KU’s Bill Self says adding new Pac-12 schools was ‘best-case scenario’ for the Big 12
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self would like to propose a toast to Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark, who Friday added three more schools to the conference, which in 2024-25 will have 16 teams.
“Kudos to our commissioner,” Self, KU’s 21st-year coach, said Saturday after the Jayhawks defeated the Bahamian National Team at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum. “The best-case scenario we could ever have had would be to add Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.”
CU was added to the league on July 27.
“I mean, I can’t imagine what would be a better scenario for our league. I think that puts us on stable ground, and who knows if this guy’s done or not,” Self added with a smile, referring to the commissioner.
Self has been in the league when it looked like it was falling apart, when Texas and Oklahoma first decided to bolt for the SEC.
“Isn’t it amazing?” Self said. “We go from hoping we can just have a home to now our league has solidified itself as the third most powerful league.”
Of course, those comments came after a notable win for Self’s Jayhawks, who faced a Bahamas squad that included NBA star Buddy Hield. Guarding Hield was KU super-senior Kevin McCullar, who fouled out in the fourth quarter with KU up nine points. The Jayhawks ended up winning by five.
Self had some comments about the officiating Saturday.
“The game was called in a way to make sure it stayed close, whether or not it was intentionally done, so that was interesting,” Self said with a smile. “He (McCullar) had three (fouls), then he had five in a span of 15 seconds probably. So we’ve got to do a better job there. But I don’t think those will probably be fouls in the Big 12.”
The Jayhawks will move forward into Monday’s game likely without guard Arterio Morris, who slipped on a logo on the court late in the game and suffered a bone bruise.
Morris has impressed in exhibition play thus far but is questionable for Monday’s 11 a.m. game against the Bahamas team.
“I don’t know that he’ll play on Monday; I’m pretty sure he won’t,” Self said. “But we’ll make that decision after treatment.”
