April 21
Kansas made a great choice in replacing Roy Williams with Illinois coach Bill Self. He's a young, talented and established coach who has done a solid job at each place he's run a program, including Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois.

The decision cannot be considered a shock. At the Final Four, there were rumors of a domino effect, starting with Williams leaving Kansas for North Carolina. Self has continued the process by going to Lawrence.

	Bill Self will become acquainted with Big 12 officials next season.

Now the question is, what will Illinois do? The most prominent name mentioned is Marquette's Tom Crean. Will he leave the Golden Eagles for the Big Ten, where he would go against his mentor, Tom Izzo?

If Crean elects to stay, another possibility would be Tim Floyd, the former Iowa State and Chicago Bulls coach. What about Creighton's Dana Altman, who has had great success leading the Bluejays to the NCAA Tournament five straight years?

Here's one name that would shake up the Big Ten. As I was telling friends on Sunday, wouldn't it be something if Illinois called down to Lubbock, Texas and inquired about the services of the General, Robert Montgomery Knight? I don't really see that happening, but wouldn't it be something if Knight, the former coach at Indiana, ever returned to the Big Ten?

Getting back to Kansas: Self, 40, should do a fine job with the Jayhawks. He certainly has ties after playing in the Big 12 at Oklahoma State and serving as an assistant at Kansas (under current Sixers coach Larry Brown on a 1986 Final Four team).

Kansas has lots of returning talent in Wayne Simien (expected to return from a shoulder injury), Aaron Miles, Keith Langford and Jeff Graves. The class recruited by Williams, if it still comes to Lawrence intact, is outstanding.

The Jayhawks have had so many good coaches over the years. This program is a lot more than just the 15-year successful run enjoyed by Williams. Think about it: Larry Brown won a national championship; Ted Owens and Dick Harp each reached the Final Four.

Then there is the legendary Phog Allen. Kansas has produced so many star players over the years, from Wilt Chamberlain to Danny Manning and on and on. Of course, the inventor of the game, Dr. James Naismith, also coached at Kansas.

Self's decision was difficult. He had started to put his own stamp on the Illinois program, and the Illini could be headed for big things next season. It's never easy to replace a highly successful coach like Williams.

Think about how tough it's been over the years to replace legends: Just ask the men who replaced John Wooden, Casey Stengel, Vince Lombardi, etc. Go talk to Matt Doherty and Bob Davie about stepping in down the line after big-name coaches left.

Stay tuned, the coaching carousel keeps spinning round and round. For now, Kansas has done a good job replacing Williams with Self.