BOSTON — As basketball players go, Mario Chalmers height is less than notable. Standing at just 6’1″, Chalmers is undersized for an off-guard, and most of his Kansas teammates tower above him.
But when it comes to shooting the ball, Chalmers plays bigger than his height. With a 66% true shooting percentage, combined with a tenacious defensive stance, he has risen above the pack in this year’s NCAA tournament.
Following a consistent shooting record for the Kansas Jayhawks this season, it was no surprise to his team and fans that his 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime against Memphis cinched the game for KU and became the biggest overturn in the 2008 tourney. As KU coach Bill Self described it, “It will probably be the biggest shot in Kansas history.”
No surprise either for those who have watched this young man grow from a boy with dreams of playing college ball to one of the most respected players in NCAA play.
Almario Vernard Chalmers, or “Super Mario” as he has been nicknamed, was born on May 19, 1989 in Anchorage, Alaska. He began his career under the watchful eye of his father, Ronnie Chalmers, a seasoned basketball coach who later coached his son during his years at Bartlett High School in Anchorage.
Raised in a family dedicated to the sport, Mario’s cousin Lionel currently plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves and cousin Chris Smith is a former player of the same team. And mom Almarie has been her son’s cheerleader all the way. When asked about Mario’s game winning score, she said with tears in her eyes, “A dream come true. A prayer answered. We’ve been waiting on this moment since he was 2!”
During his high school career, both father and son guided Bartlett to two state titles in 2002 and 2003 and two runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2005. Recruited by KU in 2005, Mario moved, along with his parents, to Kansas, where Mario entered as the #1 overall point guard for the Jayhawks and Ronnie took over KU’s Director of Basketball Operations. Currently a junior, Mario has had three successful years on the Kansas court, and was named 2007 co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. After being named MOP of the 2008 tournament, Chalmers is certain to enter his senior season as one of the country’s most sought after players on a national level.
But despite all the hype, Chalmers remains true to his quiet, reserved manner and is first to credit the team rather than himself with success. “All of us have our strengths and weaknesses, and our goal is to play to each others’ strengths to win the game”, says Mario of his teammates. Chalmers, while basking in the glory of a once-in-a-lifetime shot, is quick to acknowledge that each member of the Jayhawks contributed to the team’s tournament victory.
But it is undisputable that Memphis would have survived if Chalmers hadn’t made the shot of a lifetime. And that, to be sure, is how a star was born on the march to madness.