Kansas basketball: Monmouth dunk at the end of the game was comical

Kansas basketball destroyed Monmouth last night 112-57. The highlight of the game though was a dunk in the final seconds by George Papas.

Kansas basketball got things done last night against the Monmouth Hawks in convincing fashion. The game was utter domination from the opening tip, but the biggest takeaway from the game was in the final seconds of the game.

Monmouth Junior George Papas has become public enemy #1 for many Kansas basketball fans after he stole the ball in the final eight seconds of the game and threw down a dunk.

Like many things, the dunk has completely polarized Jayhawk fans on the issue.

Some believe Papas was just playing hard until the final whistle, while others believe his actions were cheap and uncalled for.

Here’s the play in question:

Papas finished the night with 12 points on 5-9 shooting, as well as a technical foul, but not for the dunk. After the dunk, there seemed to be some choice words said by Papas that earned him the technical foul.

Here’s the thing about Papas: he basically did the equivalent of trying to sack the quarterback when they’re kneeling in football.

The game’s over, Tristan Enaruna is dribbling the clock out, the score is 55-110, and the outcome of the game obviously isn’t in question. At the very least, the jawing that went on after the play was completely unacceptable, and funny.

The trash-talking at the end of the game seems to point that Papas wasn’t making the steal and dunk purely for the purpose of playing hard, but out of spite and frustration.

On the dunk, Monmouth head coach King Rice said:

"“That is uncalled for. That is not what our program represents, and is not what our program stands for. You get beat by a better team, you shake their hand and you walk off to court and you take in the experience.” – King Rice on George Papas’ dunk"

On the flip side, Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self said the dunk “doesn’t bother me at all,” so there’s that too. It seems that both coaches acted about how you’d expect them to, but fans are split right down the middle on the issue.

Just take a look at this poll by Jesse Newell:

There’s merit to playing until the final whistle, but the actions during and after the dunk were immature and comical. Hopefully, it was worth it for Papas.

What do you think? Comment your thoughts below.