For Kansas Coach Bill Self, Sticking to Basketball Is Convenient

It seemed like throughout most of the article the author was just trying to stir up controversy to get a couple more clicks. Most of the reports mentioned were purely speculation and the author also used an unrelated rape case that had absolutely nothing to do with the players other than the fact that the incident took place near them. Trying to throw the word rape into an article to create controversy is disgusting. Overall the article was not well researched and I am disappointed with the writing coming from a supposedly reputable news source.

John Thompson, Sr. head coach at Georgetown in the 1970's and 80's recruited a lot of inner city troubled black athletes into his program. Most of the media ripped him for bringing these underserving thugs onto campus. But, Thompson argued that recruiting underprivileged black athletes, providing a mentoring environment, and yes, trying to rehabilitate all of the self discipline, anti-social and behavioral issues was a calling not just for higher education institutions, but for Affirmative Action as a whole. KU and Bill Self have chosen that road, the hard road. They recruit some kids that come from absolutely horrific backgrounds (think the movie: Moonlighting, but worse) that are basically intelligent kids, but some with issues. They mentor, tutor, scrutinize and discipline the heck out of all of them. They are under a microscope. Often these coaches and programs and coaches are the first real homes and father figures they have had in their lives. Most graduate and go on to productive lives. The fact is we need more John Thompson's and Bill Self's. We need to rescue more of these kids, not fewer. What bothers me when I read many of these comments and this column is the complete lack of understanding of just how underprivileged many of these kids are, and how bleak their lives have been before they get to campus.

This is reminiscent of Iowa coach Steve Alford's atrocious defense of one of his players who had been accused of rape. Alford (Iowa, New Mexico, UCLA, next?) is an offender, but many coaches, administrators, boosters and fans are just as culpable in dismissing criminal behavior by "student"-athletes. Has Self learned the game too?

All colleges should end all intercollegiate athletics. The money that's involved nowadays has been proven to be too corrosive. And paying the athletes would only worsen the problem. The only solution is to end it once and for all. Big-time sports has no place in the mission of an institution of higher learning, anyway.

So Kansas's team is composed of juvenile thugs. No big deal, they'll all flame out when Self stops babysitting them. You know how it is, big college athletes that bring money in get 'special' treatment from the judicial system.

As a Kansas alum, I am troubled to read this article. Rather than sitting by a trouble-maker's side, the coach should refer the athlete to the strength/conditioning-coach for some additional training. Running suicides until you vomit rather than having the coach study with you in the morning might teach the lesson to be learned.

Why would you choose the day of a big game to run down a litany of brushes with the law, probation and time thrown off the team? In all fairness where is the equal reporting for the opposition! Unorthodox. Unforgivable. You are not playing fair. Shame on you and your biased NYT sports article!!

The headline and beginning paragraphs sound like a paean to Coach Self, who like so many others is a purported molder of young "student-athletes" into responsible and mature adults. But reading the article, I reach the exact opposite conclusion. Of course KU is a basketball school, their football teams have rarely amounted to more than a bag of beans. But I'm embarrassed for the school, the taxpayers of Kansas (the taxes Governor Brownback hasn't eliminated as he leads that state into the sewer), and the coach himself. His surname says it all, doesn't it? Sure many of his players, arriving as some of the most talented recruits on the planet, make it to the NBA where they earn magnitudes more than their overpaid multi-millionaire coach.
Bragg should have been dismissed. Josh Jackson is the subject of a Title IX investigation launched by the family of the female whose car he damaged. One offense, mild punishment including missing some games. Second, dismissal from the program and university. He could then sign with an agent who would advance him money to prepare for the NBA draft.
Coach Self's lack of willingness to discipline his players will have ramifications down the road. If his players can't learn the lessons from lack of self-control in college, how will they do so when they're earning fat paychecks playing professionally?
Unlike the other schools mentioned, KU's excellence on the hardcourt hasn't done diddly to elevate its academic reputation. Because it's Oz.

How convenient, for him and the " school ". Let the boys do anything, as long as they win. Right???

"An earlier version of this article misstated the incident for which Josh Jackson’s court date was moved. The court date for his traffic violations was moved, not for his property-damage incident."

Get your facts straight, Ms. Macur. If you're out to do a muckraking piece on issues that affect the lives and reputations of young college athletes, you can't muck up key facts. The property-damage incident IS old-news (from last December) and it was dealt with at the time; and the recent "traffic violation" was from backing into a parked car. Josh Jackson shouldn't have his name trashed by you in the NYT sports pages as if he is some sort of criminal dodging the system—for backing into a parked car—just so you can flesh out your muckraking story line.

This is disgusting. Why are athletes not held to the same standards as everyone else? Why do we make excuses for domestic violence, drug abuse and rape? Playing is a privilege. Is winning so important that we should sacrifice character?

It's hard to make a case for this in today's society however...look at our politicians. How can we teach our children the value of honesty and character when some of our country's most prominent figures are allowed to be liars because of their wealth and status?

This is why I am a Virginia fan. Austin Nichols had some serious issues earlier in the year. Tony Bennett kicked him off the team.
It affected the W/L record. But you have to stand up for principles even if it means your star can't play.

Coach K and Self think differently and make a mockery of the word 'indefinite'

Meanwhile, they play a Purdue team with Academic All-American (and All-American) Caleb Swanigan who also happens to be the best player in the country. He too was born into terrible life circumstances, homelessness and more before he was adopted at 360 lbs in 8th grade - obese and not on road to b-ball stardom. Instead, he ended up finishing HS in 3 years, and at 19 is likely his last year in college as he too will go to the NBA. But, at 19 yo only 20 hours away from college degree as sophomore at must more rigorous university academically than KU, he's smart enough to know he can always go back to school if he needs - and stay out of jail. Too bad some of the Jayhawks may soon be Jailbirds if they don't shape up.

Counseling must not be a strength of his since so many screw up.Try kicking a few off the team and set an example, for once,instead of telling the world how proud he is. All about winning! The rest is just noise!

As the writer well knows, this excellent column fits into a recurring pattern: someone peeks backstage to show that "the show" has tragic human costs, a few people shake their heads over how tragic it indeed is, and the show goes on.

This is not to dismiss the column. We need it and others like it as long as "the show" continues.

But the recurring pattern should open our eyes to the fact that "the show" of American intercollegiate athletics is corrupt at its core. No number of worthy student-athletes who might otherwise not have gone to college can justify the corruption and its human cost.

Although much of the country persists in denial of it, the obvious fact is that America's college and university system should not be in the business of running minor league farm systems for professional sports leagues. After high school, young men and women with potential to become professional athletes should be pursuing this goal full time outside the educational system.

I come down on the opposite side of everybody else. They ignore thee backgrounds of the kids Self is working with. LaGerald Vick, for example, has no idea how many brothers and sisters he has. That's because his "dad" fathered 15 kids or so. Vick comes from one of the worst neighborhoods in Memphis and went to one of the worst schools there. He's got smarts, but he's got little discipline and a million behavior issues. Self and the rest of the Kansas staff are trying to get him to do what he can to stay out of trouble and to go to his classes. Their ultimate goal is for him to excel on the court. But it's all for nothing if he doesn't behave. This is a kid destined to follow in his father's footsteps. But basketball gives him a chance. Even if he doesn't graduate but he passes enough classes to stay eligible, he can make a name for himself on the court. Guys like that can open car dealerships or restaurants and escape from the hell where they grew up. If Self succeeds with Vick, and Vickck succeeds in the world, Self will have saved a life. Chalk up one miracle to Self and to the Jayhawks.

What if Self and the university chose not to recruit players with questionable characters?

When the game tips off, your SAT score and your character are far less important than your ability to score the basketball and to "D up. Big time college football and basketball players endure a kind of indentured servitude in pursuit of athletic glory. The coaches are paid millions, the players get pennies. Success in the tournament guarantees riches for the NCAA, the coaches and the schools. The people doing the actual work and risking their health, get to hold a shiny trophy and a hat and a t shirt. If they win. At the Division One level, the athletes are far more athlete than student. The Kansas coach is working within the system established over the years by the grown ups to bring us the college football playoff and "March Madness." To expect a highly regarded coach to let a star player answer for his conduct at the risk of wrecking the teams pursuit of a national title is like hoping for water from the moon. We like our bread and circuses entirely too much for that.

The NCAA (division I) is a cartel which exists solely to generate revenues. Its football and basketball athletes are playing unpaid minor league sports (read slavery) to generate this revenue for the colleges and save expenses for the major leagues. Besides this being morally offensive, football, certainly, leads to cognitive damage and other debilitating health effects which will be borne by the athlete and society. Fans of the events must also share in this travesty. In order to feed the machine, division I colleges have long found ways to employ uneducated, illiterate or otherwise unmeritorious youth while hiding their academic or social deficiencies. This serves neither the player- who needs basic training badly, or society, by creating pervasive incentives to cheat.

The court may be a safe haven but it is the "civilian" population that is safe while the players are on the court.

We are talking about young people. They make mistakes. They are learning. And, yes, they get traffic tickets and use drugs. What a hatchet piece of writing.

I think you'll find that if you look at the evidence in these cases they are not always corroborated by other witnesses. There seems to be an angry father that is source for much of this information and the coverage reflects the evidence he decides to dole out.

Is it not possible to have a winning team without having to engage in dubious contact to keep them out of jail? And when is Self going to trot out the old bromide about how playing a sport develops character? The shame of university sport lives on!

What did the coach do? Teach them how to shake hands? Wow.

Ah yes, the collegiate basketball "scholar athlete", and their athletic professors, NCAA "coaches", or, as the coach down the road in Durham likes to be referred to as, "leader of men." That same august institution down the road, founded by Pious Methodists for the purpose of molding upright and Godly character, now the "Harvard of the South," admits young disadvantaged black men who play really well with a ball, let's them sleep in the back row of cribbed classes, covers up their transgressions, and then sends them off to their destiny after a year or two, degreeless. At least one of them, now playing professionally, believes the earth to be flat. True. Well done, Harvard of the South.

Meanwhile, the august State University down the road, a "Public Ivy'" with a rich history of social justice and enlightenment, apparently doesn't bother to even send their "scholar athletes" to class, preferring instead to just pencil in grades for them. The coach, of course, knows nothing. As best I can tell, no recent "scholar athlete" at this august institution believes the earth to be flat, however. Well done, Public Ivy.

And finally, there's the more pedestrian university out on the great midwestern plain, whose athletic professor pulls down 3 million a year in public funds in a state so broke they can't even patch the roads, who "couldn't be prouder" of his young "student athletes" accused of gang-raping minors in University housing.

Something peculiar about all this? Nah.

This just shows that the "mission" of school athletics and education are separate but not equal.

Is this article serious?
". In one instance, when the freshman star Josh Jackson was questioned by the police in early December about the possibility that he damaged a car belonging to a Kansas women’s basketball player, Self was right there in a study room of Jackson’s dorm, at his side"
It's written as if Self is some kind of noble leader guiding his plucky band of well meaning but misunderstood young men against external adversity. Instead he is a garden-variety basketball factory coach using his power and skills to keep a group of guys with troubling behavior patterns playing Division 1 basketball. He is the emblem of what is wrong with, not good about college athletics. I will be curious to know how many of these naifs will get a degree and what will happen to those who don't make the NBA once they leave school or the billion dollar college hoops industry is done with them.

What an embarassing, disheartening article for this Jayhawk.
Basketball players were demi-gods back when I was there, but I thought universities were doing more these days to enforce rules and protect victims of rape, sexual assault and assault.
Aren't there any talented kids out there who already know how to stay in line? And are maybe even interested in a college degree?

Football and basketball players often come from backgrounds very different from the typical college student. They're not stupid -- they have to meet school SAT standards. But when your father was shot, violence is everywhere, and your mother may not be able to raise you, you are behind the 8 ball when you walk onto campus.

Coaches have to meld these kids with more typical kids into a winning team -- that's the job. Self seems to have faced extraordinary challenges. But few, if any, make it through without incident. To get the best player from Compton to work together with the best player from a suburban school requires instilling mutual respect. Virtually all coaches start the year with what looks like anything but a team.

Many say college coaches are overpaid. And maybe they are. But their jobs are probably the hardest on campus, and whatever they are paid, they earn it.