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Kansas coach Bill Self likes the hypothetical of the NBA playing the championship game of its midseason “NBA Cup” tournament in Allen Fieldhouse. The title game is typically played in Las Vegas, and it was no different this season. The New York Knicks defeated San Antonio to win the 2025 title on Dec. 16. League commissioner Adam Silver brought up the idea of playing the title game in “storied college arenas” during an interview with the “NBA on Prime.”
According to Self, KU hasn’t yet talked to the NBA about the possibility of hosting the NBA Cup championship at Allen Fieldhouse. That said ... “Why wouldn’t they want to come here?” Self said. “Good gosh. If they’re going to try to play in historic college venues, why wouldn’t the NBA want to be here? I know KD (Kevin Durant) said at one time that this was the best place that he’d ever played. So I don’t know if that still holds true, but I would think that would be a great option.”
Many KU fans don’t want to see any modifications to the iconic arena, but Self does not share that sentiment. “Whatever would most put us in a position for us to host, I think we would be totally happy and content doing whatever the NBA wanted us to do,” Self said, “if we can get that.”
Jeff Goodman: Just got off the phone with Kansas coach Bill Self after his health scare a couple weeks ago in which he underwent a heart catheterization and had two stents placed for blocked arteries: Self said he received a clean bill of health from the doctors, has been back in the office daily, is able to play golf and is looking forward to the players returning in about 10 days. "I don't have any restrictions coaching," Self told @TheFieldOf68.
When it comes to his ongoing growth as a player, Braun insists that it’s about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. It all goes back to a saying he heard during his time in Lawrence, Kansas, from one of the greatest ever to patrol the sidelines. “Just win. Over my career — high school, college — I think I've learned,” Braun told RG. “A big thing that Coach [Bill] Self taught was when you win, the pie is big enough for everybody. I think that my individual success, I always have more individual success when our team wins and the spotlight's bigger when you're winning.”
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Jon Rothstein: AJ Storr has officially withdrawn from the 2024 NBA Draft and will play for Kansas next season, per Bill Self. Transfer from Wisconsin. Averaged 16.8 PPG last season.
Kansas head coach Bill Self revealed plenty during an extended sit-down with NCAA reporter Andy Katz on Monday, including what he expects Kansas freshman guard Johnny Furphy to decide after entering the 2024 NBA Draft. Self said Furphy, who arrived late last summer from Australia to enroll as a freshman at KU, outperformed any reasonable expectation, thus playing himself into an invite to the NBA Draft Combine.
Michael Singer: Christian Braun, on the comparisons between Michael Malone and Bill Self: “Those are two of the most competitive people I’ve been around since I’ve been playing basketball.” Said he appreciated their old school approach.
“We all are looking for shooters, and he might be one of the best – if not the best – of all the shooters while playing in one of the top conferences,” an NBA executive told HoopsHype. “That’s why he’s regarded so highly in the draft. He’s got a true NBA skill, and he’s learning how to get shots off the dribble and get to the basket at times. Under Bill Self, you know he’s getting coaches and having his a** chewed out regularly. He’s playing and responding well. He’ll likely become a better defender. The other thing is he’s a big wing, around 6-foot-8. I have him around the 8-10 range right now.”
Bill Self was long rumored as lead executive R.C. Buford's preferred Popovich successor. "The person having Kansas ties would be really important. It's kind of sacred," one executive said. "You talk about the Spurs tree—the Spurs tree goes through Kansas. You gotta keep in mind, that goes all the way back to James Naismith, who literally invented the game of basketball."
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The most common heir apparents mentioned in league and coaching circles today: Will Hardy, the longtime San Antonio assistant now working under Ime Udoka in Boston; Brett Brown; and Manu Ginobili, who rejoined San Antonio last week as an advisor. Becky Hammon will and should be in the mix along with mystery candidates and perhaps other members of the Spurs tree. Ginobili's appetite for coaching is unclear. Bill Self, head coach of Kansas, has faded out of the rumor mill.
Shams Charania: Michael Jordan will present Kobe Bryant in the 2020 Naismith Hall of Fame @Hoophall induction ceremony on May 15. Full list of inductees and presenters: pic.twitter.com/iD5r6EIxHF
Michael Jordan will present Kobe Bryant in the 2020 Naismith Hall of Fame @Hoophall induction ceremony on May 15. Full list of inductees and presenters: pic.twitter.com/iD5r6EIxHF
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 15, 2021
Bill Self knows having an NBA team in Kansas City might not be the best thing for nearby college programs — at least from a ticket-sales perspective. And yet, the KU basketball coach seems fully on board with the idea of the Toronto Raptors potentially putting down temporary roots in Kansas City, if indeed they needed to relocate.
Last week, Self, entering his 18th year as KU's coach, was asked what he thought of that initiative. "I would say this place is obviously a hotbed for basketball," Self responded. "This place obviously loves their ball. And you go back historically to all the NCAA tournaments and the NCAA being here that was held in Municipal Auditorium and those sorts of things. I think that would be a big sell because we’ve shown that we love ball historically."