Competition is ‘as good as it gets for us’ in Maui, KU coach Bill Self maintains
Kansas’ men’s basketball players and coaches have traveled to some of the nicest places in the world during the 17-year Bill Self era.
“Going to Italy was nice. Paris was really incredible,” Self, KU’s veteran coach, said of an overseas trip to France for exhibition games in the summer of 2017. “The most beautiful place we’ve been was to Switzerland (in 2012) — Zurich and the mountains there.”
“The best place we’ve been, though, is Maui. Just the whole atmosphere, being there, the weather and the beauty,” Self said on his weekly radio show. “The competition is as good as it gets for us.”
Self’s Jayhawks, who were slated to arrive in Maui Friday night after a long day in airports and in the air, will compete in the Thanksgiving-week (Monday through Wednesday) Maui Invitational for the fourth time in the Self era and seventh time in school history. KU has won the tourney twice — once in the Self era (2015).
“I don’t remember very many fun things off the court except maybe a celebration after a big win like we had last time we were there,” Self said of the Jayhawks’ 2015 title-game victory over Vanderbilt.
“I think it (Maui Invitational) is fun and cool. Whenever you get eight teams together and you’ve got a small venue (2,400-seat Lahaina Civic Center), you are sharing locker rooms. You get the feeling with ESPN it’s a big deal and you get to be part of something that’s pretty cool.
“Every time you look outside, you are looking at water. It’s beautiful. Those are things I basically remember. It’s been very favorable going over there. I’m sure this will be another favorable trip,” Self said.
His favorite part of such travels to paradise?
“The beach, I guess,” Self said. “Every time we’re there I haven’t given the guys much of a chance to do anything until the tournament is over. When it ends, the next day (Thanksgiving Day), we spend on the beach.”
Here’s a look at how KU has fared at the Maui Invitational through the years, starting with the three appearances in the Self era. Overall, KU has won 12 games and lost six at the elite tourney.
2015
No. 5-ranked KU downed Chaminade (123-72), UCLA (92-73) and No. 19 Vanderbilt (70-63) to claim the Maui championship.
Wayne Selden (25 points, six rebounds in the final) and Frank Mason (10 points) shared MVP honors after helping KU rally from a 10-point first-half deficit.
The Jayhawks, who trailed Vandy by four points at halftime, made 15 of 24 shots the second half.
KU took the lead for good on a jumper by Mason with 18:16 remaining.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Mason said of the tourney naming co-MVPs. “I definitely think Wayne deserves it, the way he played throughout the tournament. But we just happened to get the win as a team.”
Perry Ellis scored 24 points, Mason 16 and Selden 15 in the semis against UCLA. Selden and Svi Mykhaliuk both scored 18 points to lead seven Kansas players in double figures against Chaminade.
2011
The No. 14-ranked Jayhawks defeated Georgetown (67-63) and UCLA (72-56) before falling to No. 6 Duke (68-61) in the title game. The Blue Devils improved their all-time record in Maui to 15-0 by overcoming a seven-point second-half deficit.
Duke’s Tyler Thornton, who had made just two three-pointers all season entering the game, swished two threes in the final 1:10. His first three erased a 61-60 deficit. He then buried another with 20 seconds left.
Tyshawn Taylor led KU with 17 points, but also had 11 turnovers. Thomas Robinson added 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Jeff Withey contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Robinson took the loss hard. He had to be helped off the floor by teammate Travis Releford at game’s end. KU led by seven points early in the second half, but Duke’s 12-3 run erased a 43-37 deficit. Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly scored 17 points and Austin Rivers 10 for the Blue Devils.
KU saw a 20-point lead shrink to five against UCLA in the semis but rolled in the closing minutes. Elijah Johnson scored 23 points, while Robinson had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor added 13 points and six assists. Robinson scored 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as KU topped Georgetown in the opener.
2005
The unranked Jayhawks lost to No. 9-ranked Arizona (61-49) and Arkansas (65-64) before slugging Chaminade (102-54) in the seventh-place game.
In the opener, Mustafa Shakur and Kirk Walters each had 13 points for Arizona, which hit just 28.3 percent of its shots.
Sasha Kaun scored 12 points for KU, which committed 27 turnovers and went 7:40 without a field goal in the second half after tying the game at 41 with 11:33 to play. KU hit 33.9 percent of its shots.
“I remember we couldn’t get the ball past halfcourt against Arizona,” Self said. “I was disappointed in how we played, not that we lost, because Arizona’s a great team. I thought we might be nervous and then Arizona’s pressure set the tone early. Then we dug ourselves another hole we couldn’t climb out of.”
Brandon Rush scored 20 points in a losers’ bracket loss to Arkansas. Ronnie Brewer scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. KU took out some frustration on Chaminade in the seventh-place game as C.J. Giles posted 21 points.
2001
Roy Williams’ No. 4-ranked Jayhawks were stunned by Ball State (93-91) in the first round. The Jayhawks then defeated Houston (95-78) and Seton Hall (80-62) to go 2-1 in Maui that year.
Ball State erased a six-point deficit in the final three minutes. Patrick Jackson, who scored 23 points, drove past four KU defenders to hit a game-winning layup with 0.8 seconds remaining.
He initially sped past Aaron Miles, who suffered cramps on that play and throughout the game. Drew Gooden scored 31 points and Nick Collison added 22 for KU, which trailed 55-48 at halftime.
Gooden scored 19 points as KU crushed Houston in the second of three games in Maui. Collison scored 22 points and Gooden 16 as KU downed Seton Hall to conclude the tourney with a winning record.
1996
KU, which entered the tourney ranked No. 2 in the country, defeated LSU (82-53), California (85-67) and Virginia (80-63) to claim first place.
Raef LaFrentz was named tourney MVP after scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds against Virginia. Scot Pollard (17 points, 13 rebounds) and Jerod Haase (six points, eight rebounds, five assists) also were named all-tourney. Paul Pierce was not named all-tourney despite scoring 27 points in the final.
Ed Gray scored 32 points for Cal in the semis. The Jayhawks led by just three at halftime but closed the game on a 17-0 run. Pollard had 10 boards and LaFrentz nine as KU won the rebound battle, 49-23. KU raced to an 18-0 lead in its first-round rout of LSU.
1987
KU made its first trip to the Maui Invitational in Larry Brown’s fifth and final season at KU.
The Jayhawks’ national-title campaign began with a win over Chaminade (89-62) and losses to Iowa (100-81) in the semis and Illinois in the third-place game (81-75).
Danny Manning scored 24 points to spark the No. 7-ranked Jayhawks in their opening win over Chaminade. Roy Marble and Jeff Moe had 22 apiece for No. 11 Iowa in a win over KU in the semis.
Iowa made 36 of 43 free throws; Kansas hit just 10 of 21. Manning finished with 23 points and Archie Marshall 16 for KU. Kenny Battle had 21 points for Illinois in the third-place game.
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Competition is ‘as good as it gets for us’ in Maui, KU coach Bill Self maintains."
