What was Bill Self’s favorite Christmas gift? It was featured in a popular movie
Bill Self’s parents, just like Ralphie Parker’s mom and dad in “A Christmas Story,” more than 40 years ago provided their son his favorite holiday gift of all time.
“I’ve been asked that before … probably a BB gun,” Self, Kansas’ 17th-year basketball coach, said on a recent Hawk Talk radio show, when asked to reveal the most memorable present given him as a youngster back in his home state of Oklahoma.
“I loved going out and shooting it right there, right after Christmas. I don’t know if it was that style, exactly that one,” Self added of the “Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle” which was featured in the classic holiday movie.
“It was a good one,” Self quickly added of his own BB gun. “I always got a ball or something always good. I didn’t (ever) get a little motorcycle, maybe a 10-speed. I can’t remember (but) my BB gun was probably the thing I used to enjoy the most.”
The discussion of gifts of Christmas past is solid proof that Self, who turns 57 on Friday, is a good enough sport to discuss just about any subject.
Asked his No. 1 family tradition on Hawk Talk, Self recalled: “My dad used to dress as Santa Claus when we were real young. I figured out it was him when I saw black satin shoes and the socks he always wore. Really just everybody hanging out and being around each other, time together. That was special for all of us.”
Self plans on spending Christmas Eve and Christmas with family members, including his granddaughter, Ella Jane Browning.
Rings go to the victors
Self has quite a collection of rings from his time at KU. He explained his policy for the awarding of jewelry to players coaches, and support staff members:
“Win the Big 12 regular season, the Big 12 Tournament or make the Final Four. Those are the only ways to get a ring,” said Self, who engineered KU’s NCAA-record run of 14 straight regular season conference titles that was snapped in the 2018-19 season. The Jayhawks also have reached the Final Four three times in his tenure and won six Big 12 tourney crowns.
“A lot of teams out there get a ring if you go to the NCAA Tournament. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not putting it down. We decided when we were at Tulsa … to me a ring constitutes winning a championship. So that’s the only way we get one,” Self said.
“Last year we didn’t get anything,” he added of the 2018-19 Jayhawks failing to win the conference regular-season crown and losing to Iowa State in the Big 12 tourney finals.
“We finished 12-6 in the league, which is the worst we’ve done. Kansas State and Texas Tech won it at 14-4. We got beat by Iowa State in the finals and didn’t make it to the Final Four. That team didn’t get anything. I also think that (policy) is positive, too. You want everybody to be rewarded in some fashion but you don’t get a participation ribbon for just showing up. Last year we didn’t quite get it done. We’ve got to get back on track this year.”
Self has his seniors work on the design of any ring(s) the squad might receive.
“I don’t weigh in at all. It’s up to them,” Self said.
He indicated on a recent Hawk Talk show that he does not wear any sports-related rings to games.
“My wedding ring, that’s it,” Self said. “I’ve never worn a ring on a recruiting trip either, but I’ve brought them. We’ve got them in a nice box on display.”
He played baseball and basketball both
Self on his favorite sport besides basketball: “Baseball,” he said. “I loved playing baseball. Growing up I probably played more baseball than basketball, traveling with Legion teams three nights a week. We used to drive ourselves to all the games in high school to different cities in a 60 mile radius.”
His favorite MLB player? “Johnny Bench. He’s from Oklahoma,” Self said. “I used to have my dad take me to a place where he’d sign autographs. I’d wait in line to get his autograph. I loved Johnny Bench.”
Zany players
Self was asked to pinpoint a player he coached with the most outgoing personality of all.
“We’ve had great personalities, no question,” Self said, “but we’ve not had anybody paint his nails before every game like Scot (Pollard, forward during Roy Williams era) did back in the day. He’d be as big a personality literally that I’d be aware of. I didn’t have the opportunity to coach Scot.
“I do think we’ve had some guys that made practice fun. The (Morris) twins danced to their own beat. I’d put them in that category but in a fun way, too. Brady Morningstar kept things light. He was unbelievable to coach from a personality standpoint. If you were in a bad mood he’d make you laugh,” Self added.
Next up
KU (9-2) will meet Stanford (11-1) at 2 p.m. Central time Sunday at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, California. It will be shown on ABC. The Jayhawks, who are on holiday break, will gather in Lawrence for practice on Thursday night.
