Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack explain what it means to play for a national championship

Bill Self and the No. 1-seeded Kansas Jayhawks will have the chance once again to make program history on Monday, and Ochai Agbaji and David McCormack are thrilled to be taking the stage for a national title game.

It’s been a long road for Agbaji and McCormack, both members of Kansas’ 2018 recruiting class, as the Jayhawks have finally made it to the biggest game of the year, needing just one win over the No. 8-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels to claim a national championship.

“This is the moment that every kid dreams to be in, to play for a national championship for their school, to represent their school on the highest stage of basketball itself and play in front of all these people,” Agbaji said. “I think that’s just a dream come true for me and all the guys on my team. So we’re just excited to play tomorrow and everyone’s just ready.

Agbaji’s road to the national championship wasn’t always a smooth one, as he ranked as just a three-star recruit coming out of high school, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. But now, Kansas’ leading scorer will look to keep up the red-hot production he saw in the Final Four, a game in which he overpowered Villanova with a 6-of-8, 6-of-7 from three-point performance, finishing with 21 points and two rebounds. Like Agbaji, McCormack is coming off a career night, and he’ll look to repeat it in the national championship.

“I know for me I remember the days of watching every game in March Madness and watching the finals and you’re raving about it with your friends what team you’re picking. Now I get to play a part in that,” McCormack said. “We’ve fought all this way, battled this way to make it to the biggest stage in college basketball. And there’s no better feeling, especially having my family there to support me during the time, and there’s kids back at the same schools that I went to cheering me on. So it doesn’t get any better than that.”

If McCormack can even begin to replicate his performance against Villanova, Kansas will be in excellent shape. McCormack had one of his best performances of the season aganst Villanova, putting up 25 points on 10-of-12 from the field, along with nine rebounds, an assist and a block.

Agbaji, McCormack and Kansas will tip-off with UNC for the national championship on Monday at 9:20 p.m. ET.