It's ironic that, shortly after the Final Four in 1986, college basketball adopted the 3-point goal and perhaps more ironic that coach Larry Brown was lukewarm on its prospects.
"I think the 3-pointer has merit, (but) I'm a little confused about the distance," Brown said. "I don't want it to be such an easy shot that it really becomes more important than anything."
The irony is that, had that arc been painted 19-feet, 9-inches from the goal one season earlier, the 1985-86 Jayhawks might be considered the best ever. Not only did they have a record-setting point guard in Cedric Hunter, a huge inside presence in Greg Dreiling and a phenomenal player in Manning, they had two outside threats -- Ron Kellogg and Calvin Thompson -- who rained in literally hundreds of 2-pointers from long range.
Kansas rolled through the 1985-86 season, compiling a school-record 35 wins and, with a little help from a malfunctioning clock in Kemper Arena during the semifinals of the Midwest Regional, advancing to the Final Four in Dallas.
There, because seedings are determined geographically rather than according to records, second-ranked KU was paired with top-ranked Duke. The Blue Devils were a two-point favorite, but Kansas was primed, having won 15 straight and 23 of its previous 24.
Nothing went right. Manning and Dreiling were addled by foul trouble. Reserve forward Archie Marshall, who would become an inspiration to the 1988 team, sustained a knee injury in the second half that would sideline him through the next season. Kansas, half its lineup playing out of position, managed a late four-point lead but couldn't hold it.
Duke won 71-67.
The sharp-shooting Kellogg finished 11-for-15 for 22 points. How many of his 2s would have been 3s and how big a difference it would have made will always be conjecture. But this is fact: Two days later, Louisville, a team Kansas had beaten twice during the regular season, beat Duke for the NCAA championship.
Kurt Caywood, Topeka Capitol-Journal