Bill Self reflects on his most memorable Big 12 road games as Kansas Jayhawks coach
As the Big 12 men’s basketball season quickly approaches, at least one question begs an answer: What’s 17th-year Kansas coach Bill Self’s favorite moment in an opposing conference arena?
“We left out of Iowa State happy a few times, had some amazing wins,” Self said recently on his weekly Hawk Talk radio show. “One time they made 17 threes against us. Elijah Johnson went nuts one game and we ended up winning.”
Johnson, as a senior, scored 39 points in a thrilling 108-96 overtime victory over Iowa State on Feb. 25, 2013 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.
He hit 13 of 22 shots, including six of 10 threes and 7 of 7 free throws — totaling 30 points the second half and overtime. His effort for the No. 6-ranked Jayhawks helped beat an unranked ISU team that hit 17 of 41 threes (ties with Villanova for most attempts in a game against KU).
“Wilt (Chamberlain) had some good games,” Self said after the Iowa State contest, which was the 500th coaching victory of his career, “but this will go down as one of the best games any guard has played at Kansas. I’ve never had a guy make every play in a game like that down the stretch. He was huge. He was the best player in the country today.”
Johnson had the most points of any KU player in a Big 12 game. His 39 points were most by any KU player overall since Terry Brown had 42 against North Carolina State on Jan. 5, 1991. Andrew Wiggins surpassed Johnson, scoring the most points in a game in the Self era and for KU in a Big 12 game — 41 points — in a 92-86 loss versus West Virginia on March 8, 2014 in Morgantown, West Virginia.
“I blacked out,” Johnson said at the time, asked if he was “in a zone.”
That also was the game in which Johnson flushed a dunk with KU up 10 points in overtime and time running out on the clock.
Johnson gained possession after an Iowa State miss. Instead of dribbling it out, Johnson drove the court uncontested and dunked.
Johnson and Self apologized to Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg after the game.
“I’ve got to show better sportsmanship. I shouldn’t have dunked that ball at the end of the game. I wasn’t really thinking clearly. I saw an open basket and all day I’ve been driving. I figured, why not drive it if it’s wide open? I definitely should have dribbled it out,” Johnson, who now plays pro ball in Israel, said on ESPN.
Self pointed out another road game that ranks very high.
The Devonté Graham-led Jayhawks beat No. 6-ranked Texas Tech, 74-72, on Feb. 24, 2018 as No. 8 KU clinched the Big 12 title in Lubbock.
“Winning the Big 12 championship and Devonté making a couple plays that later won him player of the year … I think we’ll take that one over all of them,” Self said.
Graham scored 18 points in the game’s final 14 minutes as KU prevailed in United Supermarkets Arena. The win clinched KU’s NCAA record 14th straight Big 12 regular season title.
KU passed UCLA, which won 13-straight Pac-10 (now Pac-12) championships from 1967-79. It was KU’s 61st overall conference regular season title, an NCAA record.
In looking at a few other huge KU road wins in the Self era ... Graham scored 16 points and Svi Mykhailiuk 17 as No. 10-ranked KU erased a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat No. 6 West Virginia, 71-66, on Jan. 16, 2018, in Morgantown, West Virginia. It snapped KU’s four-game losing streak at WVU.
Another big road win came in Self’s first season at KU. David Padgett hit an 8-footer from the baseline with two seconds left in No, 21-ranked KU’s 84-82 victory over unranked Missouri on March 7, 2004. It was the final game at Mizzou’s Hearnes Center.
“It was an unbelievable shot, as big a shot as I’ve had a freshman make,” Self said of the winning bucket.
Also, Frank Mason scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half as No. 2-ranked KU clipped unranked Oklahoma, 81-70, on Jan. 10, 2017, in Norman, Oklahoma. KU trailed that game by nine points at halftime.
For KU, the 2019-20 Big 12 season will begin at home. KU meets West Virginia at 3 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse in the league opener for both squads.
Favorite places to recruit
Self who has maintained his reputation as a stellar recruiter in his 17 seasons at KU, was also asked his favorite place to pursue prospects on a recent Hawk Talk show.
“Wherever the best players are that we can get them,” Self said. “I’ve gone through periods I have favorites — Chicago to me was always my favorite. I’ve always thought kids there were so tough in general.
“Julian (Wright) was a suburban kid … Mario Little, Sherron (Collins), Jamari Traylor, those are tough guys from the city. But it doesn’t matter to me at all where they come from. The thing is with recruiting and anything you get a preconceived perception if they are inner city they are tough.
“It doesn’t mean anything. Some of the toughest kids you could recruit come from very affluent backgrounds. Some kids you wish are tougher may come from a rougher background and everything in between. Each individual is his own entity. From a percentage play, you get a kid from inner city Chicago they learn to fight their way out of a few things, but it’s not always the case. I don’t think you can ever judge a book so to speak by its cover. You never know.”
Faces in the crowd
KU has had several famous athletes/celebrities attend games at Allen in the 17-year Self era.
“The best athlete on the planet now has been here and he cheered for Texas Tech. We’ve got to get him changed over,” Self said of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. “Stop to think about it … who is the greatest athlete in Kansas City sports history? Mahomes has been at our games. Kelce (Travis, KC tight end) has hung out with him (in Allen Fieldhouse). George Brett has been a regular at our games.
“Several Chiefs players have come over and Royals. — Hos (Eric Hosmer) and (Mike) Moustakas; Andy Reid (Chiefs coach) and Mike McCarthy (former coach of Green Bay). Mike went to Baker. He had a son or daughter go to KU. He was so incognito just like Andy would be too. A guy who has won six majors in Tom Watson and an MVP like Rodgers (Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay QB) ... that’s a pretty good group that has been here and hung out. Harbaugh (Jim) spoke to our team when he was with the 49ers.”
Adding to the list: Baseball Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson and Tom Lasorda have attended games at Allen. From the entertainment world: Don Johnson, Barbara Eden, Rob Riggle, Jason Sudeikis, Ashley Judd and the late Eddie Money to name a few have watched games in the tradition-rich building.
Jossell out of action
KU signee Latrell Jossell, a 6 foot senior point guard from Central High in Keller, Texas, has yet to play in a game this season because of a high ankle sprain he sustained in a scrimmage on Nov. 9.
He may make his debut in the near future, coach Gerald Sledge told the Dallas Morning News. Central is 4-12 without Jossell.
“We’re taking all precautions because we know Latrell has a lot on the line,” Sledge told the Morning News.
This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 3:19 PM.
