ESPN’s bold prediction has KU’s Bill Self leaving for NBA after upcoming season

Speculation that KU basketball coach Bill Self would one day leave for the NBA has been a constant for years.

Self was born and raised in Oklahoma and played at Oklahoma State, so his name has been thrown out as a possible Oklahoma City Thunder coach.

In 2013, Self admitted he hadn’t closed the door on the idea of coaching in the NBA, and in the last few years, his name also has been linked to other teams from the Cavaliers to the Rockets.

But could Self make the move to an NBA team in 2019?

ESPN’s Myron Medcalf made bold predictions for the upcoming college basketball season and that included Self going to the NBA after leading the Jayhawks to another Final Four appearance.

One reason? The federal case into college basketball corruption.

“He has the potential to win another national title with a unique squad that features Dedric Lawson, a 6-9 forward as a point forward and a top-10 recruiting class,” Medcalf wrote. “He’ll take that squad to the last stage of the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season. And then, Self will hear from an NBA team that will make him an offer he can’t refuse. At Big 12 media day, he said he won’t run from the FBI drama. He can’t. But he can end his NCAA career, head to the NBA and leave some of the drama behind.”

You can read more of what Medcalf wrote about KU and his other predictions here. And vote in our poll about Self’s future:

This story was originally published November 5, 2018 at 10:47 AM.