Senior night was not what most expected it to be at the beginning of the season. It is a night where the senior class is celebrated and honored but for the Kansas Jayhawks, things went a bit differently.
Senior guard LaGerald Vick announced on February 7 that he would be taking a leave of absence. Some expected it to last only a couple weeks, others expected to never see Vick suit up in crimson and blue again.
It looks as though the latter were correct.
Despite his absence from senior night however, Vick still deserves a commemoration for his time as a Jayhawk.
Vick brought a presence to the table that few other possessed and that is why I bring you LaGerald Vick’s best moments in the crimson and blue in honor of his time at Kansas.
There is no specific order to this list and instead, it acts as a celebration of the Kansas guard.
On March 23, 2017, the Kansas Jayhawks took on the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. The game was highlighted by 26 points from Frank Mason III but one of the most memorable moments in the game occurred with about 12 minutes left in the contest.
Carsen Edwards whipped the ball to his right trying to throw a pass to Caleb Swanigan, but Vick saw it and took advantage. Vick intercepted the pass and took the ball up the court where slammed down a 360-dunk.
Sad LaGerald isn’t getting his Senior day. But just because we should remember him positively, here’s a throwback to his 360 in the Sweet 16 against Purdue. pic.twitter.com/2BXHuKl5UO
— RRinehart (@RRinehart2012) March 9, 2019
The dunk acted as a turning point for the Jayhawks, who went on a 35-12 run after Vick’s dunk. Kansas went on to the Elite Eight and if not for Vick’s momentum-changing slam, the Jayhawks could have found themselves going home to the hands of the Boilermakers.
After finishing his sophomore campaign with a heartbreaking loss to the Oregon Ducks, Vick would open his junior season on fire. In the first 13 games of the season, Vick averaged 17.4 points, which included a stretch where he scored 20+ points in three straight games.
Most fans know however that Vick quickly went downhill and struggled for the remainder of the year, but let’s not forget that during his stretch of dominance, he was arguably better than National Player of the Year candidate Devonte’ Graham.
Vick’s junior season was highlighted with numerous alley-oop dunks from Graham and dance moves few could match.
Without Vick, Kansas may have never made the Final Four.
Vick’s senior year was clearly his most dominant, being the only senior on the team. However, it always felt like Vick was never actually the true leader of the squad, which could have very well been the reason he left the University.
Despite the outcome, there are still great moments to remember from Vick’s senior year.
Vick opened the season with a mere two points against Michigan State and quickly fans turned on him thinking he was out of place on the 2018-19 roster. He immediately shut that notion down.
In the second game of the season against Vermont, Vick scored 32 points, which included a perfect 8-of-8 from behind the three-point line.
In the words of Bill Self in a Kansas Athletics press release, “Even when he’s playing rec ball when he’s 55 years old, he will never have a game like he did tonight.”
If you watched the game, you probably remember thinking “he’s finally going to miss” every time Vick shot from behind the arc, but he simply could not miss.
Vick’s performance was not just jaw-dropping, it put you at a loss for words. In the most literal sense, Vick’s game is the single-greatest shooting performance I have ever witnessed live in person (still upset his foot was on the line and did not go 9-of-9 from the three-point line).
He then followed that unstoppable game with a 33-point performance against Louisiana.
Vick quieted down the next two games (he still put up 15+ points in each game) but against Stanford, he once again lit it up. Despite the 27 total points and seven three-pointers, it was the shot with eight seconds left on the clock that made Vick’s performance so memorable.
Two defenders were directly in Vick’s face and yet Vick shot the ball. I remember yelling, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!”
Somehow, someway, the shot went in and Vick sent the game to overtime.
Vick’s senior campaign was cut short, but he was known to throw up some of the craziest shots, only for those shots to find its way into the basket.
At times, Vick showed a clear lapse of confidence, but let’s not forget the times Vick changed momentum of games, dropped the jaws of fans and whipped out some the greatest dance moves.
Vick was more vital to the success of the Jayhawks than what some people realize. Whether it be drilling cross-over step-back threes or slamming down an alley-oop, LaGerald Vick’s time at Kansas should always be treasured.