Ochai Agbaji adds a Final Four MVP to his awards haul with Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas senior guard Ochai Agbaji has achieved Jayhawks basketball immortality.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound consensus first-team All-American out of Kansas City’s Oak Park High School and reigning Big 12 player of the year, scored 12 points Monday in the Jayhawks’ 72-69 victory over North Carolina in the NCAA men’s basketball championship game at Caesars Superdome.
Agbaji, who hit 4-of-9 shots (1-of-4 from three and 3-of-8 from the line) and had three rebounds in 37 minutes, won the Most Outstanding Player award for the Final Four.
Coach Bill Self reiterated after the title game victory that Agbaji had the best season at KU since Danny Manning, who led the Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA title.
“No, he’s not in Kansas basketball history. I can’t say that. I think Danny was pretty good, too,” Self responded, asked during his postgame news conference if Agbaji was the most accomplished player in KU history.
“But he’s second. He’s the most accomplished player that we have had at our university since Danny. To think that four years, win the national championship, win the league, win the Big 12 Tournament, win the NCAA Tournament, to be most outstanding player — we’ve never had anybody — we may have had some guys that had comparable years, but never had anybody cap it off like what he has other than ‘D’.’’
Manning, the first pick in the 1988 NBA Draft, was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1988 Final Four and won the Wooden, Naismith and NABC national player of the year awards as well as consensus first-team All-American honors.
Manning also attended Monday’s title game with other former Jayhawks such as Paul Pierce, Ryan Robertson, Billy Thomas, Aaron Miles, Mario Chalmers, Devon Dotson, Brandon Rush, Christian Moody, Matt Kleinmann, Ron Kellogg, Roger Morningstar, Greg Dreiling and others.
Agbaji was the AP and coaches’ Big 12 player of the year, the Big 12 Tournament MVP and a consensus first-team All-American.
“Coach talked to me about it. Obviously on the podium there just then and in the podium when we were in Chicago (after winning regional title),” Agbaji said of Self telling him he’s second most accomplished Jayhawk behind Manning. “But winning the most outstanding player of this, I don’t really care because we won the national championship.
“If I really had a most outstanding player throughout the entire Final Four it would be David,” Agbaji added of David McCormack, who scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Carolina and had two huge baskets in the final minute and a half. “We got here at the same time. These goals and dreams that we’re living right now we never would have thought it when we first stepped foot on campus, but now living it and living it with him and leaving here with history and history in our name it just means so much to the both of us and obviously Mitch (Lightfoot) and all the guys here.”
Self nodded his approval when told on the court by a Kansas City Star reporter that Agbaji had been voted most outstanding player. But he added: “I almost wish Dave got it so his jersey could hang (as most outstanding player of postseason; Agbaji’s already will hang by virtue of his first-team All-America status). I gave Dave the net and told him he can keep that forever (as his own runner-up MOP trophy).”
Indeed, McCormack was seen leaving the winner’s locker room with the net draped around his neck as he headed to the team bus.
Agbaji is a finalist for the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy. He averaged 18.9 points and 5.2 rebounds a game for KU (34-6).
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 11:58 PM with the headline "Ochai Agbaji adds a Final Four MVP to his awards haul with Kansas Jayhawks."
