Student Choice Awards 2014

Best Local Celebrity – Coach Bill Self

KU coach won fans when he coached national champs in ’08

By The Free Press, Hala HamidDecember 18, 2014Leave a Comment

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Earning his 10th consecutive Big 12 Championship last season, University of Kansas head coach Bill Self has the most successive league titles in NCAA men’s basketball history.

The KU head coach has also earned five No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, been to two Final Fours and won a national championship.

Basketball has always been a big part of Lawrence, but Self contributes to the popularity.

“He’s made KU basketball more popular, and the program brings tons of excitement to basketball fans each season,” Free State junior Sidney Zavala said.

While KU has always been a blue-blood school, Self has contributed to consistently putting the Jayhawks in a position for success year after year.

Fans are expecting Self to lead Kansas to success again this season with veterans Perry Ellis and Frank Mason and freshman Cliff Alexander.

“We keep losing players every year to the NBA … [but] I think we are going to be good this year,” Free State junior Peyton Brown said. “Alexander will definitely be a replacement for [Joel] Embiid and I think [Self] is still trying to find a place for [freshman] Kelly Oubre.”

Because of KU’s success, a ticket to a game at Allen Fieldhouse is not easy to acquire. KU has 212 consecutive home game sellouts, dating back to the 2001-2002 season.

Allen Fieldhouse is undoubtedly one of the loudest and toughest place for opposing teams to play, according to espn.com. The atmosphere of a game is something that KU fans take pride in.

“[KU] could be trailing their opponent and people continue to cheer and support the team,” Zavala said. “[Allen Fieldhouse] also has so much history, with the displays of all of the banners … It’s just a great showcase of the program.”

Self’s success the past 11 years has given KU fans much to celebrate.

“His ability to transform and drastically improve his players is amazing,” Lawrence High senior Christian Espinosa said. “He is able to make average players into leaders and role players. For example, Darnall Jackson, T-Rob and the Morris twins. Bill is a legend.”