Kansas basketball has a strong case to be ‘Big Man U’
Kansas basketball has had its share of great big men over the past 100 years, and the Jayhawks are easily a contender for ‘Big Man U’ as a result.
As one of the most storied programs in the history of college basketball, the Kansas Jayhawks have had some of the best overall players ever, especially at the center and power forward positions. As a matter of fact, Kansas basketball might just be ‘Big Man U.’
Busting Brackets listed their top 10 schools with the best claims to ‘Big Man U,’ and the Jayhawks came in at No. 2 only behind UCLA. While the Bruins have Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, and Kevin Love, the Jayhawks have some strong names as well.
Guys like Wilt Chamberlain, Danny Manning, Raef LaFrentz, Drew Gooden, Thomas Robinson, and many others represent Kansas’ claim to the title ‘Big Man U.’ Busting Brackets cites both Manning and Chamberlain, and rightly so, but there are other contributors.
For example, the tandem of Marcus and Markieff was absolutely dominant. Speaking of dominance, LaFrentz won the Big 12 Player of the Year award in back to back seasons while averaging nearly 20 points and 11 rebounds per game in his senior year.
Clyde Lovellette is another example of an all-time great at Kansas. Along with head coach Phog Allen, Lovellette led Kansas to the 1952 national title while averaging 28.4 points per game over the duration of the season. He was subsequently awarded the Helms Foundation Player of the Year.
More recently, Udoka Azubuike was a beast, and it’s really too bad we didn’t get a chance to see what he was capable of in the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
football. Three winnable road Big 12 games for the Jayhawks. light
While it’s hard to argue the greatness of UCLA’s bigs, the Jayhawks definitely give the Bruins a run for their money. Both squads had a “transcendent talent” in Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlain, both squads also feature some other big names too.
Perhaps David McCormack will be the next great big for Kansas…