

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

twins Marcus and Markieff Morris who both played the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

position. Another signee from New Jersey was Quintrell Thomas, who also played the power forward position. Travis Releford, a Kansas City product was the first signee for the Jayhawks and was in the mix for departed star

Brandon Rush Brandon Leray Rush (born July 7, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted in the first round of the 2008 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, before being traded to the Indiana Pacers on draft day, after pla ...

's spot in the starting rotation. Coach Self also managed to lure point guard Tyshawn Taylor to Lawrence, after he was released from his letter of intent to play for Marquette. The Jayhawks also signed junior college transfers Tyrone Appleton and Mario Little.

Season summary

Kansas finished the regular season 25–6 (14–2). After being picked to tie for 3rd in the conference in preseason, the Jayhawks defied expectations and won their 5th straight Big 12 conference championship and 52nd overall.

Awards

* Bill Self **Big 12 Coach of the Year ** AP Coach of the Year **

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

Coach of the Year (

Henry Iba Award The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the a ...

). ** Sporting News Coach of the Year **Athlon Sports Coach of the Year **USBWA District VI Coach of the Year **

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Sports Coach of the Year **

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

/ Chevrolet Coach of the Year **

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Coach of the Year * Cole Aldrich **All-Big 12 First Team **Big 12 All-Defensive Team **Big 12 Defensive Co-Player of the Year **Big 12 All-Academic TeamBig 12 Academic Team
/ref> **AP All-American Honorable Mention **Athlon Sports National Most Improved Player of the Year **NABC District 8 First Team **USBWA All-District VI Team **NCAA Tournament All-Midwest Regional Team * Sherron Collins **All-Big 12 First Team (unanimous selection) **AP All-American Third Team **CBSSports.com All-American Third Team **Sporting News Third Team All-American **USBWA All-District VI Team **USBWA Second Team All-American. **NABC District 8 First Team **Finalist, Oscar Robertson Trophy **Finalist, Bob Cousy Award * Marcus Morris **Big 12 All-Rookie Team * Tyshawn Taylor **Big 12 All-Rookie Team (unanimous selection) * Tyrel Reed **Big 12 All-Academic Team * Matt Kleinmann **Big 12 All-Academic Team

Roster

2008 Roster
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Schedule

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Rankings

References

* http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?Year=2008&Sport=2&School=33 {{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball Team Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball seasons

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