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Coach Bill Self

Coach Bill Self: Live Chat

Coach Self will chat live with fans on Friday, Feb. 26th at 10 am CT.

Using the form below, submit your questions in advance to be answered on the day of the chat. coach Self will choose one Question of the Day and that person will win a signed t-shirt from Coach and a bag of Jayhawk goodies–so be creative!

**NOTE: Don’t forget to include your email address so we are able to contact you should your question be chosen for the Question of the Day.

Rock Chalk!

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ku-chat-icon-75x75.gif spacer.gif Moderator: Good morning, Jayhawk fans! Coach Self is with us and ready to start taking some questions.
Deanna O. (Punta Gorda, Fl): Tyshawn seems to be playing much better. What has he done in practice to make you feel he is maturing enough to be able to start?
self-chat-icon.jpg spacer.gif Coach Self: Tyshawn is playing better. He’s been practicing well and more consistently and his mind is clear. I see him being a very important player moving forward because athletically and from a speed standpoint, he can do some things that other guys in our program cannot.
Neodesha: How do you feel about losing some of your key starters? How will that effect us next year?
self-chat-icon.jpg spacer.gif Coach Self: You know, year-in and year-out for the most part teams lose key starters, at least a couple from each team. Nobody likes losing key players, but when it’s time to go, it’s time to go. I certainly hope what happens next year is the same thing that’s happened every time we’ve lost key players–guys that are waiting or new recruits have the ability and the maturity to step in and not skip a beat.
Natasha (Blue Springs): I agree with you that a #1 ranking is moot until tournament time. How do you respond to the media hype of KU being #1 but knowing that they still have a lot of work to do.
self-chat-icon.jpg spacer.gif Coach Self: Being ranked No. 1 is nice, but it’s not that big of a deal. The team that won it all in ’08 was never ranked No. 1. What I hope our team does is play like a team that’s worthy of being ranked No. 1. We still have a lot of work to do, and we talk to our players about that all the time. And that’s one reason I think I’ve been harder on these guys–I don’t think we handle prosperity as well as some other teams in the past, so I think we have to stay on them all the time and not let them get comfortable.
Chris (Dekalb, IL): Coach Self,With you getting your 400th win, Sherron Collins and Brady Morningstar breaking the Jayhawk player win record, and the program nearing 2000 all-time wins do you feel pressure constantly to maintain the high standards that the fans and everyone else in college basketball expects from KU? If so how do you, under that pressure, maintain a 95% home winning record and 82% overall?
self-chat-icon.jpg spacer.gif Coach Self: You know, it was nice getting our 400th win but that really doesn’t mean a lot in the big scope of things because we’ve been coaching long enough that we should have quite a few wins. It’s great that Sherron and Brady have become the winningest players ever in the four years that they’ve competed here. We have won a pretty high level and the thing about it is– and I’ve said this before–the more success you have, the more people around you expect it to be the norm. So there is pressure to perform. I think there is more pressure on the players than on the coaches because they want to live up to what all the other players before them have done, and they’re reminded constantly of that success. So sure, there’s pressure. But all coaches know the ceiling for their team and as coaches our goal is to just be as good a team as we can be.
Bill C. (Flower Mound, TX): This seems to be the most unselfish team you have had at Kansas. Are you worried that someone (other than Sherron) may need to step up in a clutch situation in the tournaments?
self-chat-icon.jpg spacer.gif Coach Self: I don’t believe that this is the most unselfish team we’ve had since I’ve been at Kansas. I thought the ’08 team was very, very unselfish. I think this team rivals that, but when I talk about unselfishness I’m not just talking about shooting the ball, I’m talking about them being unselfish with their thoughts. This is an unselfish group, but I think Marcus and Cole will have to be key players down the stretch in clutch situations. And the way that X is playing now, he’s a guy we can certainly go to anytime.

Scott (Wetmore, KS): Hey coach! Great season so far! I’m hoping for 12 more victories!

My question is, why do you think we are towards the bottom of the Big 12 in defensive 3-point FG percentage? Do you find it kind of crazy that teams are shooting better against us from the 3-point line then inside the arc, although just by percentage points?

self-chat-icon.jpg spacer.gif Coach Self: That’s a good question. Our first-shot defense in league play has been good–leading the league by quite a substantial margin. But I don’t think we’ve been nearly as efficient on the defensive end as the stats say we are, in large part because we haven’t defended the arc very well. Teams have shot against us–teams that don’t traditionally shoot it well have shot against us–and I think a lot of that is that we’ve got to become better at closing out and also denying one pass away so guys can’t catch the ball in a scoring area.
ku-chat-icon-75x75.gif spacer.gif Moderator: The next question is the Question of the Day–congrats to Jeremy in Wichita. We’ll be in touch with you via email to get your address and shirt size!
Jeremy (Wichita, KS): Coach, Can you tell me why you blow into your hands when you come out of the locker room before every game?
self-chat-icon.jpg spacer.gif Coach Self: The reason that I blow my hands coming out of the locker room before every game is something that I actually did back in high school. And then in college, and as a coach I did it a few times here and we started winning all these games so I thought why not do it? I’m not real superstitious, but I do believe certain traditions work better than others, and why risk it?
Martin F. (Olathe, KS): Coach Self,Congratulation to you and your team on an outstanding season so far, but I’d actually like to ask a question about a subject off the court. I’ve seen in the past mention of the charity you started, and I was wondering if you could tell us a little about it and how we as fans might be able to help?
self-chat-icon.jpg spacer.gif Coach Self: Two or three years ago Cindy and I started the Assists Foundation to aid youth in our area that maybe didn’t have the facilities available to them to continue being active. This is something we feel our community desperately needs and I think many people in the community feel the same way. So we started the Assists Foundation and have raised just south of a million dollars and hope that we get to the point that we can work through the city to develop a wellness center. In the meantime, we are helping several other youth programs in the area–so we’re proud of it, but really think it’s just in it’s infant stages in terms of what it can be. If you want more information just to go my website, BillSelf.com, and click on the Assists Foundation.
Brent H.: Congrats Coach on a great year! How do you rate basketball talent vs academic talent vs character when considering a future Jayhawk? Do they all play an equal role? Thanks!
self-chat-icon.jpg spacer.gif Coach Self: I think when you recruit, just being totally honest, you’re not going to recruit guys that can’t play. Talent is a huge part in recruiting. If you find that there is someone talented enough to make you better, then obviously academics and character play a huge role if you choose to pursue that particular individual. If a player is not talented there would be no pursuit at all. I will say this–there are many players out there that appear to not be capable in certain areas, maybe academically, that have never had the attention or the support that we can provide our guys here. I’ve seen numerous examples of this. Guys come in and they do well and they graduate, so I usually reserve judgment on academics and character until I’ve had a chance to study and get to know them, but there’s no reason to consider them if there’s no talent.
Wendy W.: Coach Self,What is the best thing about working at KU? Basketball, college life, winning, or being NUMBER 1?
self-chat-icon.jpg spacer.gif Coach Self: The best thing about working at KU is the people. I really enjoy the people that we work with, I enjoy our administration, and I enjoy the community we live in. Having a good basketball team is certainly important, but it isn’t everything. The people here have made us feel very welcome and at home.
BJ T. (Bartlesville, OK): Who is the most influential person in your life that has help mold your coaching style?
self-chat-icon.jpg spacer.gif Coach Self: I would say the most influential person in my life is my father, without question. But the person that’s probably molded my coaching style is a guy that I only worked for one year, and that was here–Larry Brown. I’ve always been totally enamored with his style and how he does things and although I can’t emulate everything he does, I certainly hope that I have stolen some of his philosophies.
ku-chat-icon-75x75.gif spacer.gif Moderator: Thanks for joining, that’s all the time we have for today–check back for information on next week’s chat date/time. Best of luck to Coach Self and the Jayhawks in Stillwater! Rock Chalk!
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