Self: Weis has a commanding presence

By Jesse Newell     Dec 13, 2011

Kansas coach Bill Self said he was finally able to talk at length with new football coach Charlie Weis on Sunday morning.

Both were at The Oread hotel in Lawrence, having breakfast with recruits.

“One thing I was very impressed (with): He was holding court, which I thought was great,” Self said Monday on his Hawk Talk radio show. “So he came in, and we visited for a long time. I can understand why fans would be excited.”

Self said Weis reminded him of Eddie Sutton when the hall-of-fame coach took the job at Oklahoma State in 1990. At the time, Self was an assistant on the OSU staff.

“It was amazing to me that coach Sutton carried himself in a way where there was an air of confidence and a presence — just a natural presence,” Self said. “It’s amazing to me how much that rubs off on your players. And I saw it rub off on those kids, that we went from average to winning the league in our first year.”

Self said Weis could potentially offer the same sort of benefit for KU’s football team.

“I think he brings an air of confidence that’ll be passed through his players and through his coaches that will be very positive for our guys,” Self said. “And I’m not in any way putting down Turner (Gill) at all, because it’s just different. It’s just a different deal. Coaches have different perspectives in how they do things, and I think Charlie’s perspective will be a little different from the way Turner did it, which was different than the way Mark (Mangino) did it.”

Self came away with the impression that Weis seemed “very, very, very excited to be here.”

“Certainly, he gives us a presence — somebody that brings name recognition with him,” Self said. “His résumé, I’ve studied it, it’s really impressive. You talk about being in five Super Bowls and won four and called plays in three or four of them and who he’s tutored … There’s some impressive things with that.”

Weis led Notre Dame to a 35-27 record over five seasons from 2005-09. He was fired after the Fighting Irish went 6-6 in 2009.

“He seems hungry, and certainly, this is an opportunity for him to get some negatives out of his system,” Self said. “Which, to me, those are the most dangerous type of people — (the ones) that got something to prove, which I think is really good.

“I certainly commend our administration on this one for sure.”

Robinson wins Big 12 player of the week honor

Kansas forward Thomas Robinson won Big 12 player of the week honors, the conference announced Monday.

The 6-foot-10 junior averaged 23.5 points and nine rebounds during KU’s wins over Long Beach State and No. 2 Ohio State last week.

“For me to receive player of the week, I’m very thankful of that,” Robinson said, “and like I said, I don’t expect it to be my last one.”

Robinson, a Washington, D.C. native, scored a career-high 26 points against on Tuesday against Long Beach State to go with 11 rebounds.

Against OSU, Robinson scored 10 of KU’s final 12 points in a 21-point effort.

“He was really good against Long Beach State and did some good things. And against Ohio State, he did some great things,” Self said. “He’s gotten to the point where he’s trusting his shot more, but yet, against Ohio State, he made two of the best five post moves he’s probably made since he’s been here on campus.”

Last week, Robinson made 17 of 23 shots (74 percent) and 13 of his 18 free throws (72 percent).

More on Ohio State victory

Self was asked Monday morning during the Big 12 media teleconference if he had learned anything about his team following its 78-67 victory over Ohio State.

“I probably have a greater appreciation or respect for certain things,” Self said. “Kevin Young is a kid, I’ve been on his butt pretty good, wanting him to be more of an aggressive contributor on both ends. And I know now he can do it, without question. He can do it, which definitely adds to our depth element.

“I’ve never questioned Tyshawn (Taylor)’s toughness, but now, nobody can. … And Elijah (Johnson), we know he can shoot the ball, but now, that should be a big confidence thing for him, going 5-of-7 from deep against Ohio State. And I do think that we guard pretty well defensively as a unit.”

Kansas in the polls

Following its win over Ohio State, KU moved up one spot to No. 12 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls Monday.

The Buckeyes remained at No. 2 in both rankings.

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