Kansas Basketball: Reasons to be thankful in 2018
By Mike Norris
When Roy Williams left for apparent bluer pastures in North Carolina following the 2003 national championship loss to Syracuse, Kansas fans were rightfully upset. A national title and 14 consecutive Big 12 titles later and the pain has subsided.
If Bill Self retired right now he would go down as the greatest coach in Kansas Jayhawks basketball history. To be fair, there are only seven other (non-interim) ones — which is crazy in itself. But just take a look at these numbers Self has produced in 15 seasons plus three games:
- 450-96 record (.824 winning percentage)
- 14 Big 12 championships and one second-place finish
- Eight Big 12 Conference tournament championships
- 15 NCAA Tournament appearances; the last nine as a No. 1 or 2 seed
- 37 NCAA Tournament wins (Duke has 33 during the same stretch)
- 10 Sweet 16 appearances
- Eight Elite Eight appearances
- Three Final Four appearances
- Two national title game appearances
- One national title
No former Kansas coach can touch that. Not Roy Willliams, not the inventor of basketball James Naismith not even Phog Allen. Yes, you could make an argument for Dr. Allen and his 590 wins in Lawrence, but that was in an era when, less be honest, the competition and pressure to win was not the same.
The good news for Kansas fans is Self isn’t going to retire today. Now, could he end up in the NBA fairly soon? That’s debatable, but for now he is the man in charge, and no matter what critics say about him, that’s a great thing for the Jayhawks.
If you want to focus on the fact Self has “only” one national title, that’s on you. When it’s all said and done, Billy Eugene Self Jr. will go down as one of the five best college basketball coaches of all time — but he needs to be appreciated not just in the past, but also the present.