Looking back from a distance at the season that was

It has been over three weeks since Kansas captured the national championship with a thrilling come-from-behind overtime win against Memphis. Congratulations to the players, Bill Self and his staff for a remarkable season culminating with a well-earned title. And I hope they, along with their families, are taking some time to enjoy and savor the accomplishment.

Mario Chalmers' 3-pointer in the title game will be remembered for a long, long time. (Getty Images)

In the early part of the season, I thought the Jayhawks were the most balanced and complete team in the country. Other than not having an unquestioned "go-to guy," Kansas had the fewest flaws of any team in the field.

But I thought the brilliance of Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts would be the difference in the game -- and it almost was. Like many who were watching on that first Monday night in April, I thought Memphis would be crowned the champion. A nine-point lead at about the two-minute mark seemed to be enough. But a key turnover that led to a Sherron Collins 3-pointer and some missed free throws allowed Kansas to take the game and the championship.

Kansas received a clutch 3-point shot from Mario Chalmers to force overtime and then controlled the extra session to send its fans into celebration. Meanwhile, Memphis and its fans are left to lament a championship slipping away in the final moments. Basketball fans watching were treated to a fantastic and memorable final.

I typically write a column immediately after the championship game but chose to wait a while this year. Inexplicably, I felt a bit more drained after this season than in the past, but I also felt a little time to reflect would be appropriate. The nature of the business in sports is to move on to the next thing while still covering the current thing. I understand it but am reluctant to embrace it. It seemed as if as soon as the nets were cut down, folks were already looking ahead.

For the past few weeks, college hoops has been locked on coaching changes and players departing early to the NBA. Coaches are transitioning into new situations, and players declaring for the draft are preparing for individual workouts and the NBA pre-draft camp later this month -- and I hope remaining in good academic standing at their schools.

Of the approximately 70 players "testing the waters," my guess is that as many as two thirds will return to school. Most will realize they are best served that way. Because NBA teams can pay for a player's travel expenses to individual workouts, many of them view declaring for the draft as an opportunity to "check" their pro status. By June 16, the date by which players must officially stay in the draft or return to school, the dust will settle. Players will be on college rosters or in the draft.

For coaches in new places, the work is just beginning, with no real letup in sight: transitioning the family, meeting and evaluating players and getting to know them, hiring staff, becoming familiar with a new university and new people, recruiting and countless other things. On one hand, it's quite a challenge, but it has to be fairly exciting, too. In many cases a new coach is moving up in stature and salary, which can help smooth out some of the rough spots in a job change.

Looking back on the 2007-08 season, here are a few things that stood out for me:

History was made: For the first time, all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four. Yours truly was ridiculed by many for making such a call on Selection Sunday, but odds were in my favor that it would eventually happen, and I got lucky by picking it the right year. But that was the extent of my "fortunate guessing" during the Final Four. As you can verify from my last column, I thought UCLA was destined for the title.

So-so semifinal Saturday: The kind of competitive games many hoped for with all four No. 1 seeds in San Antonio didn't materialize. Sometimes the anticipation is better than the games.

The freshman class was fresh: The headliners handled the hype handsomely. Bayless, Beasley, Gordon, Love, Mayo, Rose -- all had terrific seasons and are likely to be high draft choices. But during the first months of the season, I felt like I was discovering a new freshman standout weekly. There are too many to list them all, but here are a dozen on the NBA Draft early entry list who impressed: Steven Gray and Austin Daye (Gonzaga), Jeff Allen (Virginia Tech), Nick Calathes (Florida), Johnny Flynn (Syracuse), Blake Griffin (Oklahoma), Manny Harris (Michigan), Patrick Patterson (Kentucky), Dejuan Blair (Pitt), James Harden(ASU), Chris Wright (Dayton), Dominique Jones (USF).

Drake: The Bulldogs winning the MVC regular-season and conference championships and making the tournament for the first time since 1971 was exciting to watch. The overtime loss in the tournament to Western Kentucky was one of the most entertaining games of the season.