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Self reportedly accepts Kansas coaching spot
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Monday, April 21, 2003
(REUTERS) — Illinois coach Bill Self has accepted the head-coaching job at Kansas and traveled to Lawrence, Kan., to meet with school officials, a source close to the coach said Sunday.
The source said Self made the decision Saturday and informed his Illinois players that night, adding that the decision to take the job was a “gut-wrenching” one for Self, but one “he knew he had to make.”
Self arrived on Kansas’ campus and joined basketball players for a meal Sunday.
Kansas scheduled a news conference for Monday at 1 p.m. CT but did not say what would be announced.
The source added that Self will take his Illinois coaching staff with him to Kansas, including assistant coach Norm Roberts, who is not expected to be a candidate to replace Self.
Kansas received permission last week to speak with Self about replacing Roy Williams, who left to coach North Carolina.
A secretary at Lawrence Municipal Airport, who declined to be identified, told the Associated Press that a plane traveling from Illinois and carrying Self landed shortly before 2:30 p.m.
According to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times Sunday, Self was seen removing items from his office at Illinois Saturday night. Sources told the newspaper that Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther ”is resigned to the fact that he’s going to lose Bill” and that Guenther is prepared to start his search for a new coach Monday.
Kansas’ offer to Self was rumored to be a five-year deal worth between $1.2 million and $1.5 million a year. Self recently agreed to a five-year extension at Illinois worth $925,000, plus an additional $500,000 if he stayed for the full five years of the deal.
Self had left Wednesday for his vacation in Florida. The last time he went to Florida on a vacation — three years ago in May — the Illinois job opened. That’s when Self left Tulsa to succeed Lon Kruger in Champaign.
Kansas players and recruits reportedly had tabbed Self as their No. 1 choice to replace Roy Williams, who resigned to accept the North Carolina job.
The Jayhawks will be strong next season, maybe even stronger than Illinois. Wayne Simien, Jeff Graves and David Padgett form one of the best frontcourts in the country. Guards Keith Langford, Aaron Miles, J.R. Giddens, Michael Lee and Omar Wilkes give the Jayhawks depth that they haven’t always had. Illinois has a commitment from New Jersey prep forward Charlie Villanueva, but he hasn’t signed. He’s a recruitable athlete, and the Jayhawks could land him if he doesn’t go to the NBA.
Self, 40, led the Illini to a 78-24 record in three seasons after coming from Tulsa when Lon Kruger left Illinois to coach the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
His teams shared the Big Ten regular-season title in his first two seasons, 2001 and 2002, making him the second Big Ten coach to accomplish the feat. The Illini finished second in the regular season and won the Big Ten tournament championship in 2003.
The Illini have been to the NCAA tournament in each of Self’s three seasons as coach, reaching the quarterfinals in 2001.
Self won his 200th career game Feb. 22, and his teams were 39-1 on their home court at Assembly Hall in three seasons.
Self’s intensity on the bench and his affable off-court nature have made him a fan favorite at Illinois. Members of the student fan club “Orange Krush” mounted a lobbying effort to keep him on campus, hanging signs imploring him to stay inside the team’s practice center and demonstrating outside the team’s postseason banquet, cheering loudly when he arrived.
Self began his coaching career as an assistant at Kansas. He also was the head coach at Tulsa, where he took his team to the Elite 8 of the NCAA tourney in 2000.
Guenther is expected to begin an immediate search to replace Self. Top candidates include Marquette’s Tom Crean, Xavier’s Thad Motta, Southern Illinois’ Bruce Webber, Oregon’s Ernie Kent (a native of Rockford, Ill.) and former Bulls coach Tim Floyd.
