Sean Alvarado: ¢ In 1988: Red-shirted during the championship season to continue his physical development. The red shirt nearly was pulled in midseason after a series of setbacks at the forward position. ¢ Now: Alvarado, 42, recently worked as a guidance counselor at Lawrence High as well as an adviser for Academic Programs for Excellence at KU. He has since moved to Salisbury, Md.

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Scooter Barry: ¢ In 1988: Played in 35 games, making two starts. Averaged 3.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per contest. Hit a crucial free throw with 16 seconds left in the NCAA championship game to stretch KU's lead to 79-77. ¢ Now: Barry, 41, played professionally overseas through 2006, and currently lives in Neubrück, Germany, with his wife and two small children. The family has plans to move to California soon to begin "phase two" of their lives. ¢ 1988 memory: "I can't remember anything from after the game until we were mobbed at the bus arriving at our hotel," Barry said. "Personally, I was emotionally spent. It was awesome."

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Marvin Branch: ¢ In 1988: Started the first 14 games, averaging 8.4 points and 6.1 rebounds. Was declared academically ineligible on Jan. 12, just one game into the conference season, and did not play again. ¢ Now: Branch, 42, works in Topeka for Monaco & Associates, providing case management for people with mental and physical disabilities. He has a daughter, 8, and a son, 4, and lives in Oskaloosa. ¢ 1988 memory: "Even though I did not play the second half of the season, I got to practice and travel with the team," Branch said. "They always seemed to have this confidence that they could go out and beat any team in the country on any given night."

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Jeff Gueldner: ¢ In 1988: Played in 34 games as a sophomore, making 16 starts. Averaged 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds per contest. Played 15 minutes in the championship game, scoring two points. ¢ Now: Gueldner, 39, is married with three daughters - 10-year old twins and a 7-year old. He owns Crossroads Automotive, a car dealership in Olathe. ¢ 1988 memory: "It shows you how special it was that no one has done it since," Gueldner said. "A lot has to fall into place."

Photo by Mike Yoder

Keith Harris: ¢ In 1988: Played in 27 games as a reserve. Averaged 3.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest. Logged an average of 16 minutes per game in the NCAA Tournament. ¢ Now: Harris was unable to be located for this story. Former teammates said he had been living in Utah recently.

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Otis Livingston: ¢ In 1988: Played in 27 games, including eight starts. Had 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. Suspended from the team prior to the Big Eight Tournament and never returned, eventually transferring to Idaho. ¢ Now: Livingston, 40, lives in New Jersey and works as a sports anchor for WNBC television in New York. He's married with five children. ¢ 1988 memory: "At the end of the year, they started just playing basketball, not worrying about things," Livingston said. "They had elimination games left. If you lose you're done, so you tend to play a little more freely knowing it's all or nothing. That's what happened."

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Mike Maddox: ¢ In 1988: Came off the bench in 24 games as a true freshman, averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. Was not in the regular rotation come postseason, but did make an appearance in both Final Four games. ¢ Now: Maddox, 38, has become successful in the business world, recently being named northeast Kansas regional president of Intrust Bank. He is married with three children, ages 11, 8 and 7, and lives in Kansas City. ¢ 1988 memory: "We lost a couple of tough games late in the year, but we played well," Maddox said. "So we had a real good mindset going into the tournament, and we really took it one game at a time and got on a roll."

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Danny Manning: ¢ In 1988: Earned consensus national player-of-the-year honors after averaging 24.8 points and 9.0 rebounds while starting all 38 games. Had 31 points and 18 rebounds in the NCAA championship game. Was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft that summer by the L.A. Clippers. ¢ Now: After a 15-year NBA career, Manning, now 41, returned to Lawrence and now is an assistant coach for the Jayhawks. ¢ 1988 memory: "We struggled with our identity," Manning said. "But we were able to find it under the guidance of coach Brown. Everything else is history."

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Archie Marshall: ¢ In 1988: The spiritual leader of the team after a devastating knee injury ended his career on Dec. 30. Played in 12 games - including a cameo on Senior Day - averaging 8.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. ¢ Now: Marshall, 42, is married with two basketball-playing sons, 10 and 8. He lives in Dallas and works for the U.S Attorney's office. ¢ 1988 memory: "It was hard to sit there and watch," Marshall said. "However, when things were going as great as they were going during that championship run, you can't help but sit back and enjoy it."

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Mike Masucci: ¢ In 1988: Played in 24 games, making one start. Averaged 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds per contest. Was suspended prior to the NCAA Tournament. ¢ Now: Masucci died on Jan. 22, 2005, at the age of 36. He left behind his wife, Vanesa, and son, Robert.

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Marvin Mattox: ¢ In 1988: Joined the quickly deteriorating team in February to add depth. Played in eight games off the bench, averaging 0.3 points and 0.8 rebounds. More noted for his career as a linebacker on the football team. ¢ Now: Mattox, 42, is a sales manager at the Magic Johnson 24 Hour Fitness in Los Angeles. He has two sons, 10 and 9, who both are playing basketball. ¢ 1988 memory: "It was the whole effort of a team - Danny couldn't do it by himself," Mattox said. "That was the most important part to me."

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Lincoln Minor: ¢ In 1988: Played in 34 games, making 12 starts. Averaged 4.8 points and 1.4 rebounds. Logged 11 minutes in the NCAA title game, scoring four points. ¢ Now: Minor, 39, lives in San Jose, Calif., where he works both as a personal trainer and for Federal Express. ¢ 1988 memory: "By no means were we a favorite," Minor said. "But by then, we kind of said 'Hey, we made (the NCAA Tournament). We're in it. Let's make the most of it.'"

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Milt Newton: ¢ In 1988: Played in 35 games, making 27 starts. Second on the team behind Manning with 11.6 points per game. Averaged 17.5 points in the two Final Four tilts, including 15 against Oklahoma in the title game. ¢ Now: Newton, 42, is working for the NBA's Washington Wizards as the vice president of player personnel. He is married with a daughter, 4, and a son, 1. ¢ 1988 memory: "Two of the most important things," Newton said, "we had the best player in the country and we had the best coach in the country."

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Clint Normore: ¢ In 1988: Joined the team after a broken wrist suffered playing football for the Jayhawks healed. Added valuable depth, averaging 1.9 points and 0.9 rebounds in 25 games, including one start. Had seven first-half points in the NCAA title game, helping Kansas keep pace with Oklahoma. ¢ Now: Normore, 42, works at Oklahoma City University as the Director of Multicultural Student Affairs. He's married with three children. ¢ 1988 memory: "The lasting memory I have, and I see it over and over again," Normore said, "is when (OU coach) Billy Tubbs smiles right toward the end of the game as OU is making a run. And how that smile was doused at the end of the game."

Photo by Richard Gwin

Chris Piper: ¢ In 1988: Played in 34 games, making 23 starts. Played through a nagging groin injury and averaged 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Remembered for his defensive effort against Oklahoma in the NCAA championship game.¢ Now: Piper, 43, is an owner of Grandstand Sportswear and Glassware, a Lawrence-based business that produces licensed collegiate merchandise. He's also the radio analyst for KU basketball games.

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Kevin Pritchard: ¢ In 1988: Played in 37 games, making 36 starts. Averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 assists per game. Played through a knee injury in the NCAA Tournament, but recovered before the Final Four and scored 13 points in the title game. ¢ Now: Pritchard, 40, is the general manager of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. ¢ 1988 memory: "You know, it always hits me the first week in April of how fortunate we were. And it hits me like a ton of bricks, because I look out there, and I see all this great basketball, and I think, you know, one bounce of the ball and we might not win. Or someone else wins. Because it really does come down to that. You've got to have a little luck, you've got to be good, and you've got to be playing your best basketball at that time of year. And, fortunately, we had the moons aligned and it was a phenomenal experience and - even to this day - sometimes it doesn't really sink in that we won a national championship."

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Mark Randall: ¢ In 1988: Received a medical red shirt his second year on campus to have corrective surgery on a misaligned jaw. Practiced with the team most of the season but never played. ¢ Now: Randall, 40, works in community relations for the NBA's Denver Nuggets. He has a daughter, 8, and a son, 6. ¢ 1988 memory: "It was fun to see all the guys relish in those roles and not play outside of who they were," Randall said. "When you do that and everybody's on the same page, something special is going to come out of it. For us, it was a national championship."

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From left, assistant coach R.C. Buford, Danny Manning, assistant Alvin Gentry and head coach Larry Brown watch a 1987-88 game from the bench. <br /><br /> Larry Brown: ¢ In 1988: Brown was in his fifth year as head coach of the Jayhawks. The championship victory over Oklahoma would be his last as coach at Kansas. He went on to the NBA as coach of the San Antonio Spurs that summer. ¢ Now: Brown, 67, has bounced around several NBA teams since leaving Kansas. He now is the executive vice president of the Philadelphia 76ers. <br /><br /> Alvin Gentry: ¢ In 1988: Gentry was in his third season as asisstant coach of the Jayhawks. ¢ Now: Gentry, 53, followed Brown to the Spurs and has been in the NBA ever since. He currently is an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns. <br /><br /> Ed Manning (not pictured): ¢ In 1988: Manning, the father of KU standout Danny Manning, was in his fifth season as an assistant coach under Brown. ¢ Now: Ed Manning, 65, works as a scout for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. <br /><br /> R.C. Buford: ¢ In 1988: Buford was a first-year assistant coach for the Jayhawks, after spending the previous four years under Brown as a graduate assistant and junior varsity coach. ¢ Now: Buford, 47, is general manager of the San Antonio Spurs. His son, Chase, is a guard on the current KU team.

Photo by Richard Gwin