Bucknell 64 Kansas 63
Look, I'm not usually one to gloat, aw hell, yes I am. But I'm usually a little bit gracious about it. You see I attended to University of Illinois towards the end of Lou Henson's tenure, and when Lon Kruger showed up and started rebuilding the program, I was happy. Kruger seemed to be doing a good job but Lon bailed for the NBA bucks, and ultimately, coaching obscurity. I couldn't begrudge him that, not every college coach get's a shot in the NBA.
When Kruger left, I was hoping U of I could find somebody who wouldn't treat Illinois as nothing but a transitional job. I thought Self was a good choice. He was a good recruiter, he'd led mid-major Tulsa into the sweet 16, and he pledged that he'd stick around awhile. When the Kansas job came open 2 years into his tenure, I sincerely thought he'd stay, maybe out of loyalty to the school that gave him his first shot in the bigs. I mean, the press said it was Self's dream job, but it didn't seem that much better. Kansas is a program with a lot of history, and Self would inherit some very good players, but Illinois had very good players, and more importantly, they were BILL'S players, recruited to the University by the coach himself. Kansas didn't seem like much more than a lateral move in my eyes, but I guess I let my own allegiance to Illinois blind me, because Self bolted for Kansas as soon as he was offered the job. Nobody at Illinois was thrilled with the Bruce Weber hiring, I mean, Illinois shouldn't be cherry picking their coach from SIU, right? A lot of people thought that there was a chance that Weber would take us right back into doldrums that plagued the end of the Lou Henson era, and ultimately drive the program into obscurity.
Well, a funny thing happened on the way to obscurity. Bruce Weber took Bill Self's recruits and molded them into a team. And not just any team, the best team in the country this season. A team that thrashed opponents like Gonazaga, Michigan State, and Cincinnati. A team that took current media darlings Wake Forest to the woodshed. So, Bruce Weber proved most everyone (including his own fans) wrong.
Meanwhile Bill Self took Roy Williams recruits, and got off to a hot start this year. But then things went downhill. Kansas lost several games in a row down the stretch to blow what had been a sure no. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. And then last night, Bill Self got his ass beat by 14 seed Bucknell. Do I sound petty? Am I bitter? Should this be beneath me? Probably, so I'll take the high road on this one. I want to sincerely thank Bill Self for the 2 long years he coached at Illinois. I want to thank him for the great players that he brought to the school. And I hope he enjoys watching them on TV from his home in Kansas this weekend.
When Kruger left, I was hoping U of I could find somebody who wouldn't treat Illinois as nothing but a transitional job. I thought Self was a good choice. He was a good recruiter, he'd led mid-major Tulsa into the sweet 16, and he pledged that he'd stick around awhile. When the Kansas job came open 2 years into his tenure, I sincerely thought he'd stay, maybe out of loyalty to the school that gave him his first shot in the bigs. I mean, the press said it was Self's dream job, but it didn't seem that much better. Kansas is a program with a lot of history, and Self would inherit some very good players, but Illinois had very good players, and more importantly, they were BILL'S players, recruited to the University by the coach himself. Kansas didn't seem like much more than a lateral move in my eyes, but I guess I let my own allegiance to Illinois blind me, because Self bolted for Kansas as soon as he was offered the job. Nobody at Illinois was thrilled with the Bruce Weber hiring, I mean, Illinois shouldn't be cherry picking their coach from SIU, right? A lot of people thought that there was a chance that Weber would take us right back into doldrums that plagued the end of the Lou Henson era, and ultimately drive the program into obscurity.
Well, a funny thing happened on the way to obscurity. Bruce Weber took Bill Self's recruits and molded them into a team. And not just any team, the best team in the country this season. A team that thrashed opponents like Gonazaga, Michigan State, and Cincinnati. A team that took current media darlings Wake Forest to the woodshed. So, Bruce Weber proved most everyone (including his own fans) wrong.
Meanwhile Bill Self took Roy Williams recruits, and got off to a hot start this year. But then things went downhill. Kansas lost several games in a row down the stretch to blow what had been a sure no. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. And then last night, Bill Self got his ass beat by 14 seed Bucknell. Do I sound petty? Am I bitter? Should this be beneath me? Probably, so I'll take the high road on this one. I want to sincerely thank Bill Self for the 2 long years he coached at Illinois. I want to thank him for the great players that he brought to the school. And I hope he enjoys watching them on TV from his home in Kansas this weekend.
posted by CT at 10:15 PM
4 Comments:
Ouch! Harsh. Funny, but harsh.
What you need to understand was, Self is trying to make KU fans forget Roy Williams. Apparently the strategy he settled on was that any humiliating early round exit Roy can do, Bill can do better.
That was beautiful way to end the first round.
When you think about Weber, remember this: Tom Davis won 30 games once. With George Raveling's (and Brad Lohaus who was a Lute Olsen) recruits.
Yeah, the jury's still out on Weber as a recruiter, but an NCAA championship is a nice tool to have.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who was giddy when Self lost... Give Weber a chance! He's taken good care of us so far!
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