• The greatest game in which I played:
  All the games vs. Kansas State and Texas.
• What would I be doing if I wasn’t playing hoops?
  Great Question, probably still around the game of basketball in some way.
• Something people don’t know about me:
  I’m old for my graduating class.
• Advice I’d share with a young basketball player:
  Hard work “does” pay off. Trust me. Nobody said I could do what I’ve already done.

Read about all of the contestants on EW.com.

They haven’t done that poorly since.

The 70-66 victory at Missouri on Sunday game the No. 2 Jayhawks sole possession of their seventh consecutive regular-season championship in one of the toughest leagues in the country.

Since 2004, Kansas players have come and gone, been injured, left early for the NBA or just decided to transfer. At the same time, other conference schools have poured millions into their own programs and hired top coaches who signed highly sought All-Americans and helped make the Big 12 a premier basketball league.

But not once in all that time has Self’s Kansas team failed to bring home the trophy. Some years they’ve been tied for the title. But they’ve never been beaten out of it.

Rivals have been astounded by this achievement and fans have probably been spoiled. It’s a run of regular-season titles not seen in a BCS-level conference since John Wooden’s UCLA teams won 13 straight.

A panel of sports writers and broadcasters, not surprisingly, made Self their overwhelming choice Monday as Associated Press Big 12 coach of the year.

Self’s coaching colleagues probably appreciate his seven-year streak more than anyone.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon. “Bill’s done a great job. I’ve been here four years and it seems like every time we play them they’re ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the country. They have a toughness and they win road games other teams can’t win.”

Probably no one admires Self more than Kansas State’s Frank Martin, who was one of two Big 12 coaches to actually beat him this season.

“For Kansas to do what they’ve done, seven consecutive years, is remarkable,” Martin said. “It’s a credit to Bill Self. It’s a credit to his assistants, to their recruiting, their consistency in handling young men, making them perform, and getting people to coexist and put their egos aside and play and compete. That’s hard to do one year. But to do it seven years in a row is just amazing.”

Self drew 16 of 22 votes from people who regularly cover the Big 12. Turgeon had three votes, Colorado’s Tad Boyle had two and Martin one.

It’s the third time in his eight seasons at Kansas that the affable Oklahoma native has won the honor.

“I appreciate that people recognize the success we’ve had, and this is going to sound like coach-speak, but it really is the players who win championships,” Self said.

That may be. But ever since he began his head coaching career at Oral Roberts in 1993, success and championships have followed Self around like a puppy. Oral Roberts was not affiliated with a conference, but he took the long-downtrodden program to the NIT in his fourth year.

His Tulsa team finished first in its league his last two years and won a school-record 32 games in 2000. In three years at Illinois, he brought home two Big Ten titles.

Altogether, in his last 11 seasons as a head coach, Self’s teams have won nine conference championships. The other two times? They fell all the way to second place.

Of all the championships in his trophy case, this year’s was perhaps the most improbable. The Jayhawks lost two NBA lottery picks off last year’s team as well as playmaking guard Sherron Collins. They also had injuries, suspensions and the tragic death of one player’s mother, yet still finished 29-2 overall and 14-2 in the league, losing only to Texas and Kansas State.

It’s a record to be proud of, and Self is genuine enough to admit that he is. He’s also been fretting over something he’s not so proud of.

“I’ve got to do a better job of showing our guys how much I appreciate their efforts,” he said. “Their efforts have been unbelievable. They’ve been absolutely remarkable. It’s been that way ever since we’ve been here. But certainly here of late, the last few years, these guys have done some things that I never in my wildest dreams would have thought they could accomplish from a winning standpoint.”

When they beat Texas A&M to clinch at least a tie for this year’s title, Self wouldn’t let his players wear their “championship” T-shirts because there was another game to play, at Missouri.

When they won that game to claim the title outright, it was on the road so nobody cut down the nets.

“I think we’re 62-5 the last two years and we haven’t celebrated yet,” he said. “I think one thing I’ve done a very poor job of with my team is always talking about next game. And they’ve become very robotic in thinking next game, which is good in an NBA season.

“But in a college season, hey, this is a big deal to win a championship. And we need to enjoy the wins more from this point forward.”

—by Doug Tucker, Associated Press, 3/7/2011.

The win ended Dakotas 4 game losing streak and second victory over the Mad Ants this season.

Dakota (12-24) jumped out to a fast start and led 32-18 at the end of the first quarter. The Wizards led by as many as 15 in the second and Fort Wayne (16-20) would battle back to cut the halftime lead to single digits at 59-50. Goods scored 21 of his game high 34 points in the first half for Dakota.

Dakota started the third quarter with a 12-4 run and extended the lead to 17 on a Mike Anderson jump shot with 9:06 to play in the third. Fort Wayne responded by going on a 12-4 run of their own and would cut the lead to 84-80 on a three pointer by Rod Wilmont with 1:30 to go in the quarter. Dakota extended the lead back to 9 at the end of the quarter and would held the lead the rest of the way to secure the 120-113 victory.

Dakota shot 55.3% from the field and 81.6% from the line compared to 91.7% for Fort Wayne from the line.

Maurice Baker recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists while Renaldo Major scored a season high 29 points for Dakota.

Chris Kramer led the way for Fort Wayne scoring 23 points and Walker Russell added 22.

The same to teams finish the season series tomorrow after at 3:00 p.m. at the Bismarck Civic Center.

Season tickets and 5-ticket flex packs for the 2010-11 season are on sale. Single game tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster or the Civic Center Box Office. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information contact the Dakota Wizards at (701) 258-2255

Together, they helped the Wizards down the Mad Ants 120-113 in a D-League game played at the Civic Center. Goods scored 21 of his game-high and season-high 34 points in the first 24 minutes as the Wizards built a 59-50 lead. Then, Major tossed in 22 of his 29 points in the second half to help Dakota maintain control.

Maurice Baker also came up big in the second half, scoring 13 of his 21 points. He also had 10 assists.

“We had a few guys who had it going tonight, and it all added up to something positive,” Dakota coach Rory White said. “We had the young guy (Goods) who had a very good offensive game, and then we had the two veterans who really showed some leadership in the second half.” Mike Anderson and Chris Ayer added 13 and 12 points, respectively, and Mickell Gladness pulled down 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who dressed only eight players.

“We’ve had some injuries, and we had a recent call-up (Chris Johnson), so we’re playing a little short-handed now,” White said. “But this is a time for the players we have to play a lot of minutes and show what they can do. Everyone did a good job tonight. It was a good team win.”

The Wizards rolled to a 34-18 lead in the first half and from there, withstood one Fort Wayne rally after another. After a Goods basket made it 46-31 with 6:07 left in the half, the Mad Ants closed within eight, 52-44.

Dakota opened the second half on an 8-2 run that extended its lead to 69-52. Major finished off the run with a steal and dunk with 9:46 left in the third. It was 75-60 Dakota before the Mad Ants went on a 14-5 run to trim the deficit to six, 80-74. Later, Roderick Wilmont’s 3-pointer with 1:28 left in the quarter made it 84-80. However, the Wizards closed out the frame on a 7-2 run, highlighted by Goods’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Baker had 10 points in the quarter, and Major and Goods had eight and seven, respectively.

After Fort Wayne opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play by Wilmont, Major scored six points in an 8-2 run that made it 99-87. The Mad Ants roared back again, this time getting within five points, 101-96, with 6:24 left. But the Wizards put it away with a 14-4 run that Ayer capped off with a basket with 2:40 left. After that, Fort Wayne never got closer than the final score.

“They’re a good offensive team, and they’re going to keep playing hard. We knew no lead was going to be safe with them,” said Major, who made eight of his nine second-half shots. “But we kept holding them off. We’ve had trouble finishing games this season, but we finished this one.”

Major said the Wizards’ offense was in rhythm throughout. “We did a nice job moving the ball around tonight,” he said. “Mo got everybody going. Guys were getting open and making shots. It was a good night all around.”

Chris Kramer had 23 points and Walker Russell 22 for the Mad Ants.

The two teams will meet again this afternoon at the Civic Center.

Fort Wayne 18 50 72 113
Wizards 32 59 91 120

FORT WAYNE (113): Roderick Wilmont 6-14 3-3 16, Darnell Lazare 3-13 3-4 9, Wayne Chism 4-4 6-6 14, Chris Kramer 7-9 6-6 23, Walker Russell 6-15 10-11 22, Marvin Phillips 4-9 3-4 12, Corey Allmond 4-10 0-0 11, Anthony Kent 1-2 2-2 4, Carlos English 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Wittman 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 26-81 33-36 113.

WIZARDS (120): Renaldo Major 10-13 8-10 29, Mike Anderson 3-10 7-8 13, Mickell Gladness 2-6 0-2 4, Anthony Goods 11-17 9-10 34, Maurice Baker 8-12 4-4 21, Christopher Ayer 5-8 2-2 12, Javaris Crittenton 3-9 1-2 7, Brandon Johnson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 42-76 31-38 120. 3-pointers: FW 8-19 (Kramer 3-3, Allmond 3-7, Phillips 1-1, Wimont 1-6, ), W 5-12 (Goods 3-7, Major 1-1, Baker 1-1). Rebounds: FW 34 (Phillips 8), W 39 (Gladness 10). Fouls: FW 27, W 30. Fouled out: Ayer. Technical fouls: FW 2 – Russell, Lazare. Assists: FW 19 (Russell 9), W 21 (Baker 10). Turnovers: FW 21, W 23. Blocked shots: FW 2 (Chism, Phillips), W 6 (Anderson 2, Gladness 2, Ayer 2). Steals: FW 10 (Kramer 3), W 8 (Major 3, Baker 3). A: 2,658. Records: FW 16-20; W 12-24.

— By Michael Weber, Bismarck Tribune.

Bob Beaudine, the president and CEO of Eastman & Beaudine, who is recognized as the top sports/entertainment search executive in the U.S. He provided a step by step program to help the coaches find their dream through the power of relationships. His book, The Power of Who, offers a different plan than traditional networking, a time-tested, unique approach. Paul Biancardi, the National Director of High School Basketball Recruiting for ESPNU, a former assistant and head coach at the Division 1 Collegiate Level. He encouraged the coaches to have respect for the profession, the game and the people around them. As a current member of the media and a former coach, he shared practical skills on how to treat and work with the media. In addition, he discussed having a plan in place when you get your first head coaching job. After they listened to the speakers, the coaches visited with Drayton McLane, Chairman and CEO of the Houston Astros, as they watched the Houston Astros play the New York Mets at Minute Maid Park.

Mississippi Valley State coach Sean Woods doesn’t need to peruse other schedules to know his Delta Devils have the nation’s toughest.

They open the season at Georgia on Nov. 12. They later visit national powers Kentucky, Butler, BYU and Marquette. By the time they begin league play in the SWAC at Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Jan. 4, they’ll have played 13 straight road games, traveled about 12,600 miles and faced eight teams projected to at least contend for an NCAA tournament bid next season.

Why would a coach whose program has lost 48 games the past two seasons construct a nonconference schedule so difficult his overmatched team would be lucky to win more than once or twice before league play? The answer is simple: Cash-strapped Mississippi Valley State will receive a total of almost $700,000 in appearance fees from its opponents in return for providing each of them near-certain home victories.

“It’s tough on the kids to go to most of the toughest places in the country to play, but I know what we need to survive as a program,” Woods said. “I’ve got to bring in a certain amount for the university and then I need a certain amount to get my program through the year. In order to do both, I’ve got to do a schedule like the one I put together.”

Mississippi Valley State certainly isn’t the only lower-tier program that endures a few demoralizing losses each year in return for a financial windfall, but a severe budget crunch has forced the Delta Devils to schedule more of these guarantee games than most of their peers. The recession has hit the state so hard that the governor proposed merging Mississippi’s three historically black colleges last year, though it appears nothing that drastic will happen anytime soon.

Even among small-budget in-state programs, Mississippi Valley State’s athletic budget is more analogous to Division II Delta State than it is to SWAC rivals Alcorn State or Jackson State, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports. It’s bad enough that the floor in Mississippi Valley State’s basketball gym was seriously damaged as a result of a leak in the roof, yet the school may not be able to scrounge up the funds to fix the roof and replace the floor in time for the start of basketball practice Oct. 15.

Though dropping to Division II would surely ease the financial strain on the school, interim athletic director Donald Sims remains adamant the school can generate the private funding necessary to remain competitive at the top level. Sims has reduced the number of complimentary tickets available to games and ramped up marketing and fundraising efforts. As a result, last year, the school raised the most money from its alumni in his three-year tenure.

“The only thing that can help us is for our friends, alumni and supporters buy into what it would take for us to have a strong Division I program,” Sims said. “There are people who are interested in improving our condition here. We just need more people to buy into what we’re trying to do. We need all the help we can get to offset what we don’t get from the state of Mississippi.”

Until the economy improves and revenue from ticket sales and alumni donations skyrockets, a basketball schedule jam-packed with guarantee games will be a fact of life for Mississippi Valley State. Men’s basketball and football are typically the primary sources of income for college athletic departments, so schools rely on those teams and the guaranteed money they bring in to help fund other non-revenue sports.

Typically, two non-league teams will agree to exchange visits to each other’s home arenas in consecutive years, but in a guarantee game the weaker team accepts a payout to forgo its home game. The roughly $50,000 to $100,000 price tag is rarely a deterrent for bigger programs since it’s offset by a near-certain victory and hundreds of thousands of dollars in ticket and concessions revenue.

Woods said school officials told him he needed to generate between $400,000 and $500,000 from guarantee games next season in order to keep the school’s athletic department out of debt. Since Woods managed to finagle almost $700,000, he can earmark the remaining money toward his own program’s recruiting budget, operating costs or travel accommodations.

The downside of raising the money it takes to stay afloat is the mental toll playing so many guarantee games puts on Mississippi Valley State’s players.

The Delta Devils haven’t beaten a Division I opponent out of conference since Dec. 2006. They’ve gone just 3-34 in nonconference games the past three seasons, a record that is unlikely to improve substantially next season considering the caliber of opponents on the schedule and the fact that Mississippi Valley State doesn’t have a single nonconference game at home.

“We’re going to prepare to win every night like we would any other game, but sometimes reality sets in,” Woods said. “North Carolina wouldn’t get out of this schedule unscathed, Duke wouldn’t get out of this schedule unscathed, Kentucky wouldn’t get out of this schedule unscathed. It’s probably the toughest schedule in the country.”

Woods certainly wasn’t ignorant to the financial realities of his job when he left his assistant coaching gig at Texas Christian to come to Mississippi Valley State in 2008, but he admits the annual barrage of early season losses has been an adjustment. As a former Kentucky star who scored the basket before Christian Laettner’s famous buzzer-beater in the 1992 Elite Eight, Woods was far more accustomed to piling up wins than losses in November and December.

Sensing that his team wasn’t gaining anything during his first season from its string of early blowout losses, Woods altered his strategy to focus less on the scoreboard in these games and more on improving in one particular area. He has also preached to recruits that Mississippi Valley State annually gives its players the chance to play in some of the most famous arenas in the nation and compete against college basketball’s best.
Amazingly enough, Woods’ recruiting strategy seems to be effective so far. His team improved from 7-11 in the SWAC his first season to 8-10 last year and he landed perhaps the conference’s best recruiting class this season, one ranked as high as 85th in the nation by HoopScoop.

Mississippi Valley State still probably won’t be strong enough to be competitive in most of its guarantee games, but the Delta Devils haven’t given up hope of springing an upset or two. After all, there’s no better feeling for a lower-tier program than beating an opponent who’s paying you to be there.

“That’s what you dream and hope for in this situation,” Woods said. “Until we can generate more funds in our athletic department from other sports, basketball has to be the moneymaker. It’s tough, but we just have to deal with it.”

—by Jeff Eisenberg, Rivals.com, 9/16/2010.

DETROIT (AP) Bill Self, who led Kansas to the national championship last year and had the Jayhawks back in the title hunt this season, is The Associated Press’ college basketball coach of the year.

Self, who was presented the award later Friday, lost all five starters from the team that beat Memphis in the championship game, leaving him to work with two veterans and eight newcomers.

The Jayhawks finished 27-8 and reached the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament, winning the Big 12 title for the fifth straight season.

Self has a 169-40 record in six seasons at Kansas and is 376-145 in 16 seasons as a head coach. He received 28 votes from the 71-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25, easily beating Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh, who had 10.
—ASSOCIATED PRESS, copyright 2009 Associated Press

Bill Self also won the 2009 Henry Iba Award, 2009 CBS Chevrolet Award, and the 2009 ESPN.com Coach of the Year Award.