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KANSAN.COM
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Dzwierzynski: Don't blame Self for tournament loss
BRENDAN DZWIERZYNSKI @BrendanDzw
Coach Bill Self walks off the court after a loss in the Elite Eight to Oregon.
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Assigning blame is one of the first things that happens after any sort of shocking or disappointing loss, regardless of the sport. Everyone needs to determine why something went wrong, and who's responsible for the failure.
When it comes to Kansas exit in this year's NCAA tournament in the Elite Eight, don't pass the blame off to coach Bill Self.
Self doesn't need anyone to defend him because his record speaks for itself. His regular-season credentials are as good as anyone else in the country. His March record is stellar as well, despite some naive onlookers' continued criticism of it.
Inevitably, because it seems to happen every year, a select group of fans and pundits will label Self as a choke artist, completely ignoring that he coached a fine game against Oregon in the Elite Eight. His team played poorly in its final game, but not because of anything he did wrong.
the rest of the nation.
Let's put it this way: If you came away from Saturday's game thinking Oregon's Dana Altman outcoached Self, then you weren't watching the same game as
Self can't be blamed for an uncharacteristically terrible shooting day for the Jayhawks, nor the shockingly poor individual performances. Don't let your lust for a poignant narrative get in the way of the truth.
The coach is always an easy target for blame, and sometimes it's deserved.
Kyle Shanahan, former offensive coordinator for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, deserved a ton of blame for the Falcons losing Super Bowl LI. Scott
Drew's generally-successful career with Baylor men's basketball has been marred by horrifically bad late-game clock management. These are examples of coaches who rightfully need to shoulder blame for their respective team's disappointments.
If you were on Twitter after the game Saturday, you probably encountered three things in particular in the wake of the loss: general sadness and despair
Kansas' loss to Oregon in the Elite Eight is not an applicable example.
from Jayhawks fans, encouragement sent to senior guard Frank Mason III and senior center Landen Lucas in reaction to their downbeat tweets, and a few ludicrous demands to have Self fired.
The vitriol is easy to ignore, considering most of it is spewed by irrational fans with single-digit follower totals and/or eggs as profile pictures. However, the problem arises when people in positions of relative power force these tired and generally bad takes on the masses.
Only five active coaches have a higher NCAA tournament winning percentage than Self. Jim Boeheim is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, has coached Syracuse for 41 years and has one national title.
Michigan State's Tom Izzo, often regarded as one of the best coaches ever in March, has the same number of national championships as Self: one. How often is he blamed for the Spartans tournament losses?
Being upset about Kansas failing to reach the Final Four is understandable. Trying to rationalize it by seeking out a scapegoat is natural for many. But don't let Self bear the brunt of your frustration, when Self did nothing wrong.
FROM LOSS PAGE1
struggled to string together the right sequences of words. There was no laughing, joking or dancing as there often had been with this team, as those emotions were instead replaced by immense dejection.
One of the biggest crowds of reporters had appropriately formed around Graham, one of the team's biggest stars. He'd just played possibly the worst game of his career, a three-point, two-assist performance in which he shot 0-of-7 from the field.
But nobody was blaming him. For he was not the Jayhawks' only blemish, as many key performers had struggled to get things going. All season, they'd gone without having such a showing, one in which nobody seemed to have it all together for the whole game, and almost everything went against them.
This team had everything
on its side to make a push for the national title, but fell victim to one bad night. And for Graham, this is what hurt the most.
"We felt like we had all the pieces to the puzzle, you know, just didn't get to the Final Four," Graham said, "And today, we just came up short."
It certainly was an uncharacteristic night. The trio of Graham, senior guard Frank Mason III and freshman guard Josh Jackson had all had their respective off-nights throughout the season, but never like this. Never had they suffered such consequences.
Blame is not to be put on these three, or anybody for that matter. Sometimes, things just don't go the right way. Kansas had a drastically off-night shooting the ball, and Oregon was on fire. Several of the Ducks' late shots were befitting of only a game like this, a classic March heartbreaker in
which the victorious team has everything fall in its favor, and the opposition is helpless.
can win that game, if you can get over it, it's gonna be a special run for you. And today was our crappy game,
I'm disappointed more for them than I am for me. These guys put us in a situation to play for the highest stakes and today, we just came up short."
Bill Self Kansas coach
But, as Jackson knows, despite being only a freshman, that's how the tournament goes.
"Everybody gets one crappy game," Jackson said. "You could play as good as you want throughout the whole tournament, but you're gonna have one crappy game. You're gonna have a game where stuff just doesn't go your way. If you
and we just didn't come out on top."
It's equal parts unfair as it is unexpected. Most of the Jayhawks will get another crack at the title, should they decide to pass on going to the NBA. But for Mason and fellow seniors Landen Lucas and Tyler Self, this is the end. There are no more second chances, no more next time. This was it.
This was their last chance at joining a particular company, one achieved only by bringing a national title to Kansas. They'll leave the school and the program without raising a banner in Allen Fieldhouse, and without any national championship rings. What was likely conceived as the perfect ending to their careers won't materialize.
Their younger teammates carried extra motivation to come out on top for the seniors this season, shown on several occasions. But in the end, they weren't able to get it done. And for that, they're heartbroken.
"We wanted to do it for them so bad," Graham said.
"Landen and Frank, Tyler," Jackson said. "I'm gonna miss those guys."
The feeling is mutual.
"It didn't end the way I wanted it to." Mason said.
Much of the attention after the game shifted to Self, and his repeated struggles in the Elite Eight.
He's made it to the round seven times,but only advanced on to the Final Four twice.
But Self doesn't care about that. He couldn't care less about his individual record.
He knows the work his team put in this season, and commends how successful they were. But the NCAA tournament is, by nature, an unforgiving beast. An off-night like that of the Jayhawks' on Saturday is almost always fatal. And that, not his personal reputation, is the sole cause of Self's disappointment as his season ends.
"I'm disappointed more for them than I am for me. These guys put us in a situation to play for the highest stakes," Self said, "and today, we just came up short."
- Edited by Christian Hardy
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