Self establishes himself at Kansas

By Drew Wilson

Published: April 7, 2008

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The frustration was visible on Bill Self’s face all week. The current Kansas coach was tired of hearing all of the talk about him and his predecessor, Roy Williams.
That talk is over. For now.
Not only did Self’s Jayhawks dispatch Williams’ North Carolina Tar Heels to get to Monday night’s championship game, he did something Williams couldn’t do in 15 years: Bring a title back to Lawrence, Kan., by beating Memphis.
In just five seasons at Kansas, Self has gone 142-32 (an 81.6 winning percentage). Percentage-wise, that’s better than Williams, who went 418-101 (80.5 percent) from 1988-2003.
“You know, I’ve said this many times. I have a better job at Kansas because Roy Williams was a coach at Kansas,” Self admitted last week. “I also am glad he’s at North Carolina because if he wasn’t, then I wouldn’t be at Kansas.”
Ask any Kansas fans and they’ll likely say they’re glad Williams is in Chapel Hill, too, now that Self’s team has won the big game — one that Williams couldn’t ever seem to do. Williams led Kansas to four Final Fours during his time and went 0-for-2 in national championship games.
Self said he’s had no better week than this one, but it had nothing with his team beating Williams’ North Carolina squad 84-66 in Saturday’s national semifinal. It had more to do with finally getting past the Elite Eight, beating a Carolina team regardless who the coach was and then knocking off Memphis in Monday’s national championship.
“There is no jealousy, no animosity between Coach Williams and myself, at least on this end,” Self reiterated at a press conference on Saturday. “And I have never this entire week, look, we need to do this because this would be better for me with our fan base or anything like that. It wouldn’t have made any difference who was on the other bench.
“To everybody else, it’s a big deal. That’s not a big deal. But this has been a remarkable week, and hopefully it can continue for, you know, make it a remarkable nine or 10 days.”
Self got his wish.
Now comes the ironic part.
Will Self stay at Kansas and bask in the glory of a national title, or will he follow in Williams’ footsteps and leave for his alma mater. Self is considered a candidate for the Oklahoma State opening, whether he’s interested or not. Self graduated from Oklahoma State in 1985 and got his master’s there in 1989. He was also an assistant coach there from 1987-93.
Self said he’d already had a conversation with Kansas Athletics Director Lew Perkins, but it was how to handle the situation.
“When the opening occurred at Oklahoma State, I immediately went to see Lew,” Self said. “At that time Lew and I talked — not talked about terms of contract or anything like that, but just said, Hey, Lew, how do we handle this? We talked about it. He asked me, ‘Do you want to go anywhere?’ I said, ‘Heck, no, I don’t want to go anywhere.’”
Of course, Kansas fans remember Williams saying the same thing before taking the North Carolina job. And Jayhawks fans haven’t forgotten. Some even renamed bathrooms “Roy rooms” in Lawrence.
“When fans get upset, all that is is a backhanded compliment because they didn’t want you to leave,” Self said. “I’m sure Roy knows that.”
At least in Self’s case, if he chooses to leave, he gave Jayhawks fans a title before bolting. But that surely won’t stop the diehard fans from comparing Self to Williams for years to come.
•Contact Drew Wilson at or (434) 791-7995.