ATLANTA – Bill Self brushed off becoming the winningest coach in Kansas basketball history, even as he surpassed the guy whose name is on the arena.
“It means I'm old,” the 61-year-old Self said with a slight grin. “And it means I've had a lot of really good players.”
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Self claimed the top spot at one of college basketball's most storied programs Tuesday night when No. 1 Kansas held off Michigan State 77-69 at the Champions Classic in Atlanta.
Self improved to 591-143 in his 22nd season coaching the Jayhawks, pushing him past Phog Allen’s mark of 590-219 in 39 seasons on the Kansas sideline. Including stints at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois, Self is two wins away from 800 in his career.
The Jayhawks, of course, play at Allen Fieldhouse — named in honor of the Hall of Fame coach whose brilliant career spanned most of first half of the 20th century.
They may have to put Self's name on the building, too.
“I hadn't thought about that at all,” he said of passing Allen's mark. “I'm certainly proud about it, but Phog Allen is still gonna be the all-time best coach at Kansas.”
That's not the way Self's players see it.
“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 proud to be part of his coach's record-setting 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 coach Tom Izzo, the winningest coach in his school's history with 709, credited Self for getting the most out of players such as Zeke Mayo.
The Jayhawks guard was held to six points on 2-of-8 shooting, but he still managed to impact the game 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.”
The Jayhawks are coming off a subpar season by their high standards.
A year ago, they opened at No. 1 and won 13 of their first 14 games, only to go 10-10 the rest of the way — including a 5-7 mark in their final dozen contests. The campaign ended with an ugly 89-68 blowout to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Self and his players are intent on putting that disappointment firmly in the rearview mirror.
“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.”
No matter what happens the rest of his career, Self's legacy at The Program That Phog Built 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.”
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