KU mens’ basketball coach Bill Self chatted with KUsports.com readers Monday, answering questions about the starting lineup, his future at KU and Danny Manning’s duties.

Moderator: We’d like to thank Coach Self and our readers for their time this morning. We’ll start our chat in just a moment.

Bob: What kind of welcome have you received here in Lawrence?

Coach Self: It’s been a relatively smooth transition and one of the big reasons is because my family and myself have felt so welcome here in town. I know a lot of time people don’t like change, and change can cause you to be uncomfortable, but in this situation the transition has been relatively smooth because people have welcomed us so well.

Krista: Do you plan on keeping the skits during Late Night, or do you plan on putting your own little spin on the event?

Coach Self: I think we’ll put our own spin on Late Night, but I think the players do enjoy the skits. We probably won’t do as many of them, but we have some other things planned that I think will be more fun for the general audience. I think it will seem very similar to the past, but it may not have the same feel as Late Nights under the previous regime.

Justin: Coach, welcome to KU and good luck with the season. I know it’s early, but can you give us a prediction on who the starting five will be this year?

Coach Self: I would say that right now, based on what I know, Wayne Simien, Aaron Miles and Keith Langford have a great chance to start, obviously. David Padgett has looked good so far, and if he stays healthy he’ll challenge for a spot. And the perimeter spot could come from a lot of people. It could be a young guy like Case or Giddens, or it could be a veteran like Michael Lee. There’s a lot of guys fighting for a couple spots.

Mohawk: What did you say to the four freshman that made them want to honor their commitment to KU?

Coach Self: I really didn’t have to say much. I knew three of the four, and Omar was the only one I didn’t know, and really all they wanted to know was, “Coach, am I still going to be a wanted piece to the puzzle?” Of course, the obvious answer was “yes,” and the way we play certainly fits the players who were recruited. I think we probably got more credit than we deserved on that deal because I feel all the players really wanted to be here.

Adam: Well, coach, you’ve had quite a busy schedule since joining the Jayhawks. I would imagine you’re very eager to begin the season. What have been your most pleasant surprises at Kansas and with the team thus far? Good luck this season!

Coach Self: There have been several pleasant surprises. Of the returning players, I don’t think they really care who you recruit from a competition standpoint. I don’t think they care about anything from what gives us the best chance to win. I’ve been real pleased with that. For the most part, guys have been buying into the “we instead of me” philosophy. I’m also very impressed with the fraternity of past players. There are past players who certainly care and want to give back as much as possible to the guys who came after them. And lastly, the interest level in KU basketball is ever more than I thought looking in. I think people’s passion they feel for the Jayhawks is even more than I thought coming in.

Teri: We’re really excited to have you as our coach. How are the freshmen adjusting to college life and college basketball?

Coach Self: I think they’re doing great. I think that Jeremy and J.R. are close enough that homesickness is always a factor but not as big of one. David’s adjusted very well, and Omar is doing very well, even though all guys from outside your area go through some homesickness. I think they’ve all done well.

Mike: First off, Coach congrats to you and your staff on an excellent recruiting class. Is the staff still looking to continue recruiting players for the 2004 class or is the book closed and the staff looking at kids for 2005 now? Thanks and GO HAWKS!

Coach Self: I think in today’s time, recruiting is a never-ending process. Our focus is 2005, but certainly we’re going to continue to monitor, recruit and keep in contact with our 2004 class because something could break lose that you’re not prepared for. There are a lot of things that could possibly happen, and if you’re caught unprepared it could be devastating for your program. We hope everything stays status quo, but the chances of something unforseen happening are far greater today than in times past.

Dave: Coach, our former HC had a philosophy that were the Hawks to play their game he did not care about what the opponent did. What is your philosophy about knowing the opponent and trying to force them to do the things with which they are not comfortable.

Coach Self: I agree with the original statement, but the better your players are the more other teams have to worry about you. The less-talented teams have to worry about taking away what other teams can do. We have our principles and that’s how we are and how we play, but we will tweak things to give us the best chance on both ends of the court.

Bob: Do you feel much pressure to establish your own legacy at KU?

Coach Self: I don’t feel pressure to produce a legacy. I feel pressure to put the best product we can possibly have at the University of Kansas on the floor. I think the alumni and fans deserve that from their coach, but I’d feel that wherever I am. If you really take it as pressure your players will see it as pressure and probably not perform as well. As far as me personally, I can only be who I am and I can only try so hard and give my best, and hopefully my best will be good enough.

Dave: Coach, are you in it for the “long haul” like you were at Illinois?

Coach Self: I think at the press conference at Illinois, because I’ve been reminded many times since then, I think the question was asked if I was in the for the long term, and I said I was in it for the “long haul”, and I certainly meant that. And I still meant March 1 and every step of the way until the Kansas position became available. It was a poor choice of words, but things change, and I know that statement has been felt by some at Illinois, and I’m certain I’m going to say some things here at Kansas that I believe in but later won’t be as big of a deal as I felt initially. I’m going to tell players I’m not happy with their effort and the next day I’ll be pleased with it. We’ve all said things in the past that were felt, and over time a circumstance may change how you feel on that situation. The unexpected opening at Kansas certainly created that, in this situation. I’ve learned a valuable lesson. You never know what the future holds, but we certainly hope our future’s in Lawrence.

Ed: Has Danny Manning’s role been more defined yet?

Coach Self: Danny’s role has been defined, and he is director of our student-athlete development. He is a basketball manager, in that he performs a lot of the managerial duties that our managers do. The reason for the title is because at this point and time in his career he is not ready to pursue a career in coaching, and this lets him get in on the ground floor and see if he wants to do this in the future. Danny is not a coach. Danny is a mentor to the students in our program.

Rod: Coach Self, Welcome back to Kansas. Mizzou fans were really rubbing it in our faces when Roy left. Then, when you were announced as KU’s head coach, their exuberance died out quickly. I think you were the only coach Mizzou fans feared as a replacement to Roy. Thats when I knew you were the man for the job. Your thoughts about the KU -MU rivalry….

Coach Self: Missouri-Kansas is obviously one of the most storied rivalries in America, and we experienced it somewhat when we were at Illinois. It’s a great rivalry there, Missouri-Illinois, as well, but playing in the league takes it to another level. They’ve got great players, and I feel like our players are good and it should make for some heated contests. I like the rivalry. I think that’s why you come to Kansas, to play in games like this.

Todd: Coach will you continue to recruit California in addition to your strongholds? You sure have made us proud with your first class coming in.

Coach Self: We’ll continue to recruit the West Coast, as we’ll get more into the Southwest now, and certainly in the Midwest where we have ties and the East where we have ties. We want to go where the best players are. The past staff did such a good job on the West Coast we don’t want to stop, and I certainly expect us to be involved with some of the best players on the West Coast in the future.

Moderator: Coach Self has time for about two more questions. We’d like to again thank him and our readers for their time this morning.

Roger: My question is this: is there a particular team (or teams) that you’d be interested in kindling an in-season rivalry with through home-and-home series?

Coach Self: I do think our schedule will look somewhat different in the future, in that we will continue to play top-flight competition, but hopefully our home-and-aways will be national exposure. I’d love to play traditional powers such as Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, Connecticut, something like that. I think this will be something fans want to see, and games players will want to play in. We won’t play all those teams, but I do feel that four or five of our games in the future will be against that caliber of opponents.

Brian: What are the positives of playing a high powered team like Michigan State so early in the season?

Coach Self: The advantage of playing a team like Michigan State that early, is that it forces your workouts between Oct. 18 and that game date to be very, very serious toward preparation to get your team ready. We open up with Tennessee-Chattanooga, who swichtes defenses and will force us to be quick, and then we play Michigan State. With a new staff and four new players who are basically starting Oct. 18 from scratch, it definitely puts pressure on us to prepare even harder to be ready for an opponent like that.

Moderator: Again, we’d like to thank Coach Self for his time this morning, and our readers for their time and their questions. We hope you all have fun at Late Night In The Phog.