Bill Self didn’t hand-pick his new boss.

But Self, Kansas University’s men’s basketball coach, did have a say in the hiring process and does enthusiastically approve of Chancellor Robert Hemenway’s choice of Connecticut’s Lew Perkins as Jayhawk athletic director.

“I don’t know if I was in the loop every step of the way, but after they got it down to the final few — once Lew became a serious candidate, not only in his eyes but their (KU officials’) eyes — I got on the phone.

“In the last five or six days we spoke a few times,” Self said of Perkins.

Self’s first phone chat with Perkins proved most enjoyable.

“I told the chancellor and Drew (Jennings, interim AD) after our very first conversation, ‘He (Perkins) struck a chord with me.’ That’s exactly what I told them,” Self said. “I said, ‘I’m not saying he’s the guy or he’s not the guy, but he struck a chord with me.'”

Self’s and Perkins’ paths have not crossed throughout the years. They met in person for the first time over dinner Monday night.

“I’m looking at it as I’m his hire,” Self said. “That seems weird, but we came in at the same time. Nothing has really happened in the last two months. We don’t have a record yet or anything. We both are coming in on the ground floor.”

Self — he’s spoken with former Wichita State coach Eddie Fogler about former Shocker athletic director Perkins — said he is extremely impressed with KU’s new AD.

“We’ve got a guy who I believe our alumni will look at and say, ‘We hit a home run,'” Self said. “What strikes me is matter of fact — what you see is what you are going to get. He’ll be a guy who has a great sense of humor, a guy who will joke with you and have fun.

“There’s also a message in what he’s saying: ‘We’re going to do this, not necessarily my way, but the right way. We will not tolerate anything but the best.’ That’s the way it should be in any business.”

New Kansas University Athletic director Lew Perkins, standing, holds up KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway's arm after Perkins was asked the major reason he took the job with the Jayhawks. Perkins held his first news conference as Kansas AD Tuesday at Hadl Auditorium.

Perkins — and Self, too — showed their senses of humor Tuesday in an exchange at Perkins’ introductory news conference at Hadl Auditorium.

“Connecticut just took away a kid from Kansas. I told Bill if I was athletic director here that wouldn’t have happened,” Perkins said, referring to recruit Charlie Villanueva, who chose the Huskies over KU.

“You are now,” Self bellowed from the crowd, breaking up the 300 or so members of the media and fans in attendance.

Perkins says he’s watched Self’s work from afar for a long time.

“I have worked with (UConn coach) Jim Calhoun, who will be a Hall of Famer and is one of the best basketball coaches in the country. Sometime down the road Jim is going to retire,” Perkins said. “All good ADs keep lists (of possible replacements). I told Bill this the other day, that he would have been a candidate for our job if Jim Calhoun would have retired.”

Self — he left Illinois without knowing who his new boss at KU would be — says KU has made a great hire.

“I don’t care about hiring ‘my guys’. That doesn’t make any difference to me,” Self said. “I want ’em to hire somebody that gives us the best chance to be great. Hiring Lew sends a message we will do it first class and not settle for second best. I know one thing, status quo will not exist with this guy and it doesn’t make a difference how we’ve done things in the past even if they’ve been very successful. He will take everything into consideration and will try to do it the very best we possibly can.”

Self admits it’s nice to know Perkins is a former University of Iowa basketball player.

“Knowing he played basketball for coach Miller (Ralph, KU grad) and had great success with basketball programs at UConn and other places, and visiting with other coaches that have worked for him definitely gave me a sense of comfort and confidence,” Self said.

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Carter’s candidacy: Self said he also had had discussions with one of the other candidates for the job — Self’s old boss at Oral Roberts, Mike Carter.

Was Carter a serious candidate right down to the end?

“You’d have to talk to the chancellor about that. I’ll take the fifth on that,” Self joked. “I felt there were a couple of strong candidates.”

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Quips abound: Self was asked to compare his introductory press conference as KU hoops coach with Tuesday’s Perkins presser:

“I would say I’m funnier,” Self quipped, “but I can’t say that because he’s the boss. He did a nice job.”

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New digs: Self has found a place to live in Lawrence. Actually, his wife, Cindy, did most of the work locating a house in Fall Creek Farms in West Lawrence.

“We close on it at the end of this month. We close on our house in Champaign (Ill.) the first of July, so my wife did good in both regards,” Self said.

He wanted a house big enough for his players to feel comfortable coming by and hanging out. Mission accomplished?

“It will be (big enough),” Self said. “We will do some additions to it.”

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Camp popular: Self’s two sessions of basketball camp will run the next two weeks at Allen Fieldhouse and other gyms around town.

The camps are sold out with a waiting list for both sessions.

“I think there’s something like 1,080 (players) both weeks,” Self said. “There is a still a fairly long waiting list. We’re trying to steal some housing, but I don’t think there’s any way to get any more in.

“I don’t deserve any credit for that,” he said of the camp’s popularity. “That was done by the previous staff. We’re really looking forward to the camps.”

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One opening on staff: Self still has one position to fill on his basketball staff.

“My staff situation is close to getting complete. I’m not in a hurry at all,” Self said. “Coach Sutton (Oklahoma State) was the worst I’ve seen in that (hiring staff members),” he said with a grin of his former boss at OSU.

“The day before recruiting would start, I’d say, ‘Coach I need some help out there.’ He’d say, ‘All right Bill, we’ll hire somebody.’ I’ve never been one to rush in that. The reason is you give yourself time to do things. My mind has not been on it. Everybody says, ‘Don’t you want to hurry up and do this?’ Why would I want to hurry up and do it? I haven’t thought about it. I’d rather worry about other things right now that are more important. Things are slowing down and I can give this more attention and I think it’ll happen soon.”

Danny Manning has been mentioned as the likely choice to land a spot on the staff. He has had no comment on the matter.