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Tuesday, March 27
Some things never change for Self
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Same state, different city, same game for Bill Self and his staff.
Oh yeah, and a different team.
Illinois coach Bill Self and his former Tulsa staff members Bill Gillespie and Norm Roberts have pulled off the impossible. The three are making their second consecutive Elite Eight appearance with two different teams.
How often has this happened in NCAA Tournament history? According to the crack ESPN research staff -- never.
How did this happen?
"Because I'm the only coach who left a school that went to the Elite Eight," Self said.
Self left, however, to go to a school that had everyone back from a second-round loser after Lon Kruger shockingly went to the Atlanta Hawks last June.
"He's got good players," said assistant Rob Judson, a veteran Illinois assistant who worked with Kruger and then Self. Judson will be off on his own next year as the head coach at Northern Illinois.
"This run began March 19, 2000 when we lost in the second round," Judson said. "Every one of these guys committed themselves to the weight room and to staying in Champaign over the summer and sticking together. They came back stronger and that made it easier for them to adapt to his tough style of defense and his offense."
The smooth transition, made easier by Judson staying with the team, was the "X" factor in Self making Illinois a contender a year after doing the same with Tulsa.
"We've got to do better this year," Roberts said. "We've got to."
A year ago, seventh-seeded Tulsa lost to 8th-seeded North Carolina in the South Regional final in Austin, a few hours up the road from the Alamodome. This year, top-seeded Illinois is in the Midwest final Sunday against second-seeded Arizona after each beat Kansas and Ole Miss, respectively, Friday.
"The difference is last year we snuck up on people but this year we were expected to be here," Self said. "We had really good players at Tulsa but not one great player. We've got good players here but we've got a great one in Frank Williams (30 against Kansas)."
They'll need him to beat Arizona for the second time in three meetings this year.
"No one remembers the Elite Eight teams who don't advance," Self said. "Everyone remembers the Sweet 16 and Final Four teams, but the Elite Eight teams that lose get lost. When you lose the Elite Eight it's one of the worst feelings. You've got to turn around and go to the Final Four and realize you could have been there. I would imagine that winning the game is quite the opposite."
Self preyed on the emotions of both of these teams. Last year, Tulsa played the role of no respect as they churned through the tournament, beginning with a low seed. This year, Self has got the Illini believing that the bullseye on their chest needs to be defended. He said the players relished this role of being the team that is under siege by every opponent.
"I can't say enough about these guys," Self said. "They've done everything we asked."
Win one more and Self can be the only coach who went to a Final Four after going to an Elite Eight with two different teams in successive seasons. That would be an even better stat.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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