CBS running the Self to Spurs rumor again



  • https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kansas-coach-bill-self-seen-as-possible-spurs-replacement-for-gregg-popovich-per-report/

    Not much too it other then vague league sources and the NCAA thing maybe enticing the move for when Popovich does retire…



  • I think Pop is going to be pushing hard for Becky Hammon to take over and get her shot at making history. If I had to put money on it, that’s the direction I think the organization will go. And I don’t think HCBS would leave in the middle of the NCAA investigation. Just doesn’t seem like something he would do.



  • The Spurs are looking to run the weave and two immobile bigs, you see.



  • Pop is a cultural Marxist, Becky Hammon it is.



  • The rumor never dies. Maybe they are right one day in hell



  • I think we just have to recognize the significant possibility that Self leaves after the penalties are announced. Or after the appeal is denied. I know that these are not happy thoughts. I’m much more interested in winning the national title this season. So who cares about all of that.



  • @HighEliteMajor He very well could leave, but I don’t see where the Spurs would want him.



  • HighEliteMajor said:

    I think we just have to recognize the significant possibility that Self leaves after the penalties are announced. Or after the appeal is denied. I know that these are not happy thoughts. I’m much more interested in winning the national title this season. So who cares about all of that.

    I’ve said this before , and have to agree with what you say about the possibility. - -There have always been the Spur rumors , the connections he has with the Spurs the people he knows.

    Like you mentioned if and when we get hit and I don’t think anyone here is naïve enough to think were not going to be hit with some kind of penalities - I could see him leaving if indeed the position came open.

    As I’ve said before - really no reason to stay at the College level , if that’s what he would want to do. - -Nothing left to prove. - - HOF Coach at the College level ? - - Check. Winning the Conference title ? - - Check.- 14 times in a row of I remember correctly. - - – Winning a National Championship ? - -umm Check. Beating other king of the Road College Coach’s some multiple times ? Check. Williams , -Izzo , Calipari , Coach K - -comes to mind right off the bat , Check , so ya

    Reasons to leave ? - -Not having to put up with all the BS recruiting these teen age kids -all that time on the Road. Not having to put up with all the NCAA BS anymore - -So ya I could easily enough see him leave if that’s what he wants. Hell go ahead and go Bill, do what’s best for you - -if it happens , hate to see you leave but very confident we will still be fine - -we will find a very good replacement - -yet let’s hope it doesn’t happen - -BUT IT COULD - - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @jayballer73 @BShark Let’s win the National Championship and then worry about if Self leaves. Time to hang a real banner.



  • @HighEliteMajor that I can get behind👏👏. @jayballer73 Several coaches stay in college. I bet Coach K, Jim Behiem(spelled wrong), Bob Knight and several others have had talks with teams at the next level. I think Self likes having more power over his players and what goes on in the program. They both have pro and con but I feel like the players have more power than the coaches in the NBA.



  • Only thing that would keep San Antonio from hiring Hammon would be if someone else hired her first.

    At this point, I gotta believe like others have said that she’ll be the one to follow Pop.

    The other team that often pops up as a Self destination could more in play in the next couple of years than before and that’s OKC.



  • Yeah I think he stays. Maybe 20 years ago he heads to the league. But now the players run it and he can’t exert his alpha as much. He has a college coach personality and he owns Lawrence.

    And if he went pro he’d still have to recruit, especially to San Antonio. And especially in today’s NBA where players are demanding trades more than ever.



  • I don’t understand why anyone would trade a blue blood college coaching career for the horrific lifestyle of a NBA coach. 100+ games, front office gigs… and hundreds of interviews. I doubt Self wants that lifestyle.



  • @HighEliteMajor

    Do you believe Self’s comments about him not running away from the situation in his pre-season comments were not what he planned to do?

    I know we have no idea what the end result from the NOA is going to be for the program or for Self but I have never gotten the sense he would be the type to bail in the eye of penalties. I guess we will find out at some point



  • @BeddieKU23 Initially, I have been a big believer in Bill Self’s character. That was until he lied in October of 2018. While I would like to believe his word, that dent in the armor, plus the fact that we have all lost count of the times we’ve heard coaches say one thing, and do another, makes his declarations mean very little to me. Add in the very real consideration that things change. He may have made the comments you refer to for any number of reasons – recruiting, he believed it, he was very upset, etc. But in life, things change regardless of vows and declarations.

    My gut is that he made the statements your refer to because it was good for recruiting and because he meant it. I do believe that. But again, he’s not coaching for you or me, or the fans, or even for KU – he works for himself and his family. hat does the landscape look like for Self at KU after sanctions. That can change the landscape.

    Further, this all ignores one area I think is a real issue – how will KU, the board of regents, and others in a position to cause Bill Self grief deal with sanctions? That could result in firing or a situation that is untenable for coach Self.

    We just don’t know.



  • @BigBad Barriers get broken when noble individuals enlist to champion a cause for progress. For Hammon to be successful at breaking the barrier, being far better than her competition may not be enough.



  • @HighEliteMajor

    Some good points. I do have the expectation that he sticks to his word here but for those that are more hesitant or completely on the “dark side” with him after what’s happened everyone has their own right to do so. I do think Self cares about his legacy and the reputation of the program. We have many years of seeing his character and his level of commitment/care to see that’s not bogus and is genuine. I do get the feeling the way he wants to be remembered and how he wants to ultimately leave this program at whatever time in the future are important to him especially now. Unless he is fired by the BOR or whoever ultimately has the decision I think he sticks it out for better or worse. Again everything is subject to change. Right now things are business as usual. Next year could be completely different. I hope it doesn’t come to the point I’ll have to separate my respect for the coach and the program.



  • Why would the nba want Self? He’s old.



  • The Regents won’t fire Self. They don’t really care about sports, just dollar signs. We’ve heard Self to the Spurs for at least a decade now and it’s no more true today than it was then. An extension post-NCAA garbage is far more likely since, you know, there’s been progress on that front unlike this rumor.



  • @BeddieKU23 Great post. I’m softening. I was very irritated. Now I’m softening. I can forgive the forceful misstep. I understand his anger with the situation vs. other schools doing (in theory) the same thing. No one really cares whether I’m softening, of course. Just in my own mind. But I want him to stay. Greatest coach in KU history.

    @FarmerJayhawk I would avoid such definitive statements. With this landscape of shifting sand, that can look kind of silly (from a guy that’s looked silly before). If it’s a prediction, understood. But I can envision a lot of scenarios where they would fire him or force him out. That’s pretty easy to envision. There is no doubt that there are “bad” paths. A lot of unknowns here. We don’t know what’s in folks’ minds, their true intentions, their real motives – including Jeff Long. I’m not saying your thoughts are wrong – far from it. Again, lots of ways this could go.

    Now, let’s win the National Title. This season is all that matters right now.



  • If Self were fired I could not begin to imagine the uproar from Alumni and more importantly the BMD. Good luck to Jeff Long on trying to raise money if they fire the most beloved coach at the school.

    @HighEliteMajor the more I watch this team and CBB as a whole the more I am liking the chances of this team reaching the final 4 and from there you never know. ( I would be shocked if this team wasn’t a 1-2 seed. )



  • HighEliteMajor said:

    @BeddieKU23 Great post. I’m softening. I was very irritated. Now I’m softening. I can forgive the forceful misstep. I understand his anger with the situation vs. other schools doing (in theory) the same thing. No one really cares whether I’m softening, of course. Just in my own mind. But I want him to stay. Greatest coach in KU history.

    @FarmerJayhawk I would avoid such definitive statements. With this landscape of shifting sand, that can look kind of silly (from a guy that’s looked silly before). If it’s a prediction, understood. But I can envision a lot of scenarios where they would fire him or force him out. That’s pretty easy to envision. There is no doubt that there are “bad” paths. A lot of unknowns here. We don’t know what’s in folks’ minds, their true intentions, their real motives – including Jeff Long. I’m not saying your thoughts are wrong – far from it. Again, lots of ways this could go.

    Now, let’s win the National Title. This season is all that matters right now.

    Of course there are. There’s a probability I go home with Gal Gadot tonight but I can pretty definitively say it’s not going to happen.

    I can absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt say Self and his agent both have expressed an interest in a loooong extension after the FBI storm broke, and Long shares that opinion.



  • @FarmerJayhawk Well if you’re putting my suggestions in the category with that remote possibility … I mean, the remote possibility you go home with any attractive woman, there is a big divide. I’m specifically talking about real possibilities that take up more than slivers on a pie graph. History tells us I’m right (from the perspective of how big the pie slice is, possibility wise, on the pie graph).

    If Self signs a long extension and resigns, these contracts have no penalties. If Self is fired “for cause”, we know what that looks like. If there is discussion of an extension, where is it? Most likely the parties are waiting until this dust settles. Even then, this stuff isn’t worth the paper it’s written on much of the time. Will KU do a deal where they exempt this current NCAA fiasco, info related to the inquiry, etc., from a “for cause” firing? If they do, I’m a believer. They won’t.

    Even if Long shares the opinion on an extension, he has no loyalty to Self. He’s not a Self guy. He didn’t hire Self. If sentiment turns against Self, he’s the first one that will be on the side of maintaining his job.

    And, of course, you don’t know what the board of regents would do if this goes down an ugly path. I do suspect that folks on boards of regents tend to get quite high and mighty when the moment is right.

    Just my very reasonable speculation.



  • @FarmerJayhawk “There’s a probability I go home with Gal Gadot tonight but I can pretty definitively say it’s not going to happen.”

    If it does happen, it is far more likely that you are stalking her than any other possibility that comes to mind…and a better probability would be that she kicks your Jayhawk tailfeathers clear to the Azores!



  • mayjay said:

    @FarmerJayhawk “There’s a probability I go home with Gal Gadot tonight but I can pretty definitively say it’s not going to happen.”

    If it does happen, it is far more likely that you are stalking her than any other possibility that comes to mind…and a better probability would be that she kicks your Jayhawk tailfeathers clear to the Azores!

    Only thing that’s being stalked in my world is me, and it’s by my students who want last second help during finals!



  • I know I have my crimson/blue glasses on… but my thoughts are that Self will receive a fat extension after this NCAA stuff. They may go ahead and extend him during the process.

    So far every part of KU has been very supportive of Self and staff and fighting the NCAA. This bond goes back from the early days of Self at Kansas and we have been the beneficiary of a lot more than just winning games. Look around on campus… The Self/KU relationship has been the best thing that ever happened to KU!

    Hard to point to many in college sports that will leave such a successful legacy as Self has.



  • @drgnslayr I bet you’re right. If they’re not going to can him (Id be shocked if he was) then they’ve got to commit to him in a very public way. It’s best for recruiting and probably more importantly big money donors.



  • @dylans

    College sports has grown to be such big business that you need a figurehead that can pass the political mustard.

    I feel that Self is the best speaker we have ever had in the position of head basketball coach.

    I can think back to coaches like Roy and Larry and I can point to times where they said the wrong thing.

    Self doesn’t put his foot in his mouth. And though it looks like Self and Townsend made a goof by communicating directly with Adidas, those snippets appear to be all that is against them. I’m thinking they are a dream for a good attorney to battle on their innocence.

    Time passes and it works in Self’s favor. Emotions settle and reality emerges that the NCAA has little to base their case on directly relating to our coaching staff. In fact, their accusations now look more like bait, trying to get Self to flinch and blow it. He hasn’t blown it. And with every day passing, the NCAA looks more like gestapo and Self/Townsend look more like victims.



  • chriz said:

    Yeah I think he stays. Maybe 20 years ago he heads to the league. But now the players run it and he can’t exert his alpha as much. He has a college coach personality and he owns Lawrence.

    And if he went pro he’d still have to recruit, especially to San Antonio. And especially in today’s NBA where players are demanding trades more than ever.

    I don’t see it happening, just like I don’t see Lincoln Riley leaving Norman to go coach the Cowboys, and for the same reasons.


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