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Kansas basketball: Bill Self earns another championship

By Stan Unruh

SAN ANTONIO, TX - MARCH 30: head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks looks on during practice before the 2018 Men's NCAA Final Four at the Alamodome on March 30, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX - MARCH 30: head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks looks on during practice before the 2018 Men's NCAA Final Four at the Alamodome on March 30, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Kansas basketball coach Bill Self took another team to a championship over the weekend. Self’s Under 18 squad took gold with the help of new Jayhawk Quentin Grimes.

For Kansas coach Bill Self, the wait probably seemed longer than the 70 days since the Final four loss on March 31.  Winners always want to get back in the win column. Coach Self and Kansas basketball fans still had a nasty taste from that long Saturday night in San Antonio. On June 10, the USA Basketball Under 18 team helped the Hall of Fame coach return to winning ways  with an opening tournament victory over the Dominican Republic 105-73.  Self and all Jayhawks were happy to see him smiling.

If that opening win wasn’t enough, the USA’s 118- 26 blowout of Panama the next night made up for the past 10 weeks, sort of.  As a matter of fact, nothing will make up for the loss in the Final Four but it is always nice to see any team Self is coaching run to victory.  That win over against the short-handed Panama team opened with a 45-0 start. Difficult to watch but hard to stop enjoying the rout.

On Saturday night, Self’s team remained undefeated for the Under 18 tournament. They outran Canada for the gold medal. The 113-74 win in the championship game was not as close as the score indicates. The U.S. team improved with each outing and was unmatched in the final. Jayhawk incoming freshman Quentin Grimes showed why Bill Self is thrilled to have him wearing crimson and blue this fall.

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Grimes averaged almost fifteen points a game to earn the tournament Most Valuable Player award.  As a matter of fact, he scored twenty or more points in two of the tournament contests. In addition to his scoring, Grimes averaged four rebounds, four assists and played some good defense. The 6-foot-5 guard provided many reasons for Jayhawk fans to get excited for the 2018-19 season.

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