In this Nov. 15, 1995, file photo, Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian watches his team play Weber State during the preseason NIT in Fresno, Calif. Hall of Fame coach Jerry Tarkanian, who built a basketball dynasty at UNLV but was defined more by his decades-long battle with the NCAA, died Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015, in Las Vegas after several years of health issues. He was 84.

Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self on Wednesday remembered his good friend, Jerry Tarkanian, as a man who not only cared deeply about the team he was coaching, but many other squads around the country, as well.

“One thing I always respected about ‘Tark’ is that he loved ball. He liked watching everybody else play. He loved watching Kansas play,” Self said on his weekly Hawk Talk radio show. He shared stories about the former UNLV, Fresno State and Long Beach State coach, who died earlier in the day at the age of 84.

“I mean he’d call me after games and say, ‘Hey you guys are doing great.’ Or, ‘I like how you do this.’ Or, ‘How do you do that?”’

Self’s relationship with Tarkanian blossomed when Self coached at Tulsa and ‘Tark’ coached at Fresno State, two schools in the WAC.

“My best ‘Tark’ story … my last year at Tulsa, we were 32-5. All five losses we had a chance to win on the last possession or get a stop on the last possession and we lost. Three of ’em (losses) were to ‘Tark,”’ Self said.

“After he beat us the third time in his building for the conference championship he asked if he could talk to our guys. I said, ‘Sure, ‘Tark’ what do you want? We’re not very happy.’

“He said, ‘Gosh you guys are great.’ I said, ‘Tark’ you just beat us for the third time.’ He said, ‘We played like crap all year long, but these three games we played well. We get up to play you guys.’

“He said, ‘I’m telling you what, you can go to the Final Four. Your team is so good. You guard so well. I love playing against you guys.”’

Self’s 1999-2000 Golden Hurricane wound up reaching the Elite Eight.

“When we were at Illinois, he had retired and stayed with us for clinics. I got a group of 20 guys who lived in the community together. I said, ‘We’re going to go to dinner with ‘Tark,’ and sit around and let ‘Tark’ tell stories for hours.’ It’s what he did,” Self said.

“He talked to our (Illinois) team. He said, ‘This is the best collection of talent I’ve ever seen.’ Our players said, ‘B.S., coach. You had Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, right ‘Tark.’ He said, ‘Maybe not the best, but it’s right up there.’

“He was great. Everybody liked ‘Tark.’ It’s a sad day, but he definitely impacted a lot of lives, gave a lot of kids second chances who ended up contributing greatly to society. He impacted our game. He and coach Smith (Dean, who died Sunday) did it polar opposite ways, polar opposite,” Self added. “Both were very effective in their approach without question. We lost another coaching icon today.”

Nearing 1,000: KU junior forward Perry Ellis needs three points Saturday against Baylor (noon, Allen Fieldhouse) to become the 56th KU player to score 1,000 points.

“Perry’s been a consistent scorer for us,” Self said. “If Perry is here next year and doesn’t opt to try to do something different and go out and play pro ball, you’d think he’d have a chance at the 1,400 to 1,500 range which would probably put him in the top 20 in career scoring. That would be a nice accomplishment. For our sake, let’s hope it happens Saturday. He’s only three away and we need him to score more than three points,” Self added.

Visitor list grows: So far, three Jayhawks in the NBA have said they’ll be in town for Saturday’s game against Baylor. Philadelphia 76ers rookie Joel Embiid is coming to town over NBA all-star weekend, Self said Wednesday. Also on hand will be Nick Collison (OKC Thunder) and Ben McLemore (Sacramento Kings).

Howard pleads guilty to misdemeanor: KU assistant coach Jerrance Howard pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug possession in Illinois’ Peoria County last summer, the Peoria Journal-Star reported Wednesday.

According to the report, Howard, 34, was arrested in July 2014 for unlawful possession of cannabis and ordered to pay nearly $1,200 in fines and court fees and placed on six months of court supervision, which ends Friday.

Self told the Journal-World he is aware of the incident and is in the process of learning more.

“I just found out about this late this afternoon. I’m certainly disappointed,” Self told the J-W. “But it is a personnel matter and all personnel matters are handled internally. I won’t have any further comment until we are able to gather more information.”

Howard, a Peoria, Illinois native who played for Self at Illinois and served as a team captain, joined Self’s coaching staff at KU prior to the 2013-14 season.

Self on Svi: A Hawk Talk caller asked about the progress of freshman Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, who had no points in nine minutes in Tuesday’s win at Texas Tech. He had played three minutes in the previous six games.

“It’s hard to play 10 or 11 guys. He’s a little behind some of the guys playing in front of him now or he’d be playing. Defensively he’s probably more advanced than a couple of those guys. Offensively he’s behind because of youth, strength, experience,” Self said.

“That is the way it is at places that win,” Self added of players in the past such as Thomas Robinson, Jeff Withey, Sherron Collins and Markieff Morris waiting their turn.

“It may be disappointing to him (Svi) … I know it is because we’ve talked. He wants to play more and contribute more but he’s going to be a good player. I feel good about him. I think he’ll be terrific.”

In talking about other players who waited their turn, Self noted that former NBA Developmental League player Mario Little now “is by far the best player in our gym when he plays with our guys.”

Self on Alexander: Of Cliff Alexander, who made his second start and scored 10 points with four blocks Tuesday, Self said: “He did fine, not that anybody has done poorly … we need a little different look. We played so well and won a lot of games playing the way we’d been playing. At the end of the day it (lineup with Jamari Traylor in post) is awfully small. Hopefully Cliff can give us a presence inside and Mari that great energy off the bench.”