Bill Self opens up about the pressure to win a national championship amid 14-year drought

There’s no doubt that Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self is seen as one of the best to ever do it in college basketball. He’s won 16 Big 12 regular season and nine tournament championships in Lawrence and appeared in his fourth Final Four on Saturday. However, it’s been 14 years since Self was holding up the trophy on Monday night and ended the season as a national champion.

During a press conference on Sunday morning, Self addressed the title drought before his team faces off against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday. He said he does not feel any pressure to add another championship to his resume, despite the high expectations the Kansas program can bring.

“Well, it has been,” Self said. “We’ve had some really terrific seasons and some great teams that came up short. And I do think that when you have as many good teams as we’ve had — at most places winning one national championship would be quite an accomplishment — I think as many good teams as we’ve had, one’s not enough.

“And so I don’t think that I personally feel pressure that we have to win. But I do know that when you have a chance to coach at a place where you have an opportunity to be in the game most years, you need to take advantage of that more than we have.”

Kansas last won the national championship during the 2008 season, defeating John Calipari and the Memphis Tigers in San Antonio. Even for such a historic run Self has been on throughout his time with the Jayhawks, it’s his sole title in Lawrence. For all of the wins Kansas has all-time, recently overtaking the Kentucky Wildcats for the most all-time, a few more banners are wanted at Allen Fieldhouse.

Now, another opportunity will present itself to win it all in early April against North Carolina on Monday night. It’s been another season with conference accolades for the Jayhawks, sharing the Big 12 regular-season title with the Baylor Bears and winning the conference tournament in Kansas City. Making their way through the Midwest region including wins over the Providence Friars in the Sweet Sixteen and Miami Hurricanes in the Elite Eight, another deep tournament run has brought expectations.

Bill Self will need to capitalize on them, especially with the Tar Heels coming off an emotional win. Another national championship would truly capture how great the head coach has been for nearly two decades.