April 4th, 1988 Discuss
-
@Crimsonorblue22 Good luck Danny, rule the ACC!!!
-
SI’scover just had a pic of Danny driving that read “Oh Danny boy” on the cover.
Onto the next idea
-
@globaljaybird
PHOF!!
-
@wissoxfan83 Great memories!
I bought my wife a Championship T, but now only have the picture of it and the memory of the crazy celebration. It was wonderful and thanks for the reminder.
-
Water’s deep in the ACC. Danny’s going against some heavy hitters very early in his journey. Recruiting is brutal vs Roy & Konsonants. Turg had a rough time there & may do better in the BG 10. Would’ve liked to see him hold & further secure the fort at Tulsa a couple more years, but is possible he’s posturing/grooming for the job here. That’s something I can envision for real if he’ very successful there-Lawrence is his home. What we don’t know can’t hurt us I guess but wish him all the best & fair wind in the sails at Wake.
-
@JRyman I have the SI in my hands, dated April 11,1988. On the cover It says "OH, DANNY BOY! Inside a lot of Wizard of Oz jokes are made.
Earlier games are covered. I found a great quote from Duke’s Coach K yelling to the court, “Take care of the f—ing ball”.
I also have the KC Star from April 6th. Nothing about the Miracles-so I wonder if KU came up with that.
-
@wissoxfan83 At misery pre-med their course synopses selection reads as follows:
course 301 Death is the number 1 killer in the world.
course 303 Life is sexually transmitted.
course 309 Good health is the slowest rate to die.
course 401 Aging, don’t fret-doesn’t last that long.
Profound educational enlightenment for sure.
-
1988 Championship game… I was in Delkenheim (a suburb of Wiesbaden), West Germany. At that time, there was an East and a West Germany.
I was fortunate enough to be visiting friends who had access to an American (military) TV channel that aired the championship game. I sat alone in their living room while they slept. I think the game ended after 5am… so I had to manage by stuffing pillows in my mouth to stay quiet.
After our victory I left their house through their backyard, into an open field and just kept walking… until I was far out of reach of any houses… and I let out my loudest scream!
-
@drgnslayr President Reagan, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
That was the end of an era. And the following year, we won the Championship!
-
@wissoxfan83 I was a junior then. And, I was responsible for some of the mess on the trees.
-
I think it was the KU championship that led to the dismantling of the wall! It ended communism!
-
##In RIO’s words:##
Great Alaska
Though he now plays for the Miami Heat, Mario Chalmers will never forget his days fishing in the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Originally published in SLAM 177
by Abe Schwadron
SLAM: Tell us about your hometown.
Mario Chalmers: Anchorage is a big city in Alaska, but it’s a small town. Everybody knows everybody. It’s friendly, a lot of snow, great places to eat. We’re big on seafood, big on fishing. It’s a great outdoors spot. I love the outdoors, hunting, fishing, stuff like that. That’s what I grew up on. Once, me and my dad were fishing on the Russian River. And a bear was just in the middle of the river, fishing himself, trying to find some food. We were sitting there watching him and I was just amazed.
SLAM: No video games?
MC: Oh yeah, I played a lot of video games, too. My favorite of all time is Super Mario. That’s what I grew up on, and of course my name is Super Mario. That’s been my favorite since I was a kid. And now with my son, we love playing video games together, like Skylanders SWAP Force.
SLAM: What about now, what games do you play? Are you a Xbox or Playstation guy?
MC: I play both. I play 2K14, of course Call of Duty, and I’m a big FIFA guy. Those are the three main games I play right now.
SLAM: Who’s the best gamer on the Heat?
MC: Well, now that Joel Anthony is gone, I’d have to take the crown as the best right now. He was the best at Call of Duty. But all the other games, I think I’m the best.
SLAM: Were there important places from your childhood that helped your development as a basketball player?
MC: Fairview Rec Center was the rec center in Anchorage. That’s where everybody went to play basketball. Anybody who played basketball in Anchorage, that’s where they wanted to play basketball at. That’s where I really developed my skills and developed my mentality.
SLAM: And your dad was in the Air Force. Did you play on the base a lot?
MC: Yeah I definitely played on the base. I met Ray Allen when I was about 8 years old when my family was stationed in South Carolina. Both of our dads were stationed together and played on the same team. They were teammates. Ray was older than me, but every time I’d go to the gym I’d see him there and I would play basketball with him. So even at a young age, I was playing against older guys, working out with guys like Ray Allen. That’s how I perfected my skills, by playing against the older kids.
SLAM: If you’re a kid in Alaska, what NBA team do you root for?
MC: For me, it was the Chicago Bulls. I was always a big Michael Jordan fan. But it was all scattered, with people from different places, different military bases, so basically they’d root for the teams from where they were from.
SLAM: What do you tell guys when they ask about coming up in Alaska?
MC: Yeah, guys ask me, Where did I come from? How did I get interested in basketball? And how did anybody ever find me in Alaska? So basically what I tell them is my whole family played basketball, I played AAU, which was a big part of my life growing up, and that really helped me get to where I am today.
SLAM: Is basketball different in Alaska?
MC: It wasn’t too different, but we didn’t have a lot of big guys in Anchorage. I think the tallest person was 6-8, maybe, that I played with. When we went to the lower 48, guys were 7-foot, 7-1, stuff like that, so I think the biggest difference was just the size of the bigs.
##SLAM: How did you end up at Kansas?
##MC: That was an interesting process. I wanted to go to North Carolina. I grew up a fan, my family is from North Carolina and I always wanted to be a Tar Heel. When the time came to make my decision, North Carolina didn’t offer me. So Kansas, I thought, was the best place for me to go out there and shine. I had a couple friends that I got close with during the recruiting visits. They made me feel at home, made me feel like a brother.
##SLAM: You made one of the biggest shots in Tournament history in the 2008 National Championship game. Where does that moment rank for you compared to your two NBA titles?
##MC: It’s up there. I’d say it’s a tie, really. In college, it’s one game, in the NBA, it was five games and then it was seven games. It’s different, but it still ranks the same in my book. Just the process of being there three years, and having to go from one year losing in the first round to losing in the Sweet 16 and then finally to win it. I just remember how much hard work we put in.
##SLAM: Besides that particular shot, what sticks out in your mind from that team?
##MC: Just the process of being there three years, and having to go from one year losing in the first round to losing in the Sweet 16 and then finally to win it. I just remember how much hard work we put in.
SLAM: So you went from Alaska to Kansas to Miami. That’s a nice weather upgrade.
MC: Oh, I love the weather in Miami. I wish it was warm like this growing up, instead of all that snow.
SLAM: How was your visit to the White House this year?
MC: It was great. That was my third time being there. I went once with Kansas, and once when we won the first time. But this time was a more special one, because I got my own personal shout out from Barack. He says he always has my back.
-
My father was stationed in Alaska during the Korean War. As a 50 year celebration I bought him a ticket to join us on vacation in Anchorage. Dad was a big KU fan and knew who Mario the recruit was when he got on the plane in Kansas City. The first thing dad did when he got off the plane at the Anchorage airport was point Mario out and tell me all about him. We debated about walking up to him, but decided not to thinking it might be illegal for an alum to speak to him??? Anyway Mario inked with KU, and were there to see his shot in San Antonio. A great full circle
-
Haha, I think Mario needs to update his resume…they made the Elite 8 his sophomore year!
-
@JayhawkRock78 cool story!!!
-
Sorry posted the Mario story not realising it was about 88. I bought 2 tshirts , wore one proudly and it has several holes from all the washing thru the years and have never wore the other one. Did the same thing in 08.
I was at the Richmond game too Jhawkrock78. I went with Dr. Randall’s brother who I work with. Got my picture taken with the Morri twins, Tyrel, Brady, Withey, TRob, Tyshawn and EJ and the whole team signed my hat at their hotel after the game.
-
I am jealous. I was so glad I passed on the VCU game. I hope you did too. Hard to believe that squad played so well and so poorly the same weekend.
-
@JayhawkRock78 I didn’t get to go to VCU but thought they looked past them and did too much talking. When we were walking out after the Richmond game, most VCU fans told us we were going to beat them and were wanting to sell their tickets.
-
Mario Little update
-
@Crimsonorblue22 thanks crimson. He passed this December and I miss talking ku bBall with him after every game. At least we got to go to late night at the PHOG this year. That’s my best last memory.
-
@JayhawkRock78 you are super blessed!
-
Thanks for the Mario Little link. Interesting they talk about his defense, something he learned from Coach Self, no doubt. Hopefully he can take his improvement to the Summer League and maybe get a cal from a NBA team.
-
@JayHawkFanToo him and Tyshawn!! As long as we’re wishing, wish Sherron could get his act together!
-
Mario just tweeted this. HE REMEMBERS.
Mario Chalmers@mchalmers15
##6 years ago on this day we had a major accomplishment. Not only for ourselves and KU but for the entire city of Lawrence, Kansas. This is and will always be apart of me. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWKS
http://instagram.com/p/mgGHZuv4Vx/
(which is a picture of his shot and his celebration)
-
@RockChalkinTexas Thanks for posting that. My wife framed that photo for me.
