Kansas Basketball: Top 10 four-year players under Bill Self
By Chris Taylor
This next man needs no introduction
No. 2 Devonte Graham
Devonte Graham stole the hearts of fans throughout his career. Not only was he the most lovable out of this group, he was a savior in the race to 14 straight Big 12 Championships.
Devonte gave everything he had during his senior campaign. A year after Frank Mason graduated, the Jayhawks lacked depth and at times the attitude to continue the winning tradition.
With just a few weeks left to play in conference, it looked as though the Jayhawks were cooked birds. As fate has it, something special happened at Kansas. That something had a big part to do with Graham.
He came up huge down the stretch, not on the score board, but the things he did turned the tide for a flailing Jayhawks team. Despite the struggles, they never did stray too far away from the top 10.
Graham’s leadership helped Kansas Basketball return to the Final Four. A feat that wasn’t going to be a reality if you were to ask the experts around the league.
He answered all the questions of whether or not he could fill Frank mason’s shoes. He fit those shoes perfectly, and other than some individual hardware, the Jayhawks didn’t miss a beat.
Graham finished his career in the top 13 in eight different categories. These include being ranked No. 13 in points with 1,750, No. 5 in assists with 632, No. 7 in steals with 197, and No. 2 in minutes played with 4,498.
Graham may have finished his career one of the top 10 Jayhawks of All-time. Devonte made the most of his opportunities as he continued to grind it out and get better with each passing week.
He gave an emotional goodbye speech at senior night, where fans, players, coaches, and himself could be seen crying across the arena.
Graham did everything fans wanted him to do. He did everything Bill Self asked of him. He went above and beyond and put a shorthanded team on his back. All the way to the Final Four.
Devonte Graham was Kansas’ second Big 12 Player of the Year recipient in two years, as well as a consensus First team All-American.