2008 KANSAS BASKETBALL
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SELF (CONTINUED FROM 53)
MARCH 26, 2000
Tulsa guard Eric Coley was the typical Self player: He cared about toughness and defense. That season, his senior year, he became the Western Athletic Conference's all-time leader in steals.
"He was a cowboy," then-Tulsa assistant coach John Phillips said. "He took pride in the defensive end - similar to Brandon Rush, minus the shot."
In the tournament, Coley helped shut down the guards of UNLV, Cincinnati and Miami. The Golden Hurricane, a seven seed, had to defeat eighth-seeded North Carolina to make the Final Four.
Fouls prevented it from happening. Coley sat 10 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. He picked up his fourth foul seven minutes into the second half. Guard Joseph Forte scored 28 points, his career high. Tulsa lost 59-55.
"If our guys hadn't gotten into foul trouble," Phillips said, "it probably would've gone the other way."
One year later, Self got another attempt at the Final Four. This time, he was coaching Illinois.
MARCH 25, 2001
Self, whod taken over for Lon Kruger, molded an already rugged bunch into a group of warriors who wouldn't be out-toughed by anybody. Frank Williams, a gritty point guard, teamed with a frontline of Sergio McClain, Brian Cook and Marcus Griffin. Forward Lucas Johnson, who was so aggressive that he often got accused of dirty play, came off the bench.
Sean Harrington was a sophomore guard that season who led the Big 10 in three-point field goal percentage. He remembers how Self taught the Illinois players that the season was broken down into four parts: the nonconference, conference, conference tournament and NCAA Tournament. Self wanted to win a "championship" in all of those areas. Illinois did well in nonconference play then won the Big 10. The Illini also secured a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and rolled to the Elite Eight.
There, it met Arizona, a team on a mission. Arizona won 87-81.
Michael Lee, a junior guard at the time, doesn't remember much about the Georgia Tech Elite Eight game. He just remembers that Self prepared for it like any other game.
"It was just two great teams," Harrington said, "and Arizona was just a little better."
MARCH 28, 2004
It didn't matter that it was the third time Self was there in five years; he didn't feel like he had anything to prove. Lee said Self just showed them a lot of tape, worked them through the shootaround and didn't give any special speeches or use motivational tactics.
Self knew they were prepared enough.
His team had more than enough advantages: it was playing in St. Louis, had Final Four experience from the previous two seasons and Tech's leading scorer was injured. The Jayhawks had them all. Except one.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Kansas coach Bill Self cuts the last strand off the net in celebration of Kansas' victory over Davidson March 30 at Ford Field in Detroit. Self and the Jayhawks then went to the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas, where they faced North Carolina. The trip to the Final Four is the first for Self as the Hawks' coach.
Kansas didn't count on Georgia Tech's Jarrett Jack. Jack, a sophomore guard for the three-seeded Yellow Jackets, shot the four-seeded Jayhawks out of the tournament. He scored 29 points, and Tech won in overtime 79-71. Kansas missed 16 of its first 18 shots, and star players Keith Langford and Wayne Simien made just eight of their 25 attempts.
"Some people call it luck," Lee said. "Some call it preparation. It depends on how you look at it. There's no special formula."
MARCH 24,2007
After close losses, Self often lamented that his team missed too many "bunnies," his word for close shots.
Against UCLA in the Elite Eight last season, the Jayhawks missed plenty. More than 10 shots from inside or layups didn't fall in for the Jayhawks.
While they missed, UCLA turned up its offense. The Bruins made 58 percent of its shots in the second half, including 75 percent from long distance. Its defense proved better than Kansas', which had been regarded as one of the best in the country.
"It hurts," Self told The University Daily Kansan after the game. "I really felt like this was our year."
MARCH 30,2008
Would this be the day? Will Self finally get fans off his back and take Kansas to the place he hasn't been able to reach in four tries?
Everything has to be just right. Self knows that already. He's seen Final Four dreams disappear because of foul trouble against North Carolina, an inspired team with Arizona, a hot performer with Georgia Tech and missed layups against UCLA.
Good fortune should be on Self's side. If any team was built for a run to the Final Four and National Championship, this one is it. Kansas has a myriad of scoring options and five seniors and two juniors who have seen just about everything possible in their college careers.
"Coaches know there's an element of intangibles out there that some people catch breaks and some people don't," Self said. "All we want to do is prepare our guys to be the best they can be and hope that's good enough. A lot of factors go into playing well this time of year that are unknown to everyone else's eyes so I won't feel the pressure."
They were the ones who helped build Self's team at Kansas, along with sophomore forward Darrell Arthur and sophomore guard Sherron Collins. They want a Final Four and national title for themselves and for their coach.
"He loves us and we love him," senior guard Jeremy Case said. "We're going to do everything we can to get him that national championship just like he's going to do everything for us to get us that national championship."
This group won't be around forever. Seniors guard Russell Robinson, center Sasha Kaun and forward Darnell Jackson are all gone after this season. Junior guard Brandon Rush is a lock to enter the NBA Draft, and Arthur will probably join him. Heck, Collins and Junior guard Mario Chalmers might even leave.
Kansas was two games away from a Final Four berth, and the Jayhawks were favored in both. Everyone expected them to beat Villanova and Wisconsin or Davidson at the next game.
It's now or never for most of the players,
and it could be a while before Self gets another team as good as this one. That's why Phillips, Tulsa's former assistant coach, thinks this could be the year for his former boss.
He's watched the team and seen how they play defense as good as any Self team. They also have the necessary focus, and Phillips knows that Self always finds the perfect playing style to suit his team during the postseason even if it comes at the expense of some sub-par regular season games. More than anything, Phillips is just confident in Self's competitive nature.
"He's still a young man," Phillips said. "He'll get there. There's nobody I know that is more of a competitor than Bill Self. He wants to win at marbles, at ping-pong. Desire on his part is there. Once he breaks in, he'll be there a lot."
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN