Bill Self changed his message. How that impacted one of his players at a crucial time

It's hard to remember now — especially because Kansas basketball is once again the overwhelming favorite to win at least a share of the Big 12 title — but fewer than two weeks ago, KU was at a crossroads.

The Jayhawks had just lost to Baylor, had fallen behind in the Big 12 race and also seemed to still be searching for an identity.

An important decision came right after that — one that won't be talked about much but was significant nonetheless.

KU coach Bill Self, at that point, was still trying to send a message to Malik Newman. He benched the guard in favor of Marcus Garrett, saying after the game that he was tired of starting players who didn’t give the intangibles he desired.

I wrote at the time that Newman’s psyche had to be considered. Self was pushing for more from him, but obviously, there’s a risk there that a coach can go too far.

Self had a choice to make. He could continue to bench Newman, draw a line in the sand and plow forward — a path I suspect many other coaches would have taken.

Instead, during the next media session, Self changed his tone.

“What’s best for our team is having our five best players out there playing the vast majority of the minutes,” Self said two days after the Baylor loss. “It hasn’t played out that way in league play consistently. Hopefully we’ll get (it) together. I can be quite negative at times. I don’t need to be with this team.”

After those words, Self reinserted Newman into the starting lineup. He threw his confidence behind the guard, even when he hadn’t been playing well.

And Newman, since then, has taken off.

It started with a 17-point game against Iowa State in a six-point win. After that, he struggled with his accuracy but still hit one of the game’s biggest shots in a come-from-behind home victory over West Virginia.

Newman was best of all in Monday's game against Oklahoma. He scored 20 points, making 7 of 11 shots with five assists and no turnovers while also adding two steals.

“I think he's playing a lot better than he did than earlier in the Big 12 season, without question,” Self said Thursday. “We were really laboring and struggling in a couple spots, so I think he's played really well. I'm proud of him.”

It can be ugly when a player checks out on his team, as KU fans saw a bit from Oklahoma’s Trae Young on Monday. The national-player-of-the-year candidate appeared to give lackluster energy on the defensive end, with his effort criticized three different times by Fox college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb on Twitter.

This easily could have been KU’s reality with Newman. It wasn't.

Self is known as a master motivator, and at his team’s lowest point, he correctly navigated a fragile situation and made the best decision for his team moving forward.

That might not show up on the team’s 2017-18 highlight DVD. But it shouldn't be forgotten, either.

This story was originally published February 22, 2018 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Bill Self changed his message. How that impacted one of his players at a crucial time."