Self to OSU? NCAA title might help
I still don’t buy that Bill Self would be a serious candidate at OSU. But the most likely scenario that gets Self to Stillwater would be a Kansas victory over Memphis on Monday night. With an NCAA championship, Self has one fewer professional goal to reach.
Most coaches crave two things. Championships and money. I don’t know which is more important; probably different for different guys. The money, OSU probably can provide. The titles; much more difficult than at Kansas.
I know, I know. OSU and KU each have two NCAA championships, and while both of the Cowboys’ came in the 1940s, one of KU’s came in 1952. So in the last 56 years, it’s 1-0 Kansas, which is not a big discrepancy.
But the way you win NCAA titles is to make Final Fours, then take your chances. OSU has been in two Final Fours since 1951. Eddie Sutton’s 1995 and 2004 teams made it. Kansas has been in nine Final Fours since 1970: 1971, 1974, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2003 and 2008.
That’s an impressive run by KU. Basically, the Jayhawks have played in about a quarter of the Final Fours over the last 37 years. They’ve done it with four coaches: Ted Owens, Larry Brown, Roy Williams and Self. Another way to look at it — every Kansas coach since 1919 (20 years before the first Final Four) has taken the Jayhawks to the Final Four.
Meanwhile, OSU has had more than marginal success under only two coaches: Henry Iba and Sutton. So it’s not even close. If you want to win championships, you coach at Kansas over OSU.
But if you’ve already won an NCAA, that fire lessens a little. That drive is not as great. If you’ve already won an NCAA title, maybe you think about money and family and roots. I don’t know.
I still think Self is staying at KU, win or lose. But it’s more likely he listens to Mike Holder and Boone Pickens if the Jayhawks beat Memphis.
Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel.
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I see that Larry Brown is looking for another employer to fleece. Perhaps he’d like to visit Stillwater for a season?