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| Friday, April 18 Updated: April 20, 6:27 PM ET Self needed to be selfish and go to Kansas By Andy Katz ESPN.com |
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Bill Self made the right move by taking the Kansas job.
This was a career decision for Self, not something only for the next few seasons. And after talking to sources close to Self, and the coach himself, over the past few weeks, that's the shared sentiment.
In taking over the Jayhawks' program, he could coach at Kansas for the rest of his career. He's only 40 years old, and could coach 20 seasons. If he does that at a place like Kansas, he could leave more of a mark in Lawrence than Roy Williams did.
Leaving Kansas for a school like Oklahoma State (Self's alma mater) wouldn't make the kind of sense it did to Williams, who bolted Kansas to return to his roots in North Carolina. You don't leave the best job in the Big 12 for one that is a few notches below.
Kansas is a national job. Illinois is a regional one.
Kansas was on national television 16 times (ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, CBS) last regular season. Illinois was on 14 times.
Kansas is the best job in the Big 12, the standard bearer in the league. Illinois gets muddled with Michigan State and Indiana -- among others -- in the Big Ten.
Kansas has more tradition than Illinois.
Allen Fieldhouse is the best place to watch a game and, we assume, to coach and play in one, too.
Kansas is a three-plus hour drive to his roots in Oklahoma. He would get to Oklahoma at least once a season by playing conference games at Oklahoma or Oklahoma State.
Kansas goes into Texas every season to play in the Big 12. Self and his staff are strong in the state from his days as an assistant at Oklahoma State and a head coach at Tulsa.
Self got into coaching at Kansas and that's where he fell in love with the profession. His first taste of big-time college basketball was at Kansas.
The top six jobs in the country are: North Carolina, Kentucky, Duke, UCLA, Kansas and Arizona. Debate these if you must, but this is our consensus. Illinois is probably in the top 10, but certainly not as high as Kansas.
The Jayhawks will be strong next season, probably better than Illinois. Wayne Simien, Jeff Graves and David Padgett form one of the best frontcourts in the country. Guards Keith Langford, Aaron Miles, J.R. Giddens, Michael Lee and Omar Wilkes give the Jayhawks depth that they haven't always had. Illinois has a commitment from New Jersey prep forward Charlie Villanueva, but he hasn't signed. He's a recruitable athlete and the Jayhawks could land him if he doesn't go to the NBA. Can you imagine that frontcourt?
Illinois will be strong on the perimeter and wings with Dee Brown, Deron Williams, Luther Head, Roger Powell, Nick Smith and power player James Augustine. But losing Brian Cook is akin to not having Nick Collison. The difference is this: Kansas has Simien. Illinois could have Villanueva, but he's not as polished as Simien, and isn't the low-post scorer.
Self doesn't like to disappoint anyone. But the Illini faithful won't be too hurt if he leaves for Kansas. Leaving for Oklahoma State wouldn't give him the same sympathy.
Don't buy the "Self would be following a legend" stuff. He's one of the most likeable coaches in the sport, and the Kansas faithful will have no problem falling for him. The lack of an athletic director at Kansas doesn't mean anything. Self can help pick his boss.
Self doesn't have NBA aspirations. So, the decision he makes will be, possibly, for the rest of his career.
"For the one time in his life, Bill has to think selfishly,'' said a close friend. "He can't be worried about what everyone else thinks. He needs to decide what he wants to do 10 years from now.''
As the coaching carousel turns
Bottom line: Wojcik has plenty of options, thanks in large part to the fact he was out of a job when Doherty was fired.
The movements from Western Kentucky to Georgia (Dennis Felton), East Tennessee State to Penn State (Ed DeChellis) and South Florida to Virginia Tech (Seth Greenberg) didn't create quite as many dominoes. Marquette assistant Darrin Horn replaced Felton. East Tennessee State is still open and might be filled by an assistant. Western Michigan's Robert McCullum replaced Greenberg and an assistant might get McCullum's gig.
Now, if Self does go to Kansas, the dominoes could start falling again with Marquette's Tom Crean possibly going to Illinois. But don't rule out former Bulls coach Tim Floyd heading back to Illinois, which wouldn't create any stir in the coaching community. If Crean leaves Marquette, there won't be a great deal of fallout. A coach from the MAC or UW-Milwaukee's Bruce Pearl (although sources say the Golden Eagles are cool to that idea right now) could move into the Marquette job. Hiring an assistant isn't out of the question, since they were successful in grabbing Crean the first time.
What else we're hearing Ohio State could be the sleeper team in the Big Ten. The reason is they have two decent transfers in Tony Stockman of Clemson and J.J. Sullinger of Arkansas. Add those two with the addition of ineligible guard Ricardo Billings, injured forward Terence Dials (only six games last season) and incoming freshman wing Ivan Harris and the Buckeyes have five impact newcomers who weren't factors or even on campus this past season. At Pittsburgh: New coach Jamie Dixon's planned addition of former Panther Orlando Antigua (coming off a stint with the Harlem Globetrotters) as one of his assistants is the perfect move. Antigua was a popular player with the Panthers and knows the New York City area very well. Pittsburgh can make serious inroads into the tri-state area with Antigua and Rohrssen on the staff. And those, especially on the East Coast, who are critical of Dixon's hire should back off. They don't know Dixon's history because he worked in the West for most of his career. No one seems to be criticizing Brian Gregory's hire at Dayton, yet he's an assistant getting a top job. Dixon learned the Big East the past four seasons and won't be intimidated going against Jim Boeheim of Syracuse of Jim Calhoun of Connecticut. At Manhattan: Bobby Gonzolez is fine staying with the Jaspers for at least another season. It's OK that he didn't get another job this year. He's got a great shot to win the MAAC again next season with the return of Luis Flores. Gonzolez could be just as hot a name next year. He's also expected to receive a contract extension. It would be breakable, but at least it will give him even more security. At Baylor: The Bears picked up a sleeper recruit in JC transfer Harvey Thomas. Thomas was at Georgetown in 2001-02. He's a slashing small forward who has the potential to be a face-the-basket scorer in the Big 12. Baylor needed another scorer to compliment Lawrence Roberts. Baylor could be a sleeper next season like Colorado. With Tom Izzo: His power keeps growing. Add the Virginia Tech job to his sphere of influence. Izzo helped Greenberg get the job with a phone call. Greenberg once worked for Izzo. In recruiting: Don't be surprised to see big-time schools like Kentucky all over 7-foot-3 Shagari Alleyne, once considered a lock for Rutgers. James Lang out of Birmingham, who still hasn't decided on the NBA, is also a hot commodity. Former Georgia signees Mohamed Abukar and Alexander Johnson are also considered big-time catches for high-major teams. In the Atlantic 10: The A-10 coaches want all 12 teams to get invited to the conference tournament next season instead of eight. No surprise there. At Indiana: Hoosiers freshman Bracey Wright is scheduled for back surgery and will be out for six weeks. He's expected to make a full recovery and be ready to go for next season. At Washington: The Huskies added New Mexico transfer Jamal Williams. He wasn't a star with the Lobos, but the Huskies might need him to be more of a scorer in 2004-05. At Kansas: If Roy Williams thought Joe Holladay should get the Jayhawks' job, then why was he with him at North Carolina? If you're a top assistant and you want to get the job you boss just vacated, you should be the one to stay on campus. That's why Dixon never left for UCLA. Holladay's chances were gone the moment he got on the plane to Chapel Hill. In scheduling: Duke vs. Texas looks like a potential game at Madison Square Garden Dec. 20. There has been some talk of other teams, but this is the preferred matchup. The season-opening Coaches vs. Cancer event will still be an eight-team, two-day, four-game event at Madison Square Garden. Invitations have gone out to some teams but matchups are still pending. The 2003 Maui Invitational is dreadful for television, with no locks for the NCAAs in the field (Ohio State, Villanova, Dayton, Central Michigan, Hawaii, San Diego State, Santa Clara and Chaminade). The Buckeyes should make the Dance and Villanova and Dayton are legit candidates. Central Michigan would be if Chris Kaman stays in school. But 2004 and 2005 gets the tournament back to being a marquee event. The 2004 field is: Texas, North Carolina, Stanford, Louisville, Tennessee, Iowa, BYU and Chaminade. The 2005 field is loaded as well: Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland, Kansas, Michigan State, Arkansas, DePaul and Chaminade.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college basketball is updated Fridays throughout the year. |
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