One day after it was reported that Bill Self had considered leaving Kansas for his alma mater Oklahoma State last offseason, more details on the story came out Saturday when the Jayhawks were playing the Cowboys on CBS.
On Friday, Self addressed it with the media during a press conference, saying, “I spoke to them, answered questions about the job & offered my opinion about what is needed to win in our league. Which I have done every time the job has opened. They got the right guy (in Steve Lutz). I did join Karsten Creek, one of the country’s top golf courses, as an out-of-area member, but I’ve never spent a night close to Stillwater in the last 20 years unless my team was playing there.”
And then on Saturday, CBS’ Jenny Dell had a report during the Kansas vs. Oklahoma State broadcast, where she shared, “They call me every single time there is a job opening. They’re like, ‘Bill, what do you think about this coach?’ And I offer my opinion. Now he told me, he did admit that this last time time around they did ask him if he was interested in coming back. And after one night of sleeping on it, he quickly put that idea to rest.”
Dell then went onto report that Self thinks Oklahoma State has the right guy in Steve Lutz. The broadcast team then went onto note the good relationship that exists between Self and Lutz.
Self is now in his 22nd season with Kansas. After being ranked as the Preseason No. 1, Kansas is unranked and 18-9 overall and 9-7 in the Big 12 after beating the Cowboys 96-64 on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Self, 62, is an Oklahoma native, born in Okmulgee and played basketball for the Pokes from 1981-85. He also served as an assistant under Leonard Hamilton and Eddie Sutton (1986-1993) before taking his first head coaching job at Oral Roberts.
Since then, Self has become one of the most accomplished coaches in basketball, leading the Jayhawks to two national titles and 24 total Big 12 Championships between regular season and tournament titles, and is a two-time AP College Coach of the Year.
