Column: What Bill Self's 'Our Jimmys were better than your Joes' comment says about the state of college basketball
Under head coach Bill Self, Kansas holds a record that may never be touched again. From 2005-2018, the Jayhawks won a power conference record 14-straight Big 12 titles, and they were a perennial national powerhouse.
Dominance became the standard under Self, and Kansas has a recent title in 2021-22. But the past few seasons haven’t been the same.
Kansas’ big portal additions have been hit and miss. The roster, especially over the past two seasons, hasn’t quite clicked, leading to back-to-back years with Self’s most conference losses ever. And now, after falling to West Virginia on Saturday, 86-75, Kansas is just 22-19 in its last 41 Big 12 games.
There’s a lot of season left, and Kansas’ generational talent Darryn Peterson has yet to get comfortable with his teammates returning from injury.
But during the 14-year regular season title streak, Kansas lost just 42 Big 12 regular season games, an average of three per season. They now have 24 losses in the last three years, including this season’s 1-2 start.
Things have changed.
Almost every ranking you look at, Kansas is currently the sixth best team in the Big 12. Arizona and Iowa State are two of the best teams in the country, and Houston and BYU aren’t far behind. Texas Tech is also rolling after a big win over Duke.
The nation and conference have closed the gap on the Jayhawks, and Self knows it.
“First of all, our league is a b****,” Self said when asked about recent struggles in the Big 12. “That’s one thing. Secondly, the way that I see this, it isn’t that we can’t have a terrific team. It isn’t that we can’t get it flipped… the margin for error isn’t like it used to be.
“We’re not bringing pros in off the bench. Let’s just call it like it is. That’s not an excuse because the guys out there are good enough, but the margin for error, you know… Our Jimmys were better than your Joes.”
But nowadays?
“That’s just college basketball,” Self continued. “It’s college basketball. Everyone is going to go through it. Some teams that haven’t gone through it are having some good fortune in why they haven’t gone through it. But make no mistake what I’m saying, not an excuse, we’ve got good enough guys, but the margin for error isn’t one where we can let teams believe that they can beat you.”
If you look at the landscape right now, Vanderbilt and Nebraska are both top-10 teams and 16-0. Kentucky’s $22 million roster has struggled. UCLA and its big-name portal addition Donovan Dent were top-15 preseason. They Bruins are 11-5 and out of the poll. Rick Pitino said St. John’s spent $10 million in NIL this year, and his team hasn’t had a dream start either.
Money, of course, still matters. It plays a role in roster building. But it no longer guarantees separation. Continuity, culture and evaluating talent remain the key to success, and with margins thinner than ever as Self mentioned, those three things oftentimes lead to winning basketball games.
And this doesn’t just ring true in just college hoops. Look at the college football playoff. Indiana and the last team in the field, Miami, are playing for a national title. There’s no Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, etc.
The world has changed.
And for the first time in a long time, Kansas is sitting in the same reality as everyone else.
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