Bill Self is no longer looking to become the winningest coach in Kansas history, passing Phog Allen

ATLANTA – Bill Self refused to become the winningest coach in Kansas basketball history, even if he outdid the man whose name is on the arena.

“It means I’m old,” Self, 61, said with a slight grin. And that means I’ve had a lot of good players.”

Self claimed the top spot Tuesday night in one of college basketball’s most storied programs No. 1 Kansas held off Michigan State 77-69 during the Champions Classic in Atlanta.

Self improved to 591-143 in his 22nd season as coach of the Jayhawks, pushing past Phog Allen’s mark of 590-219 in 39 seasons on the Kansas sideline. Including stints at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois, Self is two wins shy of reaching 800 in his career.

The Jayhawks, of course, play in Allen Fieldhouse – named in honor of the Hall of Fame coach whose brilliant career spanned most of the first half of the 20th century.

Maybe they should put Self’s name on the building too.

“I hadn’t thought about that at all,” he said of passing Allen’s goal. “I’m certainly proud of it, but Phog Allen will still be the greatest coach of all time in Kansas.”

That’s not the way Self’s players see it.

“It’s really special,” said Hunter Dickinson, a 7-foot center who led the Jayhawks with 28 points and 12 rebounds. ‘He’ll never admit it. He will always try to downplay it and give it credit, but he is the best coach in Kansas basketball history. We are super special and lucky to play for him.”

Fifth-year guard Dajuan Harris Jr. was proud to be part of his coach’s record night.

“Coach Self changed my life. All the credit goes to him,” Harris said. “I just want to be there for him because he’s been there for me.”

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, the winningest coach in his school’s history with 709, credited Self with getting the most out of players like Zeke Mayo.

The Jayhawks guard was held to six points on 2-of-8 shooting, but he still managed to impact the game with 10 rebounds and seven assists.

“That’s a credit to Bill and his staff, how they get a kid who isn’t playing well to do other things to help his team win,” Izzo said. “I give Bill a lot of credit for that. I couldn’t get that out of some of my guys. They didn’t shoot well, they didn’t rebound well and they didn’t guard well.”

The Jayhawks have had a sub-par season by their high standards.

A year ago, they opened at No. 1 and won 13 of their first 14 games, only to finish 10-10 the rest of the way – including a 5-7 mark in their last twelve games. The campaign ended with an ugly 89-68 blow to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Self and his players plan to put that disappointment firmly in the rearview mirror.

“I just want to win basketball games,” Harris said. “All he cares about is winning, and I care about winning. So I just want to keep winning games. It’s also my last year with him, so I want to win every game with him.”

No matter what happens in the rest of his career, Self’s legacy at The Program That Phog Built is safe.

“I know the fans realize he’s the best coach to come here,” Dickinson said. “We’re just trying to win him more basketball games and make him even better than he is.”

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