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KU, Mizzou, K-State coaches discuss 2022-23 men’s basketball season: SportsBeat podcast

Kansas coach Bill Self took questions from the media Sunday during a press conference at the Superdome in New Orleans, where the Jayhawks will play North Carolina in the NCAA Championship game Monday night.
Kansas coach Bill Self took questions from the media Sunday during a press conference at the Superdome in New Orleans, where the Jayhawks will play North Carolina in the NCAA Championship game Monday night. rsugg@kcstar.com

The unofficial start to each college basketball season is an athletic conference’s media day, and the Big 12 and SEC held theirs this week.

On today’s episode of The Star’s SportsBeat KC podcast, we hear from a first-time head coach, another who is coaching in the Power Five for the first time and one who’s coming off an NCAA championship.

The Jayhawks, coached for the 20th season by Bill Self, are the defending champs. And Self kicks things off by discussing what KU’s national championship means to the conference that has produced many great players and coaches but historically has come up short in NCAA titles. KU’s marked two national titles in a row for the Big 12 — Baylor won the previous crown.

Next, Kansas State coach Jerome Tang speaks about his new job and how his time as a Baylor assistant helped prepare him for leading the Wildcats.

Finally, we hear from Missouri’s Dennis Gates, who spent the past three years at Cleveland State. He tells us what attracted him to Columbia.

Story link:

Gold standard: Why Dennis Gates is driven to become at Hall of Fame coach

Blair Kerkhoff
The Kansas City Star
Blair Kerkhoff has covered sports for The Kansas City Star since 1989. He was elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
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