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Bill Self isn’t interested in Coach K’s all-time wins record

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Mike Miller

Kansas head coach, Bill Self turned 50 yesterday. And at the half century mark, Self has established an impressive resume as a college coach. In four different coaching stops at Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Illinois, and now Kansas, Self has amassed 486 victories, including two Final Four appearances and a national championship in 2008.

On his birthday, according to the Kansas City Star, the Kansas coach was asked if he was at all interested in one day passing Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski record for all-time wins in Division I men’s basketball. The birthday boy downplayed any interest he had in reaching that milestone.

“Zero,” said Self. “Whoever wrote that, doesn’t know me very well. I don’t think that I’ll want to coach near that long.”

Maybe Self won’t coach long enough to get to that mark, but it’s not unrealistic he could get over 900 wins one day. In Self’s tenure in Lawrence he’s averaging just under 30 wins per season (29.8). If Self can continue that pass, he’ll be close to 800 victories by the time his newly signed extension ends after the 2021-2022 season.

The Star also reported that by the time Self turns 65, the current age of Coach K, he will have over 900 victories if he continues this pace. Self can certainly continue this success. Now in his tenth season at Kansas, Self has produced 14 NBA Draft picks, including Thomas Robinson, who went top-5 last June. Last season, he took a team with little experience to the national title game, before losing to Kentucky. He can recruit, he can coach, and that will surely rack up the wins with that formula.

Self will likely pass one milestone this season. He is 14 victories away from 500 and the Jayhawks have 20 more regular season games to go along with several postseason games. Kansas is in the middle of a nine-game winning streak, beating all but one opponent by double digits.

Terrence is also the lead writer at NEHoopNews.com and can be followed on Twitter: @terrence_payne