Bill Self: If He Left, Who Could Replace Him?

Tad Boyle – Colorado

The last of the “in the family” candidates, Boyle would surely get a look after what he’s done with the Colorado program over the past few years. Boyle’s success there, a notoriously tough place to build a program, would earn him a spot on the list.

Pros

Boyle has taken two big Colorado schools – Colorado and Northern Colorado – and turned them into respectable basketball programs. Prior to Boyle’s arrival in Boulder, the Buffaloes were a program that routinely struggled to get to .500.

In recruiting, Boyle has a good eye for talent, having found NBA players Alec Burks, Andre Roberson, and Spencer Dinwiddie. Colorado has never been a hotbed for basketball talent, so Boyle has had to recruit heavily on the west coast, something that could benefit him were he to take over in Lawrence one day.

Cons

Again, like Turgeon, Boyle has only one conference title to his name – the Pac 12 Tournament Championship in 2011-2012. He has only taken his team as a high as 2nd in the conference regular season once in his final season at Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Conference. The lack of conference championship and a roughly .500 record in conference play overall make this one a tough sell.

While Boyle has found NBA talent, he hasn’t ever recruited at an elite level like is expected at Kansas. Boyle has spent his head coaching career in Colorado, and has primarily recruited out west – meaning he would need a strong staff with ties to Texas and the east coast in order to effectively bring in talent to Lawrence.

Verdict

Boyle’s ties to Kansas and program-building at both Northern Colorado and Colorado will get him on the shortlist. His lack of conference success and elite recruiting history suggest he probably wouldn’t be the man for the job anytime soon, though.

Next: Gregg Marshall