Self’s return to U of I ends in defeat, but no tears. ‘It wasn’t emotional, not at all’
University of Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self saw familiar faces, to the tune of “eight or nine” of his former Illinois players, who greeted him before the opening tipoff of the Jayhawks’ 82-75 Maui Relief exhibition loss to the Fighting Illini on Sunday at State Farm Center.
“It was good to walk in (to arena floor through the visitors tunnel), but it wasn’t emotional, not at all,” Self, KU’s 21st-year coach, said after a game in which the Illini made 11 three-pointers in 27 attempts to KU’s three of 12.
“Would it have been (emotional) 15 years ago? Yes,” added Self, who coached the Illini from 2000 to 2003. “But there’s enough water under the bridge. I’ve had enough stuff happen in real-life episodes and events go on that make a departure from an institution not seem quite as big a deal as what I thought it was in real time.
“It was a good atmosphere. I was actually very happy that his game will prepare us moving forward because a lot of things that happened in this game will happen a lot in future games so I thought it was good for us.”.
The Illini were led by former Texas Tech guard Terrence Shannon, who hit five 3s and scored 28 points. And 6-foot-11 big man Coleman Hawkins drifted outside to hit four 3s and score 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
The 12,592 fans on hand to support Maui residents affected by this summer’s wildfires were kind to Self — he received polite applause during pre-game introductions. But they directed animosity toward former Big 10 rival Hunter Dickinson, the Michigan transfer who scored 22 points on 9-of-20 shooting for KU, with nine rebounds and two blocks in 35 minutes.
Dickinson was booed during introductions and booed more basically every time he touched the ball.
“I also think the fan interest when Hunter has the ball I think was great tonight,” Self said. “Because I think it’ll happen at other places, too. He needs to feel that. I think there were a lot of things that happened today that were good for us.”
Of Dickinson, he added: “Hunter got numbers but he didn’t play like he’s capable of.”
Dickinson, who went 0-4 against Illinois as a Michigan Wolverine before transferring to KU, was not surprised by the rude reception from the Illini student section.
“I mean it was expected playing in the Big Ten three years. They were familiar with me,” Dickinson said. “It was good for us to get a test on the road before the season starts, good for the team, We’re a new team with new pieces trying to mesh together. Playing a good team on the road was a good test for us.”
Dickinson was unhappy with his play. He was 1-of-3 from three-point range and 3-of-4 from the line.
“I know I didn’t do a good job out there. I scored a little bit,” Dickinson said. “If you give up as many as you score you are not helping your team out. I’ve got to do a better job defensively.”
KU senior guard Kevin McCullar, who left the game with “some whiplash” in the final minute, according to Self, finished with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting with eight rebounds in 35 minutes.
Self said he didn’t think McCullar would miss any time, saying, “I don’t think he’s hurt seriously or whatever. It’s a first game, an exhibition game. It got competitive at the end which was good. We jacked around, finally got a stop then made a bad pass on a break. Kevin slipped. He ended up going after the ball. Whatever happened happened after that. Certainly it was some guys playing hard.”
KU finished with 15 assists to 13 turnovers. Illinois suffered 14 turnovers against just eight assists. The Jayhawks did hit 49.2% despite the anemic effort from beyond the arc. Illinois hit 44.6% but sizzled beyond the line.
Point guard Dajuan Harris had six points on 2-of-7 shooting with eight assists to one turnover.
KU was outrebounded 39-32. The Jayhawks hit 12 of 19 free throws to U of I’s 21 of 32. KJ Adams had six fouls (14 points, four rebounds) and McCullar five as the coaches decided to not have players foul out in the exhibition.
“We’ve got a long way to go. We’re not close,” Self said. “We’ve not figured out who we are going to play yet. We got a kid hurt (Johnny Furphy, shin splints). We’ve got little depth. We knew that going in. We’ve got some issues where our margin of error is not as high as maybe what it has been some years past.”
KU will next meet Fort Hays State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse.
This story was originally published October 29, 2023 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Self’s return to U of I ends in defeat, but no tears. ‘It wasn’t emotional, not at all’."
