Bill Self picks KU basketball MVP through first 10 games: ‘I’m glad I got you’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bill Self calls Melvin Council Jr. KU’s MVP, citing assists, steals, minutes.
- Council leads KU in assists and minutes, offsetting weak 3-point and shooting marks.
- Fans embrace Council’s energy and defense as he anchors point duties without Peterson.
Kansas senior guard Melvin Council Jr. ranks seventh in shooting percentage and last in 3-point marksmanship of the eight Jayhawks who have played the majority of the minutes during the 2025-26 nonconference college basketball season.
His 5-for-27 3-point shooting (18.5%) and 40-of-115 overall mark (34.8%) at this early juncture means little to coach Bill Self, who lavished praise on the St. Bonaventure transfer on Monday’s Hawk Talk radio show.
“Melvin Council has been our MVP so far, hands down,” Self said of the slender 6-foot-4, 180-pound Rochester, New York native who is first on the team in assists (53 to 16 turnovers) and steals (eight overall), fourth in scoring (10.7 ppg) and rebounding (3.8 rpg) and third in free-throw percentage (22-of-28 for 78.6%).
His 33.4 minutes per game average also leads the team with sophomore big man Flory Bidunga second at 30.8 minutes per contest.
“Think about not having a primary handler in the game and he’s done a great job (playing point guard in the seven games Darryn Peterson has missed),” Self said.
“Now, does he know what he’s doing all the time? Maybe not. Has he shot the ball well? Not like he’s capable of shooting the basketball, but he plays 38 minutes a game. He guards the other team’s point guard and best player. He hawks them all over the place, and he gets his feet in the paint, and when you get your feet in the paint, you can play behind that. So to me, I’m so pleased, and with Darryn not being out there — even though it’s made life harder on Melvin — what a way to initiation by fire. Put him out there and let him go,” Self added.
Council already has become a KU fan favorite. The fans in the student section at home games bark after he produces a positive play on the court in reference to his stated motto: “If you are not a dog, you are dog food.”
“He had the Garden going for about four minutes in the second half against Duke,” Self said in reference to Council’s play the final 20 minutes of KU’s 78-66 loss to the Blue Devils in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
He finished that game with 15 points, six assists and two blocks in 38 minutes. In the first half he produced just three points and two assists.
“I mean, he had ‘em going when he said, ‘OK, I can do this, I’m good enough to do this,’ and he started playing downhill and playing full speed and doing some different things,” Self said of Council, who at one point in the second half against Duke had seven consecutive points.
“The first half was like, ‘What are you doing?’ And the second half was, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing,’” Self stated.
“You know, it was great, but the large part — think about this — junior college, Wagner, one season at St. Bonnie, and oh yeah, go play 38 minutes against Duke, against Tennessee, against UConn, against all those in front of crowds when you know you’ve never done that before and then to try to control the emotion.
“And then, oh yeah, I’ve got to know what everybody’s supposed to be doing too (while running the offense). I just think he’s done a great job so far,” Self added of Council, who started his career at Monroe College, then moved to Wagner College and ultimately St. Bonaventure prior to transferring to KU.
Self says he is having fun coaching Council, who in Sunday’s 80-60 win over Missouri finished with nine points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals in 36 minutes.
“The thing that makes him cool,” Self said, “you can tell when he plays, he plays with joy. He’s smiling. Now we all screw up and all that stuff, but he’s fun to support and (fans) enjoy watching him because he does have this exuberance about himself that’s very naive, which is attractive and is very humble. He says, ‘Hey, just tell me what to do, and I’ll try to do it.’ You know, I love that about him.”
Council said indeed there’s been an adjustment to playing for basketball blue blood KU versus mid-major St. Bonaventure, where he averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game during the 2024-25 season. He hit 43.5% of his shots, 29.9% from 3.
“My past couple of schools, I’ve been a scorer and stuff like that. So I’m just adjusting to the passing, making everybody eat off me and just making sure everybody is in the right place and stuff like that,” Council said.
Council said in the seven games without Peterson KU was “scrappy, tough. We had to do things like get steals and run on transition.”
Of his shooting he said: “Be aggressive. Keep shooting. It’s going to go in eventually. I’m okay with my shot selection. I know I haven’t been shooting the ball well, but trust me, I’m going to start knocking down shots as soon as possible. And I can’t wait.”
Self has let Council know he’s faring well through 10 games.
“I tell him every day, ‘Gosh, man, I’m glad I got you, glad we got you,’’’ Self said, adding, “they (Peterson and Council) could be pretty good together before it’s all said and done.”
The Jayhawks (7-3) will next meet North Carolina State (6-3) at 4:30 p.m. Central on Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina.
This story was originally published December 10, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
