KU’s first practice of 2021-22 preseason pleases Bill Self: ‘We’re 1-0 after today.’
Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self headed straight from practice — first one of the 2021-22 preseason — to Hy-Vee Arena late Wednesday afternoon, eager to share his thoughts about his 19th KU team with media and guests at the 14th-annual Coaches Vs. Cancer Season Tipoff.
“We had a great day today,” Self said of the Jayhawks’ two-hour session. He was one of the featured speakers at the charity event with Kansas State’s Bruce Weber, Missouri’s Cuonzo Martin, Kansas City men’s coach Billy Donlon and Roos women’s coach Jacie Hoyt.
“Everybody got through it healthy. We’re 1-0 after today; I’m happy about that. First day of official practice … we don’t look good by any stretch, but I do see some potential. That makes it fun,” Self added.
Self said his players’ enthusiasm is high.
“We had a really good Boot Camp (conditioning program) this year in large part because of the way our season ended last year. Our guys are pretty stoked to get going,” said Self. His Jayhawks were pounded by USC, 85-51, in a second-round NCAA Tournament game last March in Indianapolis.
Of his current Jayhawks team, Self said: “I do think we’re a lot more athletic than we have been. We’ve got more playmakers. We shoot it a little bit better. That’s not saying a lot. It seems like we have not shot it very well for a while, but I’m excited about it. I am,” he added of the season.
He has an experienced squad.
“I don’t know how many teams out there have a seventh-year senior (Jalen Coleman-Lands), a sixth-year senior (Mitch Lightfoot) and three fifth-year seniors (Cam Martin, Remy Martin, Chris Teahan). I’m coaching guys that are veterans,” Self said. “They say in college basketball one of the keys to being successful is to get old and somehow stay old. We won’t have any excuses about not being old this year. We probably average being 22, 23 years of age.”
Self on entire team being fully vaccinated
Self, who had a bout with COVID this summer despite being fully vaccinated, was asked how it came to be that all 18 Jayhawk players are vaccinated prior to the start of the 2021-22 campaign. Not all NBA players have been vaccinated as training camps open.
“It wasn’t hard,” Self said of the KU players deciding vaccination was the best option in fighting off the COVID virus. “With all the stuff we went through last year — assigned seats at every meal, six-feet apart bus rides, plane rides, had to be social distanced, those sorts of things — our guys were like, ‘Yeah I want to get vaccinated if it will be different (this season).’
“It will be different. We may have to wear masks or whatever indoors. Just for us to be able to share the same locker room and facilities is a big moment, a big bonus where we couldn’t do it last year.”
K-State’s Weber comments on NIL
Kansas State coach Weber was asked about name, image, likeness — new rules that allow players to be able to make money off the court in various ways.
“We’re learning about it. It’s so new,” Weber said of NIL. “There are probably a few schools that have been ahead of it. It could be a lot of money (players potentially make). I’m not against the players making money. It’s OK. I just hope it doesn’t become the reason kids go to a school or stay at a school.
“I’m kind of old school. I’ve seen change. Kids can make money for cost of attendance. A lot of things have happened (through the years). It’s another thing we have to deal with as coaches.”
He’s spoken to other coaches about NIL.
“I talked to coach Izzo (Tom, Michigan State) about it the other day. He said a parent asked him for the first time, ‘What are you going to do, How are you going to going to help us.’ He (Izzo) said, ‘I’m going to help you become an NBA player. I’m going to help you get a degree. I’m going to help you have a chance in life.’ That’s more important than that (NIL),” Weber added.
Mizzou’s Martin on recruiting
Missouri coach Martin was asked about the importance of developing relationships with parents and players in the recruiting process.
“The thing I try to sell the young men (is) the fact you can be a CEO of a company. You can be very successful in life. We all want to be an NBA player. There’s 450 jobs in the NBA, but you can be very successful in life (with or without NBA). There’s a lot of very successful people in this world. We bring a lot of CEO’s of companies in so our guys can meet them. We can be very successful without the ball,” Martin stated.
Martin, a skilled three-point shooter during his playing days at Purdue — he hit eight threes in a win over KU in the 1994 NCAA Tournament — was asked about helping players bust out of shooting slumps.
“Five hundred shots a day in the summer time. That’s the time to become a better basketball player,” Martin said of his routine when he starred in college. “For our guys we talk about reps. That was 500 in 1993, 94. If you are not shooting 1,000 a day you are wasting your time nowadays,” he added.
Roos’ Donlon sees Allick as special player
Kansas City men’s coach Donlon on this year’s team: “We have a really good big guy named Josiah Allick (6-8, 240 junior forward). He’s got three years of eligibility remaining. We’ve got to do everything we can to make sure he’s with us all three of those years,” Donlon said.
“He’s got a chance. Lee Hunt who started the Kansas City athletic department (and) was the first basketball coach, thinks he’s by far the best big guy to ever come through our place. Our job as coaches is to try to figure a way to get our center the ball. I’ve been watching a lot of film of coach Self’s 2-game and trying to figure out ways to make sure Josiah is always involved. He is definitely an exciting piece,” Donlon added.
Kansas City plays at Minnesota on Nov. 9, Iowa on Nov. 12 and Missouri on Nov. 15.
“My assistants are already planning on recruiting for all three of those games. I might be coaching alone,” Donlon said with a smile. “It’s a great step. That’s why guys come (to Kansas City). I was a mid-major player myself and thought I was good enough to play at the highest level, play at the SEC, play at the Big 12. It’s an opportunity for our guys to go out and play.”
Donlon said he appreciated KSU’s Weber, MU’s Martin and KU’s Self for scheduling Kansas City in recent years.
Roos coach Hoyt likes her team
“Like coach Self said (about his team), the way we ended our season put a pretty bitter taste in our players’ mouths,” Hoyt said.
Kansas City lost to Western Illinois, 60-59, in the first round of the Summit League tourney. That proved to be the final game of a 10-12 season.
“I think we’ve got a group right now that is incredibly motivated and hungry to do something special. We have a perfect blend of returning players who are very experienced and solid role players, but also some great transfers. I’m very excited to get them in the mix. I think we have big things in store this year,” she said.
The Roos took a trip to St. Croix, Virgin Islands in August.
“The highlight was getting that extra time with our team,” Hoyt said. “What makes the trip so awesome is it affords us the opportunity to have 10 extra practices on top of the four hours we’d normally get (each week in summer). “It was huge for us having so many new players, having to figure out how we are going to jell. It was a great opportunity for players to get that team bonding and for me to learn more about them as a coach.”
This, that
Reggie Minton, former head coach at Dartmouth College and the Air Force Academy, as well as long-time executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, was presented the Norm Stewart Legacy Award at the event. … A football signed by Patrick Mahomes went for $6,000 during auction.
This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 6:12 AM with the headline "KU’s first practice of 2021-22 preseason pleases Bill Self: ‘We’re 1-0 after today.’."
