KU basketball is walking on eggshells right now as the future of head coach Bill Self is up in the air.
Wednesday morning, false reports surfaced that Self may retire, to which the legendary head coach called, “b.s., bad info.”
What spurred these claims?
Following Kansas’ 67-65 loss to St. John’s in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament, Self disclosed to the media that he hadn’t decided if he was coming back this season.
"Well, I haven't really gone through much on the court. I've gone through some stuff off the court," Self said. "I'll get back and get with family and visit and see what's going on. I love what I do. I need to be able to do it where I'm feeling good and healthy to do it, you know, fairly well. I'll get back home and it'll all be discussed."
While the 2025/26 season was the fourth in a row where the Jayhawks have not moved past the first weekend of the torunament, there were still some highs that included wins over No. 1 Arizona, No. 2 Iowa State and No. 5 Houston, all at Allen Fieldhouse, along with the emergence of stars Flory Bidunga and senior guard Melvin Council Jr. And while so much of the season was clouded over the health of potential No. 1 overall pick Darryn Peterson. Lawrence firmly had his back when his cramping issues were revealed.
Former Kansas cult hero responds
Former Kansas guard Frank Mason III took to social media Wednesday morning with a call to keep Self at the helm of KU.
I’m about to call Coach Self and try to convince to him to stay; I don’t wanna see anyone else coach my Jayhawks anytime soon! 💔
— Frank Mason (@FrankMason0) March 25, 2026
Kansas’ opening line of their bio for Mason explains better than any other sentence can. “The most decorated player in Kansas basketball school history.”
In the 2016/17 season, Mason became the first Jayhawk to be named Associated Press Player of the Year, while also winning the Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Award, along with a litter of other achievements.
Mason’s superb senior season culminated in a stellar 20.9 points per game, 4.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.3 steals. To make things even better, Mason did it all on a phenomenal 49% field goal rate, which included a 47.1% from beyond the arc.
Kansas finished the 2016/17 season with a 76-60 exit to the Oregon Ducks in the Elite Eight and a 31-5 overall record.
Mason went on to be selected with the 34th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, where he played four seasons with the Sacramento Kings, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Orlando Magic. Currently, Mason plays for Limoges CSP Elite in the French Betclic ELITE ProA.
While nothing from Self’s end has been released, rest assured, Through the Phog will keep up with the latest details from all parties involved.
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