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ELMQUIST: No blues for KU in trip to St. Louis

Published 11/19/2009 in Sports

It's hard to believe that it's been nearly two years already since the University of Kansas men's basketball team won the NCAA national championship. I can still remember the moment like it happened yesterday.

A second-year senior at KU, I was with a bunch of friends down on Mass Street to watch both Final Four games. It worked out for me that the day of the championship game I didn't have any classes, so when I woke up I headed straight down to Mass to save spots for my friends -- at noon, for an 8 p.m. tipoff!

The emotions of that game were widespread. And this past week, I got to relive them.

I went back to Lawrence to visit those friends and recall the game. There was one friend in particular when we visited on Saturday that we both still recall her breaking down in tears after Mario Chalmers' now infamous shot. With two minutes left in the game -- and chances looking bleak for the Jayhawks -- she had actually called it that KU would send it to overtime.

Then on Tuesday, I traveled to St. Louis with my dad to watch the "rematch." Though it had lost some of its luster due to the departure of John Calipari to Kentucky -- and most of the players from both teams having graduated or jumped to the NBA -- both schools' fans still had the passion of a rematch. The Memphis fans probably more so, understandably.

Prior to watching what turned out to be a barnburner, we sat through the Louisville vs. Arkansas game which turned out to be less eventful than the five-hour drive home at 12:30 a.m.

There was easily more KU fans present for both games, but they were spread throughout the Scottrade Center -- where as the Tigers fans had collected in one section, making them sound a lot louder than the Jayhawk faithful.

There was plenty to cheer about for the Tigers, too. Their undermanned and supposedly inferior team put up the fight of its life. And though they came up two points short (Memphis missed the final shot on this night), the Tigers showed KU and the nation that they are just as tough without Calipari and a gluttony of top-tier recruits. Youthful coach Josh Pastner has kept the program intact and the Tigers are likely to be a team to be reckoned with as this season progresses.

For KU, there is definitely a lot to work on. While everybody claims the Jayhawks to be an experienced team, one must realize that outside of senior guard Sherron Collins and junior big man Cole Aldrich, the team is comprised of a bunch of sophomores and freshmen. One year of college ball doesn't make a player "experienced".

The talent is there to build around Collins and Aldrich. But as Tuesday's game showcased, there is still much to learn about this KU team.

But the trip, no matter the money spent and miles driven, was still worth it for me in getting to relive that moment in April nearly two years ago:

Tickets... $100

Miles driven (round-trip)... 1,500

Watching KU beat Memphis, AGAIN... Priceless!

Sports reporter Jason Elmquist can be contacted at jelmquist@gctelegram.com.

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