Self Named AP College Basketball Coach of the Year

April 3, 2009

DETROIT, Mich. – Kansas men’s basketball head coach Bill Self, who led KU to the national championship last year and had the Jayhawks back in the title hunt this season, is the Associated Press’ college basketball coach of the year it was announced Friday.

Self has spent his Friday in Detroit collecting awards. His day started at the Detroit Athletic Club where he received the Henry P. Iba Coach of the Year Award presented by the United State Basketball Writers of America. Later that morning he was presented with the AP coach of the year trophy, along with Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin who was named the AP player of the year.

Self lost all five starters from the team that beat Memphis in the championship game in 2008, leaving him to work with two veterans and eight newcomers.

The Jayhawks finished 27-8 and reached the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season and 26th time overall, while winning the Big 12 title for the fifth straight season with a 14-2 conference mark.

Self has a 169-40 record in six seasons at Kansas and is 376-145 in 16 seasons as a head coach. He received 28 votes from the 71-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25, easily beating Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh, who had 10.

Bill Self Awards in 2008-09

-Yahoo! Sports National Coach of the Year

-Big 12 Coach of the Year

-National Coach of the Year

(Sporting News)

-National Coach of the Year

(Athlon Sports)

-National Coach of the Year (CBSSports.com)

-Naismith Coach of the Year Award finalist

-Henry P. Iba Award (national coach of the year by the USBWA)

-Associated Press National Coach of the Year