Add Associated Press Coach of the Year to Bill Self’s 2015-16 Honors

BILL SELF’s 2016 NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR HONORS:
• Bleacher Report [March 6]
• USA Today [March 8]
• National Association of Basketball Coaches [March 30]
• Associated Press [March 31]

HOUSTON – One day after being named the national coach of the year by his peers, Kansas’ Bill Self earned the same honor by the national media as he was selected the 2015-16 Associated Press Coach of the Year, the AP announced Thursday.

Self received his AP Coach of the Year trophy in a ceremony at NRG Stadium, site of the Final Four in Houston. At the same time, the AP also announced its national player of the year, that being Denzel Valentine of Michigan State. Voted on by the panel of media who vote on the weekly Associated Press poll, this is the second time Self has earned the AP accolade, also earning the distinction following the 2008-09 season. 

The AP honor is the fourth organization to name Self its 2015-16 national coach of the year as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) named him Wednesday and the USA Today and Bleacher Report did the same earlier this month.

Under Self, No. 1 Kansas (33-5, 15-3) won its 12th-straight, 16th Big 12 and NCAA-leading 59th overall regular season title in 2015-16. Kansas also won the Big 12 Postseason Championship, the 2015 Maui Invitational in 2015-16 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the sixth time in his 13 seasons at KU.

Kansas’ 33 wins marked the ninth time in school history the Jayhawks have won 33 or more games, including five seasons under Self. Its 12-straight conference titles rank second all-time in NCAA history trailing only UCLA’s 13-straight from 1967-79 under multiple coaches.

Kansas finished No. 1 in the 2015-16 Associated Press poll and holds that spot in the latest USA Today Coaches’ poll released March 14. KU was ranked No. 1 five times by AP and four times by the coaches in 2015-16. Kansas has been ranked seventh or higher in every poll this season.

The Jayhawks posted two winning streaks of 13 games or more in 2015-16: 13 from Nov. 23-Jan. 9, and 17 from Jan. 30-March 26. Additionally, Kansas went 12-4 against nationally-ranked teams in 2015-16, including 4-1 versus top-10 teams. The 12 wins against ranked foes are the most in a season in KU history.

Kansas holds the No. 1 RPI and No. 1 toughest schedule (through games of 3/27), while the Big 12 Conference has the No. 1 RPI among all leagues, in 2015-16.

In 13 seasons at Kansas, Self is 385-83 (82.3 percent) for an average of 29.6 wins per year. Overall, Self is 592-188 (76.0 percent) in 23 seasons as a head coach which has included stints at Oral Roberts (1994-97), Tulsa (1998-2000) and Illinois (2001-03) before coming to Kansas in 2004.

BILL SELF CAREER HONORS
National Coach of the Year – 2000 (Sporting News; Wooden), 2009 (Yahoo! Sports; Sporting News; Athlon Sports; CBSSports.com; USBWA; Associated Press; CBS/Chevrolet; ESPN.com), 2012 (Sporting News; Adolph Rupp; Naismith), 2016 (Associated Press; NABC; Bleacher Report; USA Today)
Conference Coach of the Year – 2000 (WAC), 2006 (Big 12), 2009 (Big 12), 2011 (Big 12), 2012 (co-Big 12), 2015 (Big 12 by AP), 2016 (Big 12 by AP)
Wooden Award “Legends of Coaching” – 2013
Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame – 2013 induction
Wayman Tisdale Humanitarian Award (USBWA) – 2014
Mannie Jackson – Basketball’s Human Spirit Award (Naismith Hall of Fame) – 2015
Winged Foot Award (for national champion coach) – 2008
Naismith Coach of the Year Finalist (Atlanta Tipoff Club) – 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2012, 2016

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