Bill Self has carved out not only one of the most successful coaching careers, but one of the most consistent. Year after year, the Kansas Jayhawks have been a contender. No, they haven’t always won the national title, but they have almost always done what Self called being “in the game.”
“I look at it a little differently. In my 24 years here, I think we've been in the game probably 18, 19 times. When I say in the game, that if things fell right, we could win it,” opened Self on Jon Rothstein’s “Inside College Basketball Now,” and “it” of course, is the national title.
Self has reached the NCAA Tournament every season with the Jayhawks, and beyond that, has been ranked No. 1 at some point in 10 of his 23 seasons.
When speaking with Rothstein, Self mentioned that “being in the game” is now his goal as a head coach.
“We've only won it twice. But I mean, things would have to fall right. I mean, we've only been outside a 4 seed one time in 24 years. So, we've been in the game. What I would say is I want to be in the game…I want to be in a situation where we're playing for the highest stakes.”
How close are the Jayhawks to being in the game this season?
The last four years have undoubtedly seen a slide in Kansas’ results. The Jayhawks have failed to get past the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, while also not winning the Big 12 regular-season title since the 2022-23 season.
This season, KU has the task of excelling with one of the nation’s best high school classes and a sneaky-good but unproven class from the transfer portal. Leading the lines for the 2026 Jayhawks will of course, be Tyran Stokes. After a nail-biting recruiting battle between Kansas and Kentucky, Stokes ultimately joined KU, where he has immediately been labeled as a possible No. 1 pick in the 2027 NBA Draft.
Alongside him is fellow 5-star freshman Taylen Kinney, a wily guard who has equal experience starting plays as well as finishing them. Freshman shooting guard Luke Barnett has also been touted as a potential rising star, with Self dishing out praise towards the guard on multiple unprompted occasions.
Of the incoming transfers, the one who has been generating the most amount of excitement is former Toledo guard Leroy Blyden Jr. last season, Blyden averaged 16.4 points, 4 rebounds and 4.5 assists on a stellar 46.1% from the field. To make things better, Blyden is just a sophomore, giving him ample time to improve under Self.
“And does that mean you're going to win it? No, I mean, God dang, it'd be great to win it, but it's kind of hard to win one…But I want to be one of those teams that, that year in, year out- certainly this year, when they think about teams that could cut down a net, Kansas is one of them. And I think we will be.”
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