The 2011–12 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

in the

2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 7, 2011 with the (2K Sports Classic) and ended with the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 2, 2012 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome ...

, which was the Jayhawks' 114th basketball season. As in every season since 1955–56, the team played its home games at

Allen Fieldhouse Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas. It is home of the Kansas Jayhawks men's and women's basketball teams. The arena is named after Phog Allen, a former player and head coach for the Jayha ...

on its campus in Lawrence,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

, US. After defeating rival

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

on February 25, the Jayhawks clinched their 8th straight outright Big 12 championship. After defeating

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

, the Jayhawks advanced to their 14th Final Four in school history, where they defeated

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

64-62 in the national semifinals. On April 2, Kansas faced

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

for the national title, losing to the favored Wildcats. Kansas had played both of its Final Four opponents during the regular season, losing to Kentucky on November 15 and defeating Ohio State on December 10. They finished the season with a 32–7 overall record, and 16–2 in Big 12 play.

Pre–season

Departures

The Jayhawks lost graduating seniors Brady Morningstar, Tyrel Reed, and Mario Little. Juniors and twin brothers Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris, plus freshman

Josh Selby Joshua Cornell Selby (born March 27, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys of the Lithuanian Basketball League. He played one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks before being selecte ...

, departed early to enter the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponsor ...

. On June 23, Markieff and Marcus were drafted #13 and #14, respectively, in the first round of the draft, while Selby went in the second. Royce Woolridge also announced on April 16, 2011 his intent to transfer to another school for the following year, signing with

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washingto ...

Recruiting

On October 12, 2010, 4-star point guard Naadir Tharpe signed a letter of intent to join the Jayhawks as a freshman for the 2011–12 season. The 6-foot prep all-star chose Kansas over offers from Oklahoma, Minnesota, Boston College, Marquette, NC State, UNLV and others. He was previously committed to Providence. On January 24, 2011, combo-guard Christian Garrett joined the team as a walk-on. He was also recruited by NC State, Auburn, Alabama, and others. On April 3, 2011, 5-star shooting guard Ben McLemore from St. Louis, Missouri, verbally committed to Kansas after the ''Next All-American Classic High-School All-Star Game'', over offers from Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Arkansas, Purdue, and others. On April 10, 2011, Canadian forward Braeden Anderson committed to the Jayhawks over Kentucky, Arizona, Memphis, and Missouri. Jamari Traylor joined in May, while June saw the additions of Kevin Young and Merv Lindsay.

Eligibility

Three of Kansas' six recruits were declared ineligible for the 2011–12 season. Braeden Anderson was not approved to play by the Big 12 Conference due to their policy on partial qualifiers. Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor were also declared ineligible but were able to practice with the team during the spring semester, and would be eligible to play in the 2012–13 season.

Class of 2011

Kansas Class of 2011 – Rivals
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Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

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Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

: 28

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

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Roster

Schedule

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Rankings

Awards

;Bill Self *Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year *

Naismith College Coach of the Year Naismith College Coach of the Year Award is an award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to one men's and one women's NCAA Division I collegiate coach each season since 1987. The award was originally given to the two winning coaches of the NCAA Divisi ...

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

National Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year *

Adolph Rupp Cup The Adolph Rupp Cup was an award given annually since 2004 to the men's college basketball head coach in NCAA Division I competition "who best exemplifies excellence in his dedication to the game of basketball and to his student athletes." The a ...

;Thomas Robinson *1st Team All-American (Sporting News,

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The USBWA annually awar ...

NABC NABC is an initialism that may refer to any of the following: *North American Bridge Championships, North American contract bridge tournaments * National Association of Basketball Coaches, an American trade association of men's college basketball c ...

, ESPN.com, AP, John R. Wooden) * ESPN.com National Player of the Year *Big 12 Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Big 12 *Sporting News Big 12 Player of the Year *Associated Press Big 12 Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Big 12 *4x Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week (November 28, December 12, January 2, February 27) ;Tyshawn Taylor *1st Team All-Big 12 *Associated Press 1st Team All-Big 12 *2x Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week (January 16, March 4) *Sporting News 3rd Team All-American *USBWA 3rd Team All-American *NABC All-District 8 First Team *Associated Press 3rd Team All-American ;Jeff Withey *Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year *Big 12 All-Defensive Team and 3rd Team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball seasons

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Jay Jay