Kansas basketball coach Bill Self envisions his team being as good at it’s ever been, soon
LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball didn’t reach the heights it set out for this past season.
The Jayhawks (23-11) fell short in the race for the Big 12 Conference’s regular season championship. They suffered a quick exit from the Big 12 tournament. And while they were able to advance to the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament, that’s where the season came to an end.
While KU coach Bill Self pointed out earlier in the month to how the team still accomplished a lot, compared to what many programs experience across the country, he didn’t let the conversation end there. As he spoke at the team’s end-of-season banquet, he didn’t rest on Kansas entering the NCAA tournament as one of the top 16 teams — a No. 4 seed — in the nation.
Instead, he highlighted that they wouldn’t want the expectations around the program to be any different, and pledged the team would be as good as it’s ever been in the near future.
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Here are a few takeaways from Self’s reflection on the season, and what he had to say about what’s next:
While Kansas started out well, it lost momentum down the stretch
What Self felt was an up-and-down year started off well during the team’s trip to Puerto Rico. It continued to go well as the season went through its early stages, starting out 12-1 with non-conference wins against Kentucky, Tennessee, UConn, Missouri and Indiana — the lone loss to Marquette. But in the first month of Big 12 play, Kansas let a couple road games against UCF and West Virginia, as Self put it, get away from them.
Those two losses put Kansas in a tough spot in the Big 12 title race, and then injuries — to key members of a team that lacked depth — started to play a pivotal role. The Jayhawks didn’t play well enough to overcome their roster issues, which spread further than just injury status. There wasn’t the same momentum down the stretch Self’s team had when it all began.
Hunter Dickinson, Kevin McCullar Jr. could have been first team All-Americans
Both senior center Hunter Dickinson and graduate senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr. earned national acclaim for their play last season. Dickinson even became a consensus, second-team All-American. But neither enjoyed the season Self thought they could have, had they both been able to remain healthy.
Self thought Dickinson and McCullar were on their way to becoming first team All-Americans. McCullar, though, missed time during Big 12 play and wasn’t able to finish the season. Dickinson played injury during Big 12 play and like McCullar missed the Big 12 tournament.
NIL will be an important part of Kansas’ efforts moving forward
Self said, in theory, an athlete being able to profit off of their own name, image and likeness (NIL) is good. Self also mentioned there being issues with the current NIL landscape. But he made it clear: if Kansas wants to compete at the highest level of the game, NIL is going to be something the Jayhawks are involved in.
Self said this is the time when they need support for his team. He also mentioned a need to support KU, too. It’s a part of college athletics now, and one everyone must navigate.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Coach Bill Self sees Kansas basketball being as good at it’s ever been
