How Bill Self and Kansas rebuilt from their worst season - ESPN

LAWRENCE, Kan. — In retrospect, even Bill Self admits the timing wasn't ideal.

Less than an hour after Kansas' 2023-24 season ended in an 89-68 second-round NCAA tournament defeat to Gonzaga, Self was asked how long the loss would stick with him.

«I think for the last month, I've been thinking about next season, to be honest,» the Kansas coach said.

The wheels had long since fallen off for Kansas, which opened last season at No. 1 and still sat at No. 4 in early February. After opening the season with 13 wins in their first 14 games, the Jayhawks went 10-10, including 5-7 in their final 12 games. Their 23-11 overall record and 10-8 record in the Big 12 were the program's worst since Self took over in 2003.

Self looking ahead to more hopeful days wasn't a surprise. But saying it right after a 21-point tournament loss raised some eyebrows.

«If you sit in our meetings, 50 percent of the time what we're talking about isn't this year's team,» Self told ESPN in late October. «It's who we're going to recruit. Portal, money, what can we afford? Salary cap, roster management. That's what we talk about all the time. Now, the timing of saying it right after the game ...

»… But what I said was actually 100 percent accurate."

Self's postgame comments set the tone for Kansas' offseason. And after a hyperaggressive portal push in which the Jayhawks signed five perimeter players, Kansas finds itself in a familiar position as the 2024-25 college basketball season begins: No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

To tip off Year One of the Calipari era, Razorbacks Boogie Fland and DJ Wagner combine for 46 points to help get the exhibition win against the top-ranked Jayhawks, 85-69.

After two exhibition games that included a loss at