The 2021-22 college basketball season will come to a close Monday night with top-seeded Kansas seeking its fourth national championship and first since 2008 (Mario Chalmers led them to victory over Derrick Rose and the Memphis Tigers in that year’s final). In anticipation of Monday’s title game in New Orleans, Jayhawks players were visited by a special guest, 10-time NBA All-Star Paul Pierce. The former Finals MVP spent three seasons in Lawrence before joining the Celtics as a first-round pick in the 1998 NBA Draft.
“Enjoy this moment. These moments don’t come around like this. I didn’t have a chance to play in this game,” said Pierce, who averaged 16.4 points per game as a Jayhawk from 1995-98. “Soak it all in. Enjoy your friends and family. Get your rest, but know what you’re here to do—accomplish something special that’s going to last the rest of your life.”
The NBA is littered with ex-Jayhawks from Sixers standout Joel Embiid to Warriors All-Star and former top draft pick Andrew Wiggins. Kansas is coming off an emphatic 81-65 win over Villanova Saturday night, avenging their semifinal loss to the Wildcats four years earlier.
While at Kansas, Pierce played under Hall-of-Famer Roy Williams, who would later return to his alma mater North Carolina, coaching the Tar Heels until his retirement last year. As fate would have it, both of Williams’ former teams will be on display in Monday’s finale at Caesars Superdome, which gets underway at 9:20 PM ET on TBS.
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