Bill Self Making Amends

The recently ended 2024 season was nothing less than an embarrassment for Kansas and for Bill Self. He as much as admitted that at the end of the season. He let the team down, he let his coaches down, he let the fans down. It was by my measure the 2nd or at very best 3rd worst season under Self and worse than any under Williams. So we are talking something like the 2nd worst season in 36+ years. There are a legion of reasons that made it a bad season. Of course, I can back all this up in immense detail statistically and analytically. For brevity here I just summarize by saying it was an egregiously bad season.

But Self seems to have awakened from his slumber. His recruiting has been voracious and he has landed some very strong players from a resume standpoint. His recruiting last season was nothing less than a disaster. After the epic bust of Nic Timberlake, I am highly suspicious even of these new, highly though of recruits. Timberlake was a likable kid and sure seemed to give 100% all the time. But he never delivered on the one trick for which he was recruited (3 pt shooting) and his defense was not very arguably the worst we have seen in a Kansas uniform under Self (or Williams for that matter). How Self did not see that is beyond me. And Elmarko was clearly not ready for primetime and really didn't seem to improve all season. I know, we are all supposed to tow the company line and not acknowledge the truth when it shines poorly on our little sainted players. Elmarko may be the nicest kid on the planet but he is nowhere near to being an elite level college basketball player. Kudos for Dickinson. He was better than advertised (offensively) but his defense is pretty bad too. KJ is maybe my favorite player, but KU's absolute glaring weakness (even more than 3pt shooting in my opinion) was offensive rebounding. This was the worst offensive rebounding team in 40 years. And KJ just never seemed to get any better. He was better in other areas but we couldn't rebound on the offensive board to save our lives. And Dajuan is not even one of the 10 best PG's in KU under Self. In fact, by the metrics, he is next to last with only Nadiir Tharpe being worse. In all, Self failed to put a team on the floor that had the expected level of talent. And they did not progress much over the season. Al together a epically bad year for Self.

But right now, 2025 is looking like a real lturnaround. Again, I'll believe the hype when they start to deliver on the floor. But the additions of Storr, Griffin and Mayo look to be home runs. In fact, if Self actually plays based on who can win, Adams my be the 6th man. He will not sit Dajuan, but I sure hope his minutes are cut by 40% or more. We need firepower and aggressiveness. Riley Kugel is a bit of a headscratcher. He could end up being the best of the lot or another epic bust. He has all the earmarks of a head case. Not behaviorally but performance wise. Maybe Self and KU is the salve that will ignite his potential. With the talent we have coming in I would redshirt Elmarko. He needs another year to mature his game. I know I am probably in a small minority on some of these issues, especially Dajuan. But I call them as I see them and my assessments are based on a thorough and very deep analytical assessment. But as for Self's one year hibernation, it appears he is back to actually trying to lead like a HOF coach.