The chant began right after the announcement. Kansas fans occupying most of the United Center stood to salute the most outstanding player of the Midwest Region, who had helped their team reach its first Final Four since 2018.

Remy! Remy! Remy!

Jayhawks guard Remy Martin had connected with the crowd all weekend, gesturing to them following big shots, slick passes and defensive stops.

"I didn't really know that I won [the award]," Martin said. "When they said my name, I didn't know that's what it was for. But I have the greatest teammates around me, the greatest coaches. What more can I ask for?"

The scene Sunday afternoon, when Martin's name echoed throughout one of basketball's most famous arenas, was predictable, if not expected, back in the fall when Martin was named Big 12 preseason player of the year. However, it was impossible to envision only weeks ago.

He was arguably the top transfer addition in the country, joining Kansas after leading the Pac-12 in scoring the year before at Arizona State. Martin, who averaged 19.1 points per game in each of his final two seasons at ASU, was pegged to provide instant offense for a KU team that scored just 51 points in a second-round NCAA tournament loss to USC in 2021.

But a choppy start to Martin's Kansas transition, plus a knee injury in late December, rendered him unproductive or sidelined throughout January, February and the beginning of March. As time dwindled on his only season at KU, Martin showed sparks late in the Big 12 tournament. He has surged during the NCAA tournament, averaging 16.8 points on 54.5% shooting (24-of-44), while producing in other areas (5.25 rebounds per game, 3.25 assists per game) off the bench.

Martin has not only played a significant role in getting Kansas to New Orleans this week, but also instilled confidence the Jayhawks can cut down the nets there next Monday night.

"Remy, in his core, always knew what he was capable of doing to help us, but we hadn't really seen it yet because his health hadn't allowed it," coach Bill Self said. "Our guys have more of a swagger now, knowing what Remy can do to make us better. That gives us a little bit of extra confidence moving forward."

Kansas expected a jolt of both confidence and offense from Martin, who arrived on campus in late July. He had withdrawn from the NBA draft earlier in the month, after not getting invitations to either the NBA combine or the G League combine. His goals were clear: to keep building on prolific scoring totals — Martin led the Pac-12 in 30-point games (4) and 20-point games (12) in 2020-21 — while improving his overall skill set in a championship-level program under a Hall of Fame coach.