Kansas Basketball Titles

The Kansas Jayhawks are your 2022 NCAA men's basketball champions! The Kansas Jayhawks were guided in 2022 by wisdom from the late Bill Self Sr.: "Don't worry about the mules, just load the wagon." This call to focus on the little things, the fundamentals of their game, paid off on the biggest stage as Kansas captured the national championship for the first time since 2008. Their triumph was the culmination of a demanding regular season and a hard-fought March run. After the what-ifs of 2020 and a disappointing exit in 2021, Bill Self's squad made their intentions known with wins over Texas Tech and Creighton. Anchored by senior Ochai Agbaji and energized by Remy Martin, they knocked off Providence and then Miami to punch their ticket to a thrilling Final Four matchup against Villanova. Load the Wagon is a celebration of this historic college basketball season, featuring insightful, probing coverage from The Athletic alongside stunning photography, documenting the Jayhawks' remarkable run all the way up to the ultimate celebration in New Orleans.  This commemorative edition also includes in-depth profiles of Self, Agbaji, Martin and Christian Braun, plus an essential retrospective on the unforgettable 1997 KU team featuring Paul Pierce and Roy Williams.

The storied history that is KU basketball is revealed in this compilation of the most critical moments and important facts about past and present players, coaches, and teams. Most Kansas basketball fans have attended games at Allen Fieldhouse, seen highlights of a young Paul Pierce, and remember watching the Jayhawks cut down the net in 2008. But only real fans know the origins of the Rock Chalk Jayhawk Chant, where the Jayhawks played prior to calling Allen Fieldhouse home, and can name the former Jayhawk who went on to earn the Republican nomination for president. Scattered throughout the pages are pep talks, records, and Jayhawks lore, including lyrics to “I’m a Jayhawk”; stories from Wilt Chamberlain’s years at Kansas; Phog Allen’s 39 seasons on the Kansas bench; Roy Williams’ memorable 15-year run, including three trips to the Final Four. Whether a die-hard fan from the days of Larry Brown or a new supporter of Bill Self and Mario Chalmers, readers will find that this book contains everything Jayhawks fans should know, see, and do in their lifetime.

Spanning decades with great columns from renowned writers, this time capsule recounts the greatest moments in Kansas lore and tracks the chronological progression of sports writing styles from the esoteric to the ultra-modern. The account details the Jayhawks from their roots of glory to their modern-day triumphs.