NCAA champs at KU in ’08, Chalmers, Jackson will compete in Ice Cube’s Big3 again

Two members of the Kansas Jayhawks’ 2008 NCAA championship men’s basketball team are competing in Ice Cube’s Big3 again this season.

Mario Chalmers and Darnell Jackson were starters on the KU squad that tripped Memphis 75-68 in overtime during the April 7, 2008 title game in San Antonio. They have participated in 3-on-3 games for 3s Company and Ghost Ballers, respectively, through the first two weeks of the 2024 summer campaign.

Jackson, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound, 38-year-old power forward from Oklahoma City, scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds — he hit two 3-pointers — in a 50-36 loss to Enemies on Saturday in Tampa, Florida.

Chalmers, a 6-2, 190-pound, 38-year-old combo guard from Anchorage, Alaska, had five assists and two rebounds while failing to score in Saturday’s 50-47 loss to Bivouac in Tampa.

Chalmers’ Big3 teammate from Kansas State, Michael Beasley, scored 22 points and grabbed six rebounds — he hit one 3-pointer — in the defeat.

On opening weekend in Oakland, California, Jackson’s Ghost Ballers defeated Killer 3s 50-48. Jackson had five points, six rebounds and two assists. He hit one 3. Chalmers’ 3’s Company beat Power 52-50. Chalmers hit three 3s and scored 15 points with four assists. Beasley, 35, had 15 points and seven rebounds.

The Big3 league travels to Baltimore for games on Saturday, then heads to Newark, New Jersey (July 7), Anaheim, California (July 14), Portland (July 20), Cincinnati (July 28), San Antonio (Aug. 4), Nashville (Aug. 11) and Boston (Aug. 18).

Chalmers played in the NBA for nine seasons, winning two NBA championships with the Miami Heat. Jackson, who enjoyed a 14-year pro career, played in the NBA for three seasons. He is an assistant coach for the Ontario (California) Clippers, the NBA G League affiliate of the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Big3 was in the news in mid April when Ice Cube offered former Iowa women’s basketball standout Caitlin Clark a $5 million contract to play in eight games. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft declined the offer and is one of the candidates for the WNBA’s rookie of the year award.

As for Chalmers and Beasley, they’re teammates for the second straight season. This is Chalmers’ fifth year in the Big3 and Jackson’s fourth.

“It’s just fun,” Chalmers told the Miami Herald of participating in the Big3. “Fun to get around the guys, play basketball, stay in some type of shape and being in a locker room again.

“Once you’re done playing basketball, that camaraderie, you kind of miss that. We get a little bit of that feeling back and it’s a bunch of great guys in there, and everybody gets along.”

He’s a long-time friend of Beasley’s.

“It really hasn’t been any different because, truth be told, me and Mike have been working out together for years,” Chalmers told the Herald. “It’s kind of like the same thing. We’re not playing 5-on-5, full court. So that’s probably the biggest difference. But me and Mike have been working out every summer together for the last, almost, 10 years.

“So it’s just good to be on this type of platform with the Big3 and to have somebody that you’re close to be on your team, see every weekend and have that kind of camaraderie. It’s just good that we were able to keep that friendship and keep building.”

Chalmers, according to the Herald, is among the Heat’s all-time leaders in steals (second), games played (fourth), assists (fourth), three-pointers made (fifth) and minutes played (sixth).

“The organization, I’m still very cool with. I love the organization,” Chalmers said of the Heat. “They gave me my first chance in the league, so it’s always the utmost respect for them and I’m always rooting for them.

“Hopefully I’m trying to get on the coaching staff here in the next couple of years. So we’ll see how that works out,” Chalmers added.

CBS-TV is the Big3 league’s television partner for a fifth straight year.