Danny Manning, Kansas (1988)
In his fourth and final year at the University of Kansas, forward Danny Manning finally led the Jayhawks to a National Championship win over the University of Oklahoma by an 83-79 score. In the title game, Manning finished with 31 points, 18 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocked shots. The fact that Manning put up such a ridiculous stat line, coupled with the fact that Manning’s Jayhawks became the team with the most regular season losses (11) to win an NCAA title, earned him — and his teammates — the nickname of “Danny and the Miracles.” After being taken with the top pick in the 1988 NBA Draft, Manning’s professional career basically ended before it really started, as he tore the ACL in his knee during his rookie season, and was never really the same player after that. After returning to Lawrence, Kansas and serving as a team manager for the Jayhawks, Manning worked his way up through the coaching ranks, and accepted a position as the head coach at Wake Forest University in 2014.