Kansas basketball: One story tops all in 2017
By Stan Unruh
We are in the final week of 2017. The Kansas basketball program experienced some ups and a few downs over the past 12 months. One story stood out.
I will be first to admit that at times I take Kansas basketball coach Bill Self for granted. As a matter of fact, I doubt any other fans do that. The Jayhawks are so very fortunate he decided to relocate to Lawrence in 1985. It was not joke on April 1, 2017 when the Basketball Hall of Fame announced they were going to honor him.
There were many exciting moments for the Kansas basketball program in 2017. The team earned another Big 12 Conference title. Number 13 in a row was not as difficult as many expected. That’s easy to say from the comfort of my office chair. Once again, I probably take it all for granted.
On the court, there were several amazing games from the 2017 season. The 2-point win over Duke at Madison Square Garden or the victory at Kentucky. You certainly can’t forget Svi Mykhailiuk’s extra steps to beat the purple guys at Allen Fieldhouse. On the other hand, the game I’ll never forget is the come-from-behind overtime victory against Huggins and his Mountaineers.
The Jayhawks earned a number of individual honors for their play in 2017. Frank Mason deserved and won just about every award ever imagined. Josh Jackson took home a host of All-America and Big 12 awards. We were fortunate those two played so well together.
The head coach made the biggest news in 2017
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Despite all of these great memories, Coach Self’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame is the top Kansas basketball story of 2017. On that September evening, Self joined James Naismith, Phog Allen, Larry Brown and Roy Williams as Jayhawk coaches in the Hall. I should never take for granted what Self has done and continues to do for Kansas basketball.