City of Basketball Love

Sarah Kelly Shannon (@thesarahkelly)
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SAN ANTONIO -- In Bill Self’s 15 seasons at Kansas, fewer teams have seen more consistent success than the Jayhawks. This year, the Jayhawks’ head coach is at his third Final Four with KU after winning a 14th straight Big 12 regular-season title and his eighth conference tournament title. The last Kansas team to miss the NCAA Tournament was the 1988-1989 squad, before any of today’s Jayhawks players were born.

You know who’s also consistently good? Jay Wright, who’s led Villanova to two Final Fours in three years -- including a national title in 2016. On this remarkable run, he’s coached Villanova to four straight seasons with at least 30 wins each. The only other coach to do that in NCAA basketball is -- you guessed it -- Bill Self. That makes Self, the opposing coach in Saturday’s semifinal game, uniquely qualified to discuss the Wildcats’ success.

“Well, I think that Jay's always been a terrific coach,” Self said Thursday in his characteristic folksy Oklahoma drawl during a press conference at the Alamodome as his team prepares for Saturday night’s Final Four matchup against the Wildcats (8:49 PM, TBS). “I mean, there's no doubt about that.

“But in the last five years they've lost 21 games. That's 4.2 a year. I mean, think about that. And think about the league they play in and think about the non-conference schedule. So certainly not only have they recruited well, that also means they have depth. That also means that the culture is great.”

Nova’s success doesn’t depend on a single player or even a single class. Behind Darrun Hilliard’s leadership (and his 19.9 points per game) in 2014-2015, the Wildcats finished 33-3, earning Big East regular-season and tournament titles en route to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. With his departure, Hilliard handed the keys to 2016’s Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four in senior Ryan Arcidiacono -- and we know how that ended.

After losing Arcidiacono (and starting center Daniel Ochefu) to graduation, Villanova followed up with a 35-2 season behind 2017’s Big East Player of the Year Josh Hart and All-Big East Honorable Mention (also the guy who shot that buzzer-beating trey in the previous year’s title game) Kris Jenkins. Now, without Hart or Jenkins, the Wildcats find themselves two wins away from another national title, led by AP National Player of the Year Jalen Brunson.

Not bad, and not a fluke.

“It's hard to say ‘well they're the best,’ or -- everything's relative based on what your potential is,” Self said of Wright and Villanova. “But certainly I think they have maximized their potential and got as close against their ceiling over time as anybody has.”

Self has coached high-profile underclassmen like Joel Embiid, Kelly Oubre, Andrew Wiggins, and Josh Jackson -- but the most impactful players may have been the four-year guys in Perry Ellis, Marcus and Markieff Morris, and Sherron Collins. The same dynamic is present this year at Kansas, with seniors Devonte’ Graham and Svi Mykhailiuk leading the team in scoring while freshman Silvio De Sousa and sophomore Udoka Azubuike enjoy breakout seasons.

Villanova has tended to rely on its upperclassmen to lead the way, and it’s a formula that’s working -- even if those upperclassmen aren’t the one-and-done types that Self has brought on.

“When you think about an 18-, 19-year-old competing against a 22-, 23-year-old that knows how to play, even though there might be a little discrepancy in talent, a lot of times strength and experience offsets that,” Self said.

Brunson, a junior who’s graduating after just three years, and Mikal Bridges, a projected lottery pick, could be playing their last games as Wildcats this weekend. Neither has declared for the NBA draft but it won’t surprise anyone if they announce their intent to leave school when the tournament ends.

But Villanova’s success isn’t likely to end with their departure.

In waiting is Donte DiVincenzo, who this season averages 12.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while playing just over 29 minutes per game. Omari Spellman (10.8 ppg/7.8 rpg), Eric Paschall (10.3 ppg/5.3 rpg) and Phil Booth (10.3 ppg/2.9 apg) will all be back.

Arriving on campus this summer will be five-star point guard and McDonald’s All-American Jahvon Quinerly, four-star small forward Brandon Slater, and four-star power forward Cole Swider. (Swider will compete in the men’s 3-point contest at the State Farm College Slam Dunk and 3-Point Contest, which begins at 9 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2.) If recent history is any indication, Villanova can expect good things.

“I think the best teams are the ones that your most talented kids are your youngest kids but your foundation is always your upperclassmen,” Self said.

If so, then perhaps Villanova hasn’t even found its best yet. And that’s a scary thought for the rest of the Big East, not to mention the rest of the country.