Top 25 March Madness heroes of all-time

A national title drought for a program like Kansas seems like it would be 10-15 years, but surprisingly, the Jayhawks have only won three championships as a program. That’s still impressive for a college basketball program as only a number have won more than one.

Back to the original point, though. Kansas was in the midst of a monster title drought of over 35 years when Danny Manning was dominating the college ranks.

Manning gave Jayhawks fans a reason to be optimistic in 1988 despite having last won a national title in 1952. He was named the national player of the year although the Jayhawks entered the NCAA Tournament with a 21-11 overall record, earning a No. 6 seed.

Kansas was able to pull off a couple of wins to earn a trip to the Sweet 16. The team, nicknamed “Manning and the Miracles”, didn’t stop there, beating Vanderbilt and Kansas State to earn their second trip to the Final Four in three years. The Jayhawks then beat a tough Duke team to make a trip to the title game and then Manning put on a show against Oklahoma to win it all.

In fact, he willed the Jayhawks to their first title in 36 years by scoring 31 points to go along with 18 rebounds. He was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player and was one of the best players in school history, but this title run was his most memorable accomplishment.