Bill Self, KU basketball players react to Big 12 replacing court for semifinals
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Commissioner switched to hardwood after consulting coaches at Big 12 Tournament.
- KU coach Bill Self said he wasn't involved; switch was made from LED glass court.
- Some players called the LED floor slick; conference cited athlete comfort.
Kansas coach Bill Self says he and his Jayhawk men’s basketball players were not consulted in advance of the Big 12 Conference commissioner’s decision to scrap the controversial LED glass court for Friday’s conference tournament semifinals and Saturday’s final at T-Mobile Center.
He and most of his players interviewed after a 78-73 quarterfinal victory over TCU, however, approved of the decision to return to hardwood for a 6 p.m. battle between Arizona and Iowa State and 8:30 p.m. game between KU and Houston.
“No, I personally didn’t have any involvement in any decision that goes on. If the other coaches are doing it, if (they) have juice, then they’ve got more than I’ve got, because I didn’t have any involvement with that at all,” Self said after a game played before 17,015 fans in downtown KC.
“I think it’s the right thing to do, though,” Self added.
Self at that point of his postgame news conference asked forward Flory Bidunga (13 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and a plus-31 rating) and guard Darryn Peterson (24 points in a season-high 37 minutes) if “the floor bothered you much?”
“Not really,” said Bidunga.
Peterson, who hit 13 of 16 free throws yet missed 12 of 17 floor shots in a season-high 37 minutes, shook his head side to side, having the same sentiment as Bidunga.
The LED glass floor was used for the entire Big 12 women’s tournament and for the first three days of the men’s tourney.
“I didn’t notice us slipping as much. I personally didn’t think it was as big a deal, but if you study it and watch the games throughout the day, and maybe even some tonight, it seemed like to me there were a lot of steps that end up sliding one or two inches. It just didn’t look quite as clean,” Self said.
“It’s a cool-looking floor, but I’m excited that the talk tomorrow will be about the semifinals as opposed to the court,” Self stated after No. 3 seed KU improved to 23-9 on the season.
Commissioner Brett Yormark’s statement on returning to a hardwood floor was distributed after the KU-TCU game.
“After consultation with the coaches of our four semifinal teams, I have decided that in order to provide our student-athletes with the greatest level of comfort on a huge stage this weekend, we will transition to a hardwood court for the remainder of the tournament. We look forward to a great semifinals and championship game,” Yormark said.
The Star checked with three Jayhawks in the winner’s locker room concerning their opinion of the LED floor being removed in time for Friday’s games. The court in fact was being torn down immediately after the KU game.
KU will take on Houston at 8:30 p.m. Friday following a 6 p.m. semifinal between Iowa State and Arizona.
“Yes,” KU guard Elmarko Jackson (13 points, 10-of-10 from the line) said, asked if he’s happy the hardwood floor will return.
Why’s that?
“I grew up playing on hardwood, so it’s I’m just accustomed to it,” he told The Star.
Jackson said the LED glass floor on Thursday “was a little slick. But every court can be a little bit better.”
Jackson said he and his teammates didn’t stress during the day about playing on a surface that had some players slipping throughout the tourney. KU practiced 30 minutes on the LED floor on Monday.
“No, when it’s game time we’re just thinking about carrying out assignments,” Jackson said.
Asked if he’s glad the floor will be changed back in time for the semis, KU forward Bryson Tiller (13 points, eight boards, one block) said: “I’m not really too concerned about it. There weren’t many complaints from me.
“It’s going to be kind of cool to play on the surface that we’re used to. But again, no complaints from me. I didn’t really pay attention to it, to be honest with you. I didn’t really notice it.”
KU senior Tre White, who scored eight points on chilly 3-of-9 shooting, was in favor of playing on the glass court again in the semifinals.
“I think you should just keep it, keep it the same, just because teams have been trying to practice with that and get our minds right. I’d be OK with keeping it just because we already played our first game. If it wasn’t our first game I’d say switch it,” White said.
“Of course it will be a regular court, so we’ll be able to adjust (Friday night). But I’d say just keep it. It’s different, brings eyes to the Big 12, yeah, just keep it,” White added.
White said he did slip at one juncture of the game.
“I tied to run full court and had a pass with Elmarko and kind of slipped, and I tried to save it out of bounds. It definitely was a little slicker than a normal court, a little bit slippery, but it definitely was a normal court to me,” White said.
He said the LED court “definitely had more give. It was softer, wasn’t as hard of a landing. So that was good. Sometimes in the timeout, it would just be different colors. It would kind of catch my eye. It was just a difference. There are just more workers working on it during the game and stuff like that. But besides that, it was a normal court.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
