Kansas basketball: Bill Self on passing Coach K’s win record: ‘It won’t be me’

Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self will stay in Lawrence for many years to come, but he doesn’t think he will stick around long enough to surpass Coach K’s all-time wins record.

Bill Self is widely regarded as the best active college basketball coach in America and arguably the best in Kansas basketball history. He was awarded a restructured contract after signing a lifetime deal with the university in April 2021 and will earn $53 million over the next five seasons — the richest contract a public university has ever served out to a basketball coach.

He made stops at Oral Roberts, Tulsa, and Illinois before succeeding Roy Williams in 2003. Self has compiled 788 victories in his 30-year career, though he did have 15 vacated due to the IARP ruling last month. To pass the legendary Mike Krzyzewski’s all-time record, he’d need 430 more wins, which would average out to an average of 30 across the next 14 years. Self’s message to fans — don’t expect him to stick around that long.

“I don’t know if that record will be safe forever because by the time somebody could break that record the NCAA may allow you to play 50 games a season as opposed to 40, so who knows? But it won’t be me,” Self told the media after his contract details were announced.

“That’s OK. I’ve been a head coach now for — is this 31 years? Of the 31 years, 23 of them have been in the fast lane (Illinois/Kansas)… So could I do it another 23 years? No, nor would I want to,” the Hall of Famer continued. “Could I do it several more? Absolutely, but I don’t have a time frame on when the end is. I’d say it is closer to 2/3 than 1/3 (completed).”

If Self is indeed two-thirds through his career in the self-proclaimed “fast lane,” that would mean he would coach for 11 or 12 more years. He’d need to average over 35 wins across a 12-year span if he retired by 2035, which is virtually impossible in today’s day and age.

“That is one that I would hope we could win enough that somebody could speculate, but I’m giving you my word right now: That will not be me, nor will it get close to being me.”

The 1,000-win mark is certainly achievable in his time as head coach. Kansas basketball is the preseason No. 1 team this year with high championship aspirations. Self’s comments suggest he should last another decade or so at KU, but it is impossible to tell when he will decide to call it quits.