Self-evident: This guy can really coach

Sorry, Illinois basketball fans, but the verdict is in: Bill Self can coach.

He could for the Fighting Illini, he can for Kansas, and he'll be able to if he takes the money and runs to Oklahoma State.

Self's Jayhawks just beat two premier coaches over three days: No. 1-ranked North Carolina's Roy Williams in a national semifinal and favored Memphis' John Calipari for the NCAA title.

Three years ago Bruce Weber coached Illinois players Self recruited to second place in the NCAA Tournament. This year Self coached Kansas players he recruited to first place.

Game preparation and game management were the last questions about Self. He could recruit great players, but could he coach them to a championship?

Now it's clear he can-can, yes he can.

Illinois fans didn't like reading four years ago that I preferred Self to Weber, who had just guided the Illini to their first outright Big Ten regular-season title in years.

Weber had the job because Self abandoned it, and there is no wrath like that of a college sports fan scorned.

Illini supporters didn't like Self anymore. They wanted Weber to be better than him. As an Illinois alumnus, I did, too.

It just didn't seem likely. Weber was and is a respectable coach. Self was and is a special coach.

I always doubted Weber could elevate Illinois' program to its potential. I never doubted Self possesses all the qualities to eventually rate with this era's best coaches.

The first time I suspected Self to be that good was at the Big Ten tipoff media day prior to his first season as Illini coach.

He was standing alone. I walked up, introduced myself and mentioned the name of my newspaper.

That was it. Then I went to wait at the table where Self later would be interviewed by a collection of journalists.

He came over, sat down, looked at me and made me feel relevant by saying, "Daily Herald, huh?"

You might say he seduced me. I say he impressed me. I was a face he never saw before, with a name he never heard before, from a paper he never read before.

But he was attentive enough to recall our exchange and say, "Daily Herald, huh?"

I thought right then that this guy could go into living rooms around America and "Aw, shucks" charm the heck out of recruits and their families.

Judging by Kansas' roster, that's exactly what Bill Self does.

I never trust the character of a college basketball or football coach. Self seems polished but might be slick. He seems genuine but might be phony. He seems honest but might be corrupt.

All I know with reasonable certainty is that wherever Self is, he will win basketball games.

The tendency today is to wonder "what if" Self stayed at Illinois? Would the Illini be among the national elite like Kansas is? Would he be as successful in Champaign as in Lawrence?

Kansas alums might be asking similar questions in a few years because Oklahoma State, Self's alma mater, is about to make a huge financial play for him.

Why? Because wherever he coaches in college, even Stillwater, Self will recruit quality players and his program will play quality basketball.

Saying that isn't an insult to Bruce Weber. It's a compliment to Bill Self.