It’s now official. After 20 years, the Kansas Jayhawks have returned to the top of college basketball winning their first national title since Danny Manning was in a KU uniform.

It took some rough free throw shooting by Memphis and a miraculous 3-point shot by Mario Chalmers to send the game into overtime before the Jayhawks outscored the John Calipari’s Tigers 12-5 in overtime to take home the national championship.

To continue our ‘Workhorse candidates’ series that we’ve been compiling after each round of the NCAA men’s basketball national tournament, we’re going to go ahead and hand over the NCAA ‘Championship Workhorse’ award to Chalmers, even though Darrell Arthur did have a hell of a game as well (20 points on 9-13 FG, 10 rebounds, assist, steal).

Besides the dramatic game-tying trifecta with less than 3 seconds remaining, Chalmers added another 15 points (only 5-13 FG, but 6-6 from the free throw line), 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. He, along with the other Jayhawks guards, were also absolutely hounding all night. Chalmers, the Final Four MOP, added 4 steals.

In addition to Chalmers being our ‘Champoinship Workhorse,’ we also have candidates for the ‘Workhorse’ of the entire NCAA tournament. We give you the candidates and leave it up to you to vote for the player you believe is most deserving of the ‘Workhorse’ title.

So who do you think had the single best tournament?

Stephen Curry (Davidson) - The slender Wildcats’ guard was the story and darling of the tournament. Curry was named to the ‘Workhorse’ candidates’ list in each of the first four rounds. The son of a former NBA sharpshooter, Curry led his 10th seeded squad to upsets over Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin averaging 32 points, including outscoring Georgetown and Wisconsin by himself in courageous second half performances. He also added 3.5 asts, 3.3 rebs, and 3.3 stls per game.

Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis) - The Memphis All-American made the final three ‘Workhorse’ candidates’ lists while averaging 23.3 points throughout the six game shootout. He shot 49.4% from the field in the tournament and made 51 free throws, even though the 3 he missed down the stretch against Kansas will probably be the only ones anyone remembers. He also nabbed 3.7 boards, dished out 2.3 assists, and swiped 1.2 steals per game.

Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) - “Psycho T” averaged 20.2 points and 9.4 boards per game. The National Player of the Year for most publications knocked down 51.4% of his shots as he helped lead the Tar Heels to the Final Four. He also contributed 1.6 steals and 1.2 assists each game.

Kevin Love (UCLA) - The fabulous freshman made the ‘Workhorse’ candidates’ lists three times and was the catalyst for UCLA’s third consecutive Final Four appearance. He shot 57% from the field averaging a double-double and was only one point shy of averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds (19.8 & 10.6). He also dominated the paint on the defensive end with 4 blocks per game. He also averaged 2.2 assists and nearly a steal per contest.

Derrick Rose (Memphis) - Rose was sensational throughout the tournament, but like teammate CDR, it may be his missed free throw near the end of regulation that is remembered more than anything else. Hopefully, that isn’t the case, and instead, it is the mid-air acrobatics he displayed throughout the first five games of the tournament. The freshman point guard, who could possibly be the #1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft, averaged 20.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.3 steals.

Brandon Rush (Kansas) - Rush didn’t star in the championship game, but he was a main reason Kansas made their way to the national championship game in the first place. He averaged 15.8 points (including 25 against North Carolina), 6 rebounds, and 2 assists in the Jayhawks championship run.

There are the six candidates. Now it’s up to you to determine the victor.

Shotgun Spratling

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