Bill Self feels reenergized entering 2025-26. Can KU basketball match that level?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bill Self changed lifestyle after stent procedure, lost weight and shifted practices.
- KU opens 2025 ranked No. 19; roster gains athletic depth, size and guard play.
- Self says KU must reach top-10 level in big games to compete with elite teams.
A noticeably slimmed-down Bill Self acknowledges he’s changed his lifestyle a bit since undergoing a late July heart catheterization that included the placement of two stents for the treatment of blocked arteries.
The 62-year-old Self, entering his 23rd year as KU coach, in fact at Wednesday’s KU basketball media day informed reporters he’s improved his diet.
After shedding a significant amount of pounds, he’s sleeping much better than in the past while also celebrating a new daily routine that includes holding morning practices instead of mid-to-late afternoon team workout sessions.
“I feel fine. I feel good,” Self said during a news conference held in advance of Friday’s 41st Late Night in the Phog (6:30 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse).
“I’ve had a couple of wake-up calls, but this was probably a bigger knot on my head than even the first one,” he said referring to a heart procedure that kept him from coaching in the 2022-23 postseason.
“The way it’s probably changed (me) as much as anything, I’ve never been one of healthy habits, so to speak, but I’ve gotten a lot better. I haven’t had any fried food or fast food or red meat or yellow cheese or anything in three months almost. God, what a way to live, but I actually feel a lot better,” he added, smiling.
Self said his past heart concerns haven’t made him change the way he’s coached on the court.
“I think I have more energy this year coaching so far than last year for sure. Sometimes I don’t know that we know that we feel that bad until we actually feel good and you see the difference, because I was kind of just going through the motions,” Self said. “I definitely feel better than I did. It’s noticeable.”
Self also has a positive frame of mind after holding several weeks of practice with this 2025-26 team, one ranked 19th in the preseason AP poll. That ranking, KU’s lowest since the 2008-09 campaign when the team opened at No. 24, follows back-to-back seasons in which KU was ranked No. 1 prior to the first game.
“This team is equipped to be better than last year’s team was, for sure,” Self said of this year’s Darryn Peterson/Flory Bidunga-led squad, which is hoping to finish better than the 21-13 unit of a year ago. The 2024-25 Jayhawks lost to Arkansas in the first round of the NCAAs.
“Nothing against last year’s team, but this year’s team is more athletic and deeper. We have a guy that on any given night hopefully we can run bad offense and he can (still) come away with points,” Self said of freshman point guard Peterson. “We didn’t have that as much last year as what I’d hoped we’d have this year. The bottom line is we’re a better team.
“The preseason … we knew we weren’t preseason No. 1 last year when that (preseason top 25) came out. Now, did we play to that level? We did a couple times. I mean, beating Duke and we had some other good performances, but that wasn’t a team that could sustain it athletically, just because we didn’t have the same bodies as maybe some years past.”
Self said it “remains to be seen” if this KU team can get to that level.
“This year, it (No. 19 ranking) doesn’t bother me at all,” Self said. “It wouldn’t turn me on or turn me off one way or another, but I do know this: There’s a lot of good teams out there on our schedule and we’re going to have to play to a top-10, top-5 level to compete with the best teams on our schedule for sure.”
Self praised not only freshman sensation Peterson Wednesday, but some others at media day.
Of sophomore big Flory Bidunga, Self said: “He’s gotten better on the perimeter, not so much shooting the ball from distance, but he’s gotten better at that,” Self said of the 6-10 native of Democratic Republic of Congo. “I’m talking about ball handling, his playmaking. Playing with Hunter (Dickinson last year), in many ways, I think did help him, because (Bidunga) saw what a good passing big looks like.
“He’s become a good passer and much better screener and getting out on the short roll guy. He could make a case for being maybe as consistent a player as we’ve had so far.”
Of 6-7 senior transfer Tre White, formerly of the University of Illinois, Self said: “Tre White has outplayed everybody else (in terms of playing in the frontcourt at the same time as Bidunga). His skill set does complement Flory really well because he’s a stretch 4 where we need to have the floor spaced so people can’t clog it up. Tre has been one of our best performers so far.”
Of McDonald’s All-America point guard Peterson, Self said he is coaching him the same as every other player on the team
“He’s been great as far as accepting responsibility,” Self added. “He wants to be great. He wants to be good. But he needs to be told just like everybody does is what makes him good here and what translates to the next level. He’s still 18-years-old. Even though he has a mature game and everything is in slow motion he’s still just a kid that still has to go through his ups and downs and figure it out. He obviously has a chance to have a special year.
“He comes in with a lot of hype. The hype is real. But still he’s going to have dips. How many rookies of the year in the NBA still do this?” Self added, waving his hand in a peaks and valleys motion. “Cooper Flagg last year at Duke ... I would think he still had this especially early. His approach is right.”
So what comes next?
“He has to get more consistent with some things he’s never been told are important, like moving without the ball, being harder to guard when you don’t have the ball,” Self said, “because people will take that away now. There’s still a lot of things he has to learn. He’s a willing learner.”
This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Bill Self feels reenergized entering 2025-26. Can KU basketball match that level?."
