Bill Self reacts to KU basketball’s all-Big 12 snub — and why it happened
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Self praised Bidunga, Peterson and Melvin Council Jr. for their honors.
- Self was surprised senior Tre White received no postseason honors.
- Self said White’s shooting, size and versatility valuable.
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self says he’s happy for Flory Bidunga, Darryn Peterson and Melvin Council Jr., who earned all-Big 12 honors Monday.
He was, however, surprised senior wing Tre White, the Jayhawks’ second-leading scorer (14.3 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (6.9 rpg) received no accolades from the conference coaches who voted for postseason honors. The 16 coaches were prohibited from voting for their own players.
“The only thing that disappointed me was Tre didn’t get anything. And I thought Tre, worst-case scenario, he should have been on the all-newcomer team or at least honorable mention all-league,” Self said on Monday’s Hawk Talk radio show.
“Just so everybody knows, you can’t vote for your own. You nominate your own and then all the other coaches vote on who the (picks) are. So it’s a little disappointing Tre didn’t have one other coach feel like he was in the top of the league as far as an all-league type guy, because within my eyes, he’s certainly that and more,” Self added.
The all-newcomer team consisted of honorable mention all-league pick Council, plus Baylor’s Cameron Carr, UCF’s Themus Fulks, Cincinnati’s Baba Miller and Texas Tech’s Donovan Atwell. Peterson earned all-freshman team honors and was second-team all-conference. Bidunga was first-team all-league and defensive player of the year.
Self acknowledged it’s tough to make an all-league team in a 16-team league.
“It’s so many players,” Self said. “I’ll do the math. Sixteen times five is 80 starters out there. In order to make honorable mention, you’ve still got to be thought of by somebody as being (one of) the top 15 players in the league.
“You start looking at (AJ) Dybantsa, (Brayden) Burries and Peterson and Bidunga and (Joshua) Jefferson, (Milan) Momcilovic, (Tamin) Lipsey, go on to (Joseph) Tugler and (Emanuel) Sharp and (Milos) Uzan … you can keep going, it doesn’t take much to get to 15. As far as numbers go, big leagues usually lend to more good players getting left off postseason just because there’s more to pick from,” Self stated.
Of first-team all-league pick Bidunga winning the Big 12 defensive player of the year award, Self said: “I think it was between he and the big guy at Arizona, (Motiejus) Krivas. But yes, I’m happy for Flo. He made first team. Darryn made second team, and Melvin obviously was newcomer of the year (and honorable mention) and there are some good newcomers. So that’s a great honor.”
Self pointed out White’s contributions:
“Trey is ridiculously bright,” Self said. “He is a better shooter (46.6% overall and 43.5% from 3) than what he has shot it at other places (USC, Louisville, Illinois), just like there are guys that leave here that are better shooters than what they shot it here. That happens in sports, but he’s obviously shot the ball at a much better clip than what he has at his other stops.
“He’s big enough that he can guard a big guy some and he’s small enough he can guard a guard some, which makes him extra valuable. To me, he’s a winner,” Self added. “And Melvin … he has so much personality, don’t ever underestimate (that), and I don’t think I ever will, moving forward. You see how infectious one guy’s personality can be on a whole organization. He’s been that for us, so it’s so special to see what he did for us Saturday (17 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds in 104-85 win over Kansas State).”
This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
