NCAA Basketball: Seniors who never got their moment in NCAA Tournament
By Bryan Mauro
Udoka Azubuike and Isaiah Moss – Kansas Jayhawks
There is not much else to be said or written on how the cancellation of the NCAA tournament affected the Jayhawks. Kansas showed they were the best team in the country for most of the year. They were slated to enter the tournament as the overall number one seed and were going to have a path to the National Championship game. Their roster was loaded, and they were one of the only teams in the country that didn’t have many flaws.
Kansas also had one of the more dominant players in the country in center Udoka Azubuike. Azubuike was having a great year and he was the player that set Kansas over everyone else in the country. The big man returned this year after missing most of last season with an injury. Throughout his career, the Jayhawks were a better team with him on the floor for the duration of the four years. Doke was your typical old school center. He rarely took jump shots and never took a three-pointer. His rim shattering dunks and overall dominance on the defensive end made him different than other typical back to the basket centers. The center was hoping to put an exclamation point on his career, especially after missing the tournament last year with the injury.
Moss was a grad transfer from Iowa and he was able to assist Kansas in filling the void as a shooter. When Moss was making shots, it made Kansas extremely hard to beat. The guard transferred to Kansas with high aspirations, he like every other player that has played for the Jayhawks, wanted a chance to win the National Championship. Moss had played in the NCAA tournament before as a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes. He wasn’t at Kansas long enough to be remembered in their long list of legends.
If he was able to make a few shots in the NCAA tournament and Kansas won a title his name would have been remembered forever. Since the NCAA is not going to award a champion this year, Kansas may be the one who “claims” the title as they were awarded the top spot in the last AP poll, but without playing the games Kansas won’t be able to be officially recognized in the record books.