Decisions, Decisions . . .
by Phil Kasiecki
Roy Williams decided not to pass up the chance this time. He turned down the chance to become the head coach at his alma mater three years ago, but didn’t pass on it this time. In both cases, he felt it was the right thing.
With Williams leaving Kansas to take the head coaching job at North Carolina, the coaching carousel could get very interesting in the next few weeks. Right now, the spotlight appears to be on Bill Self, the current head coach at Illinois. According to ESPN.com’s Andy Katz, Self is clearly the top candidate for the opening at Kansas.
Self has won at every stop he’s made since becoming a head coach, compiling a 207-105 record in ten seasons. He won consistently at Oral Roberts when it was an independent school, which led to him getting the head coaching job at Tulsa. He followed in the footsteps of another successful coach, Tubby Smith, and the Golden Hurricanes remained one of the best borderline high-major schools as they joined the WAC. Included in his three-year stint was a 32-5 season in 1999-2000, when he led Tulsa to the Elite Eight and set a school record for victories in a season.
Self became the head coach at Illinois the following season, and the team has won 78 games in his three seasons as the Illini head coach. He became the school’s first head coach to reach 50 wins in his first two seasons, and the seniors who graduate this year won more games (100) in their careers than any other class in the school’s history. This year, Self had a team that needed freshmen to come through in the backcourt, and he got that as well as a great senior season from Brian Cook. The Illini won 25 games and the Big Ten Tournament with a team not expected to contend, and Self re-affirmed his place among the coaching elite in the country.
Now, the 40 year-old coach will have a decision to make. He will be the top candidate for the head coaching vacancy at Kansas, a school where he began his coaching career as an assistant in 1985-86. After that year, he spent seven seasons at Oklahoma State as an assistant before his head coaching experience, so the Big 12 won’t be new territory for him.
While Kansas may be one of the top jobs in college basketball, this decision isn’t a no-brainer for Self. Illinois loses Cook and just one other senior who played significant minutes (Sean Harrington), bringing back its starting backcourt and key sophomores Roger Powell, Luther Head and Nick Smith. The Illini also have an excellent recruiting class coming in, led by McDonald’s All-American combo forward Charlie Villanueva (if he doesn’t declare for the draft as he is reportedly considering). The Illini will also welcome two top 50 prospects with local ties in Richard McBride, a strong shooting guard with unlimited range from Springfield, and Brian Randle, a very skilled combo forward from Peoria. For good measure, Self also got one of the better prospects in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area in combo forward Warren Carter, who has a lot of potential to reach once he starts to fill out his frame. Additionally, the Illini are the likely leaders for 6’6″ point guard Shaun Livingston, one of the top five players in the deep class of 2004 and the best friend of Randle.
Kansas will have the talent to make another deep NCAA Tournament run despite losing two key seniors in Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich. If Self becomes the new head coach, there’s no reason to think they can’t do it given the returning talent and his track record. And if he becomes the head coach, the coaching carousel may get much more interesting in the next couple of weeks.
