Bill Self downplayed his achievement of becoming the winningest coach in Kansas basketball history, even as he surpassed the legendary Phog Allen, after whom the team’s arena is named.
“It means I’m old,” the 61-year-old Self joked with a smile. “And it means I’ve had a lot of really good players.”
Self set the record on Tuesday night when No. 1 Kansas defeated Michigan State 77-69 at the Champions Classic in Atlanta. The win gave him a coaching record of 591-143 in his 22nd season with the Jayhawks, surpassing Phog Allen’s mark of 590-219 from his 39 seasons at Kansas.
With previous coaching stops at Oral Roberts, Tulsa, and Illinois, Self is now just two wins shy of 800 career victories.
The Jayhawks play their home games at Allen Fieldhouse, named in honor of Allen, a Hall of Fame coach who built Kansas’ basketball program in the early 20th century.
Self, though, is not focused on his place in history just yet. “I hadn’t thought about that at all,” he said about passing Allen’s record. “I’m certainly proud about it, but Phog Allen is still gonna be the all-time best coach at Kansas.”
But his players see it differently.
“It’s really special,” said 7-foot-2 center Hunter Dickinson, who led the Jayhawks with 28 points and 12 rebounds. “He’s never going to admit it. He’s always going to try to downplay it and give off the credit, but he’s the best coach in Kansas basketball history. We’re super special and fortunate to be playing for him.”
Fifth-year guard Dajuan Harris Jr. was also proud to be part of his coach’s milestone night. “Coach Self changed my life. All the credit goes to him,” Harris said. “I just want to be there for him because he’s been there for me.”
Michigan State’s coach, Tom Izzo, who holds the record for most wins in his school’s history with 709, praised Self for how he maximizes his players’ potential, pointing out how the Jayhawks guard Zeke Mayo, despite a rough shooting night, contributed with 10 rebounds and seven assists.
“That’s a credit to Bill and his staff, how they get a kid who’s not playing well to do other things to help his team win,” Izzo said. “I give Bill a lot of credit for that. I did not get that out of a couple of my guys. They didn’t shoot it well, they didn’t rebound it well, and they didn’t guard it well.”
Kansas is coming off a disappointing season by their standards. Last year, they began as the No. 1 team in the country, winning 13 of their first 14 games, only to struggle later, going 10-10 in the final part of the season, including a 5-7 mark in their last 12 games. The season ended with a tough 89-68 loss to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Self and his players are determined to put that behind them and focus on the present.
“I just want to win basketball games,” Harris said. “All he cares about is winning, and I care about winning. So I just want to keep winning games. It’s my last year with him, too, so I want to win every game with him.”
Regardless of what happens in the future, Self’s place in Kansas basketball history is secure.
“I know the fans realize that he’s the best coach to come through here,” Dickinson said. “We’re just trying to win more basketball games for him, trying to make him even better than he is.”
