Bill Self makes bold proclamation on Ochai Agbaji

Ochai Agbaji had quite a career for Kansas, capped off with an NCAA Tournament title and Most Outstanding Player honors on Monday. After the game, his head coach put him in elite company.

Bill Self put Agbaji in the same conversation as Danny Manning, who played for Kansas from 1984-88 and became a No. 1 overall pick in that year’s NBA Draft. Manning, who also won a national title and NCAA Tournament MOP, went on to play in the NBA from 1988-2003 before jumping into coaching.

“[Agbaji is] the most accomplished player that we have had at our university since Danny,” Self said. “To think that four years, win the national championship, win the league, win the Big 12 Tournament, win the NCAA Tournament, to be most outstanding player — we’ve never had anybody. We may have had some guys that had comparable years, but never had anybody cap it off like what he has other than D.”

Agbaji brought home a multitude of awards this year, including Big 12 Player of the Year and consensus All-American honors. In ESPN’s latest mock draft, he’s projected to go No. 12 overall to the Portland Trail Blazers. He led the Jayhawks with 18.8 points per game and played a pivotal role in their fourth national title this year.

Kansas completes historic comeback to win title in wild finish

Kansas defeated North Carolina 72-69 to win the 2022 NCAA Championship Monday night in New Orleans to claim their fourth title in program history. Despite the Jayhawks turning the ball over up three points with 4.3 seconds remaining, Carolina’s Caleb Love miss a game-tying 3-pointer that helped complete the largest comeback in national championship history.

North Carolina broke a late first half tie and caught Kansas sleeping on a 16-0 run that catapulted the Tar Heels to a 40-25 halftime lead. Armando Bacot, on an injured leg, notched his 31st double-double (tied David Robinson‘s single season record) with just over a minute remaining in the half, scoring 12 points and 10 rebounds on 3-7 shooting. Bacot would leave the game in the final minute after rolling his ankle and wouldn’t return to the floor.

“We’re trying to play the way we play, but I thought we did a pretty good job of it attacking him when he’s defending on the perimeter. Jalen missed a layup right down there. And David [McCormack] had a couple of good post moves early but even had not 100 percent, he’s still pretty good,” Self said in the mid-first half interview.

The Jayhawks stormed back in emphatic fashion in the second half, stretching the Tar Heels to a 25-10 scoring start and tying the game at 50 thanks to an hard drive into the paint plus the foul for Big 12 Player of the Year Ochai Agbaji. Kansas didn’t let up, scoring the game’s next six points, setting the pace for an exciting finish.