Lookin’ sharp: Suited Self, squad stylin’ at Late Night
Bill Self wore oversized black rimmed glasses, white shirt, black bow tie, black slacks, black shoes and no socks as he addressed his team in a video prior to the men’s basketball portion of Late Night in the Phog in Allen Fieldhouse.
Oh, yes, Kansas University’s 12th-year coach also wore the same black-and-white striped, rather loud suit that Andrew Wiggins sported in Brooklyn, New York, the night he was selected first in the 2014 NBA Draft.
“You have three assignments tonight,” Self told his Jayhawks while writing on a blackboard in his snazzy outfit. “Try hard. Have fun. … And Andrew set the tone. It’s time for us to look the role of being the best.
“Let’s look good!” Self exclaimed to his troops.
Prophetic he turned out to be as the 2014-15 Jayhawks looked rather flashy during a Late Night “evolution of hip hop dance number” and a 20-minute scrimmage to conclude the festivities before a crowd of 14,000 fans in a building that seats 16,300.
“We went to the thrift shop, and they only had one jacket. We had to make it one-size-fits-two. Basically, we got it together. I’m going to send it back to him,” Self said jokingly of Wiggins.
“That was probably one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done. They (script writers) thought it was funny. It was a pretty identical outfit. He looked better in his, though.”
“It (Self’s suit) was funny. It didn’t cost as much as Andrew’s, though,” sophomore guard Wayne Selden said after scoring 17 points off 7-of-12 shooting (3-of-5 threes) in the Blue Team’s 37-37 tie with the Crimson squad.
Self also had a pair of memorable lines in a video in which he addressed fans from his office.
“We don’t always wear jewelry, but when we do we prefer a ring on each finger. Rock Chalk, my friends,” Self said, wearing his 10 consecutive Big 12 title rings on his fingers and thumbs.
“We don’t always win championships, but when we do we prefer 10 straight,” he added with a foreign accent.
He was impressed with the play of several Jayhawks in the 20-minute scrimmage.
I thought Cliff (Alexander, 12 points, four rebounds) did well. That’s not real ball,” Self said of the sloppy scrimmage. “I thought Devonté (Graham, three points, two assists) looked pretty good. I thought Svi (Mykhailiuk, three points, 1-for-8 shooting) looked great. All he did was just miss shots, but he was aggressive. He hasn’t been that aggressive in practice the whole time. Kelly (Oubre Jr., five points, three rebounds) was good, too. Kelly made three plays in the first two possessions. It wasn’t well played by any stretch. I thought they did fine.”
The Crimson team actually had a chance to break the tie at the end of the scrimmage.
Sophomore Frank Mason drove to the goal for the final shot, then passed far out to the perimeter, the ball deflecting to Self on the sidelines as the clock expired.
“They called ‘4-up’ play. I was telling Perry (Ellis) to wait to do it (set screen up top for Mason). You should wait until 8 (seconds) or so to make sure you get the last shot. Instead, I got the last shot on the pass out of bounds,” Self said with a smile.