Top ranked Kansas captured their sixth straight Big 12 basketball title last night with an 81-68 victory over Oklahoma. In addition, the Jayhawks are now 27-1 overall, 13-0 in the conference and ran their nation’s best home winning streak to 58 in a row. For head coach Bill Self, it’s his 6th title in just seven years since taking over for the departed Roy Williams. He’s also got a national championship notch on his belt as well.
If you ask me, the best coach in college basketball right now is Self. Consider the fact that the Jayhawks just became only the third team in the past 50 years to win at least six straight major conference roundball titles. The others were UCLA with their string of 13 straight and Kentucky from 1968-1973. To pull off the feat in today’s environment is nothing short of incredible.
Before leaving Illinoi s for Kansas, Self won the Big 10 title two of the three years he coached there and in the year his team didn’t win the conference crown, it won the post season tourney. Oh yeah, the team he recruited and left at Illinois went to the national championship game the next season. In his past 12 seasons as a head coach he’s won 10 conference titles and finished second twice.
I’ve watched him coach since he was at Tulsa, where he took a team that didn’t have a starter over 6-6 and led them to the Elite Eight with a high paced offense and pressure defense. He won at Illinois by recruiting physical bruisers out of the Chicago area who could run, but also handle the physical more slowed down styles in the Big 10.
At Kansas, he’s blended the best of both styles, taking over Williams run and gun offensive players and creating a more balanced attack that can still run with the best, but can pound you with the high low post and will lock you down defensively.
There are coaches such as Williams, Krzyzewski and Calipari, who may have more NCAA titles or recruit better NBA players, but for my money today, Bill Self is without question the best college basketball coach in America. He can recruit with the best, is a tremendous motivator and gets players to buy in and sacrifice for the team. His Jayhawks may win their second NCAA title in the last three years, but even if they don’t, he’s my choice.
Of course, Self and Kansas are about as perfect a fit as you can find and he’s not going anywhere soon. But if I was looking to hire a new coach, he’d be my first call and I’d have a big checkbook ready as well.
Who would you pick for your coach?
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