Success seems smitten with Bill Self.
It's followed him from Oral Roberts to Tulsa to Illinois to Kansas. Everywhere the Oklahoma native with the quick smile and disarming charm goes, his teams win big.
Barring a complete collapse in the next three weeks, his No. 1-ranked Jayhawks will capture their sixth straight Big 12 title. It would be Self's 10th conference title in 12 years.
If NCAA tournament bids were handed out today, Kansas (23-1, 9-0 Big 12) would likely be the overall No. 1 seed, positioned for a run at its second national championship in three seasons. And unless Iowa State pulls off a mammoth upset on Saturday night, Self will walk off the court with career victory No. 400 in fewer than 17 full seasons as a head coach.
It's a milestone his fans will toast and he will shrug off.
``It means that I'm a little older than I want to believe I am,'' he said. ``But I'll be honest - it doesn't mean that much. It will mean that we've won a game, which is more important than any number on the individual side.''
It'll also mean he was wrong back in 1993-94 when as a 30-year-old head coach at Oral Roberts he thought perhaps he'd made a poor career choice.
``We ended our first season at ORU on a 15-game losing streak, then started the next season by losing the first three games,'' he said. ``We were very discouraged. We had to adjust what we did, and that was good. How we went about getting the end result was totally revamped.''
By his fourth year, Oral Roberts won 21 games and played in the NIT. Then Self won 74 games in three years at Tulsa and 78 in three years at Illinois, and Kansas called.
But he hesitated. Why leave a national contender at Illinois and take a chance on following the ultra-successful Roy Williams?
Conflicting advice flowed in from well-meaning friends. So he sought out the person he trusts most.
``I talked to my dad,'' he said. ``He basically told me, 'If you just want to be comfortable, then stay. But if you want to stretch your limits, don't let somebody else's success keep you from doing it. Don't turn the job down because you're scared.'''
Self's overall record of 399-146 translates to a 73.2 winning percentage. Throw out his 55-54 record at Oral Roberts, which was struggling in its infancy as a Division I program, and his winning percentage swells to 78.9. At Kansas, he's 192-41, with an astounding home mark of 122-6.
And home is how it feels. Self signed a 10-year, $30 million contract after winning the 2008 NCAA championship and figures he'll be a Jayhawk for life.
``There's no other job for me out there,'' he said. ``From my vantage point right now, I can't imagine there being a better place to coach. In large part because of the commitment everybody's made here.''
The entire family loves it in Lawrence. When daughter Lauren was about to graduate from high school, she planned to go to college out of state. But she changed her mind and is now a freshman at Kansas. She'll probably be in Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday to see her dad's players go out and try to give him his milestone win.
``I'm sure he just looks at it as another game,'' said junior guard Tyrel Reed. ``But it's a great accomplishment for him. He's so good with players. He knows exactly how to bring out the best in everyone.''
But Self also knows he's working for a very demanding fan base.
``The more you feed the beast, the hungrier it gets,'' he said with a familiar grin.
He also acknowledges that the days are sometimes longer than they once were: ``We have been in the fast lane now for quite some time. It does take a toll on you emotionally and physically. You do get tired. But I am probably having as much fun now as I've ever had.''
He's right on track for the goal he set as a young man.
``When I got into coaching at the age of 30, I said I wanted to coach as long as I wanted to coach, but when I reached 50, I wanted to coach because I wanted to, not because I had to,'' he said.
Self is making $3 million per year at 47. Financial freedom at 50 should be no problem. Ring up one more success for Bill Self.
