Bill Self took some inevitable heat for Kansas University’s shocking loss to Bucknell in the NCAA Tournament.
One sports writer, however, threw KU’s second-year coach into the blast furnace.
Gregg Doyel, senior writer for CBSsportsline.com, listed Self and Charlotte’s Bobby Lutz as the worst coaches in the tournament so far, noting: “Kansas should never lose to Bucknell, Bill Self. Never.”
Earlier, Doyel had written:
“Kansas fans insist Self is an upgrade over former coach Roy Williams, which … wait, I’m laughing … is ridiculous because … hold on, still laughing … oh, never mind. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
“Since Williams left for North Carolina, Kansas fans have liked to pretend that ol’ Roy was overrated and a March failure. Maybe so, but he would have beaten Bucknell.
“The Jayhawks lost six of their final nine games, and they will go down as one of the most talented teams ever to fail in the NCAA Tournament’s first round. Other than Oklahoma State, Kansas has the best seniors in college basketball.
“Kansas also has one of the country’s top-rated freshman classes — a class, it should be mentioned, that was as productive for Kansas as you were. Self never reached sophomore J.R. Giddens, but worse, never threw Giddens to the end of the bench.
“Bad coaching job. Sorry. Self’s a class guy, he really is, but he wasn’t even as good on the bench as Lutz. And Lutz wasn’t very good.”
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Jay Mariotti, of the Chicago Sun Times, said of the Jayhawks: “Bill Self lost to Bucknell and is entering a witness-protection program in Kansas.”
Also from Mariotti: “He recruited them (current Illinois players), then fled for his dream job at Kansas, where he thought he had a better chance of winning a national championship.
“‘I think we all would have looked forward to that (playing KU),’ said Roger Powell, speaking for teammates who respect Self to this day. The fans eyed such a matchup for different reason, as expressed last weekend when Self’s name was posted on a scoreboard quiz during the Big Ten tournament. ‘BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!’ went the Illini heads.”
Illini guard Dee Brown expressed sympathy for his former coach.
“I feel bad for him because there’s so much pressure on him at Kansas,” Brown told the Chicago Tribune.
These days, his compassion for Self is tempered by his loyalty to the Illini.
“I just worry about Illinois,” Brown said. “If you’re not orange and blue, I really don’t care much about you.”
