His tie loosened around his neck, a worn-out Bill Self looked a bit disheveled upon meeting his Kansas University basketball players for the first time Sunday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

“The first thing I thought was, ‘This guy looks terrible,'” sophomore forward Wayne Simien quipped. “He had bags under his eyes. It looks like he’s not slept. It shows he’s working hard.”

Simien and several of his KU teammates said they liked what their new coach had to say during a meeting that lasted longer than an hour.

“He’s cool. The first impression was real good,” Simien said. “He said his bit and gave us a chance to ask questions. He will work hard for us.”

One of the questions the Jayhawks asked was about Self’s style of play.

The Jayhawks’ ears perked up when Self said he had no plans to change KU’s running ways. His Illinois team averaged 74.6 points a game this season, compared to KU’s 82.7 mark. Illinois allowed 61.6 points, while KU’s opponents scored 66.9.

“He says he does (want to run),” Simien said. “The Big Ten is not exactly a running conference, but down here he will have a different style. He said he played with what he was dealt.”

Running is what the Jayhawks do best.

“He said he will never take away from a player’s game. He wants to run,” sophomore guard Michael Lee said. “He is a down-to-earth guy, a player’s coach. He said, ‘Never look at the bench when you make a mistake.'”

Added freshman forward Moulaye Niang, “He’s not going to change anything. He will leave it the way it is. He said if we play hard, it’s going to be fun. He said he’s different from coach (Roy) Williams but is also a good coach.”

The Jayhawks seemed to like the coach’s personality.

Former Illinois coach Bill self, watching the Illini men's basketball team practice during the 2002 NCAA Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., has agreed to replace Roy Williams as head coach at Kansas University. KU has scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. today to introduce Self as the Jayhawks' new coach.

“He’s a real good guy. I was familiar with him before today. He recruited me out of high school,” sophomore guard Keith Langford said. “He’s a good coach.

“Any good coach will adapt to the type of players he has,” Langford added. “He will not take guys who have been successful running and play halfcourt.”

The Jayhawks appeared relieved to have a coach in place six days after Williams bolted to North Carolina.

“It’s the beginning of a new chapter,” Simien said. “I do feel for the players at Illinois. We know how they feel.”

“I can empathize,” Langford noted. “But we’ve got a good coach now and hopefully they will too.”

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Signees to be phoned: Self was hoping to call KU’s four signees as soon as possible.

“He said the first thing on the list was to holler at the new guys,” Simien said of Jeremy Case, J.R. Giddens, David Padgett and Omar Wilkes.

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Langford’s mom on board: While the families of most KU players are eager to meet Self, Langford’s family already is acquainted with the former Illinois coach and his staff.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Charlene Taylor, Langford’s mother. “He was recruiting Keith when he was at Tulsa, but he ended up taking the job at Illinois. Keith is pretty familiar with him. He was cool. I always thought he was a good coach.”

Self left Tulsa for Illinois in the summer of 2000. Langford originally orally committed to Mississippi but later changed his mind. When the swingman reopened his recruiting, Self tried to recruit Langford to Illinois but the Texan didn’t want to move that far from home.

Langford’s younger brother, Kevin, also was contacted by Illinois, but assistant Norm Roberts hadn’t succeeded with the high school junior. The small forward’s top-five schools are Stanford, Wake Forest, Virginia, Kentucky and Kansas. Georgia Tech also is trying to get involved.

Taylor said it was unclear how Williams’ defection from KU and Self’s hiring would influence her younger son’s recruitment.

“Kevin really likes coach Williams, and Kevin doesn’t like too many people,” she said. “He’s really different from Keith.”

Keith Langford and his mother both are pleased with the hire.

“He was the No. 1 guy all along,” Taylor said of Self. “He’s a good recruiter. He’s a good guy. It’s a real positive for the healing process. This will breathe new life into the program. They’re excited. They’re looking forward to working with him.”

Taylor talked to a few of the Jayhawks, including Keith, by phone Sunday night. She said the players gave the 40-year-old Self at least one advantage over the 53-year-old Williams.

“They actually think he’ll be better for recruiting,” Taylor said. “Kids are different these days. A lot of your blue-chip recruits are inner-city kids, so they’re looking for someone on the staff who they can relate to. Coach Self is good at that, and his No. 1 assistant — Norm Roberts — is good at that.”

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No comment: Self likely will tell the media today he felt awkward having to dodge reporters Sunday. KU didn’t schedule the news conference to announce his hiring until today. Self is known as a media-friendly coach, but had no comment at all Sunday.

“I’m usually not this difficult to work with, but I’ve been told I’m off limits to you guys,” Self told Knight-Ridder news service. “We’ll be able to talk tomorrow.”