Ask anyone to make a list of the top coaches in college basketball today and you won’t have to wait long before hearing Bill Self’s name mentioned.
Whether you’re talking about coaches with the most wins, the best recruiters or those who have helped a long line of assistant coaches move up in their own careers, Self has done it all during his 27 seasons as a college head coach, the last 17 of them coming at Kansas.
That’s why it came as no surprise to see his name land on [Silver Waves Media’s list of the 100 most influential people in men’s college basketball in 2020.][1]
Joining a long list of modern day coaching giants, Self was included for everything he has given to the game, from his days and record at Kansas to his time with USA Basketball and on the NCAA rules committee.
Here’s a look at Self’s entry on the Silver Waves Media website:
> The second-youngest coach to claim 700
> NCAA Division I victories, Self has
> been at the forefront of unprecedented
> success throughout the course of his
> career. In that time, he has dominated
> the Big 12 Conference winning
> NCAA-record 14-straight regular season
> (15 overall) league titles and eight
> Big 12 Tournament Championships. More
> than amazing is that the Jayhawks have
> more Big 12 regular season league
> championships under Self (15) than
> they do losses at home (14) in Self’s
> tenure. The Oklahoma native is 501-109
> (.821) in 17 seasons at Kansas and an
> astonishing 264-14 (.950) at Allen
> Fieldhouse. The success has been
> highlighted by 17 stars that have
> suited up in the Jayhawk uniform that
> have gone on to be NBA Draft lottery
> selections. The Naismith Hall of Famer
> has brought great NCAA Tournament
> success to Lawrence, KS too. The
> Jayhawks have advanced and finished in
> one NCAA Championship, one Final
> Fours, five Elite Eights, two Sweet
> Sixteens and he is one of ten active
> Division I coaches that have won a
> NCAA Championship (Kansas 2008). He is
> one of six coaches in NCAA Division I
> history to have led three different
> teams – Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas –
> to the NCAA Elite Eight. Decision
> makers have been gravitated towards
> his assistant coaches over time in the
> wake of the success. Coaches like
> Danny Manning, Joe Dooley, Tim
> Jankovich, Kyle Keller, Barry Hinson,
> Billy Gillispie, and Norm Roberts have
> all been hired to be head coaches at
> some points during their careers. Self
> has also worked with USA Basketball
> winning a gold medal twice and has
> served on the NCAA rules committee.
While there are a couple dozen head coaches on the 2020 list, it’s not just coaches who made the cut.
Silver Waves Media’s Top 100 includes conference commissioners, athletic directors, AAU coaches/directors, media members and even a few marketing experts and college basketball officials.
Nike, Under Armour and Adidas also are well represented, with everyone from global marketing directors to grassroots organizers representing the three major shoe companies who have a huge impact on college basketball and the recruiting world.
There are even a couple of search firm reps and consultants on the list, which only underscores how massive the world of hiring college basketball coaches has become.
While a lot of the names on the list are recognizable, more than a handful are not. And for every Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo and John Calipari you come across, you’re sure to run into another name or two that you don’t know. That makes the list an entertaining read and one from which you’ll probably learn something.
In all, seven of the 10 Big 12 head coaches are on the list, with only Oklahoma State’s Mike Boynton, Baylor’s Scott Drew and Iowa State’s Steve Prohm missing the cut.
According to the site, Silver Waves Media is “a new age sports media organization that focuses on providing exposure for athletes on the West Coast.”
The company covers eight different sports across multiple platforms from high school to the professional ranks.
[1]: https://www.silverwavesmedia.com/news_article/show/1108825
