KU’s Bill Self calls fight with K-State an ‘embarrassment,’ promises quick punishments
Kansas coach Bill Self spoke strong words about his team’s late-game actions during a fight with Kansas State players Tuesday, calling the incident an “embarrassment” while promising punishments would be coming for his players Wednesday.
In the final seconds of KU’s 81-60 victory at Allen Fieldhouse, K-State’s DaJuan Gordon stole the ball as KU’s Silvio De Sousa was holding the ball while trying to run out the clock. When Gordon went up for a layup, De Sousa emphatically blocked the shot, towering over Gordon before both benches cleared for a melee.
ESPN cameras showed De Sousa throwing punches, and at one point, he held a stool above his head before KU assistant coach Jerrance Howard appeared to knock it away. Self on Wednesday said he was suspending De Sousa indefinitely.
“I know we were in the wrong,” Self said Tuesday night. “I’m not saying both parties weren’t in the wrong, but I know that we were in the wrong.”
Self had made it to the scrum when De Sousa held the stool above his head.
“I actually saw that. I was there when that happened, which regardless of what happened, it’s a terrible image,” Self said, “and there certainly will be consequences for that.”
KU player David McCormack also appeared to be involved in the middle of the fracas. During the postgame news conference, Self had to compose himself for a moment when he spoke about the fight spilling over into the handicap seating section behind Allen Fieldhouse’s south goal.
“At least if you’re going to do something, at least take it on the court or whatever,” Self said. “It’s ridiculous that they would go into the stands.”
KU athletic director Jeff Long released a statement Tuesday night, apologizing to the Big 12, K-State, K-State athletic director Gene Taylor, coach Bruce Weber and all fans for KU’s lack of sportsmanship.
“The conduct of a few of our student-athletes at the conclusion of tonight’s game vs. Kansas State was simply unacceptable and not reflective of who we are,” Long said. “Coach Self and I will review the incident, along with the Big 12 Conference and Kansas State to determine appropriate consequences. There is no place for this conduct in college athletics or here at KU.”
Self was asked what he thought about college basketball’s overall image following an incident like this.
“Obviously it’s an embarrassment. It’s not something that you’d be proud of,” Self said. “If this is what happens, it’s actually not a sign of toughness. It’s a sign of immaturity, selfishness, more than it is toughness. So if I was a fan watching, obviously, depending on what your perspective is, there would be nothing about that that would intrigue me to want to watch more, at least from what happened tonight.”
Self said he spoke to his players in a “one-way” conversation in the locker room after the game.
“There was no discussion on what happened from their vantage point. We talked to them. We relayed to them how selfish it was. We relayed to them how disappointed we are,” Self said. “We should be in here talking about (KU guard) Christian Braun (who scored a game-high 20 points), and selfishness definitely created a situation where that’s not going to be the story line whatsoever.”
De Sousa was given a taunting technical foul for the play. In addition, both teams had every player ejected, except for the five who were on the floor, for leaving the bench area.
The teams, after going to their locker rooms, had to return to play the final second. K-State was awarded two free throws for the technical before inbounding the ball to run out the clock.
Self said he was shaking hands with Weber when the confrontation first started.
“That was an embarrassment on our part for the role that we played in it,” Self said.
This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 9:37 PM.
