Bill Self
FILE - In this March 21, 2019, file photo, Kansas head coach Bill Self reacts in the first half during a first round men's college basketball game against Northeastern in the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City. A person familiar with the situation says the University of Kansas received a notice of allegations from the NCAA on Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, that alleges significant violations within its storied men's basketball program. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the NCAA nor the school had announced the notice, which was first reported by Yahoo Sports. That initial report, citing unnamed sources, said the notice included three Level 1 violations tied primarily to recruiting, lack of institutional control and a responsibility charge leveled against Hall of Fame coach Self. (AP Photo/Jeff Swinger, File)
 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- This isn’t Cleveland State in the crosshairs. This isn’t Jerry Tarkanian or Bruce Pearl under the bright light.

This isn’t a shooting-star program that cobbled together all of its resources and rogue recruits for One Shining Moment.

This is Kansas.

This is Kansas, ironclad rulers of the Big 12. You can’t have a credible preseason Top 10 if you don’t include Kansas.

This is Bill Self, whose plaque went up at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 2017.

This is the program of Wilt Chamberlain, Danny Manning, Paul Pierce, Andrew Wiggins and the others who decided Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, was the Most Wonderful Place to play college basketball.

That is what makes this the most fascinating matchup of the 2019-20 college basketball season: the NCAA vs. Kansas, one of the game’s proudest and most accomplished programs.

On Monday, Kansas received notice of three Level 1 NCAA violations, plus a lack of institutional control mention. The kind of stuff that knocks a program out of March for several years.

Kansas?

Please Mr. Postman, there must be a mistake.

The winner of this hissing contest will tell us much about the future of college basketball. With promises of similar notices on their way to at least four more schools, it will tell us how much control the NCAA can exert over its rule book.

If the winner is the NCAA, maybe coaches who dance outside the rules will realize the risk is no longer worth the reward.

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Over the last two seasons, Rick Pitino of Louisville is the only head coach who lost his job after the federal government announced its investigation into college hoops. Pitino has continued to insist that any rules violations at U of L happened without his approval or knowledge. Coaches that I know says that Pitino’s spectacular fall has not changed the dynamic around the game.

If the NCAA takes down Kansas and Self, they can take down anybody.

Maybe several reforms suggested by the commission led by Condoleezza Rice will actually be given an opportunity to improve the college basketball culture.

If Kansas and Self prevail, go ahead and return to regularly scheduled programming. Cynicism will rule. If the NCAA cannot punish a member with evidence collected by the federal government, it might as well resume chasing Cleveland State.

You take down Kansas and Self, you send a message.

The narrative has long been that the NCAA does not pursue programs like Kansas with the vigor that it pursues other programs.

This time the NCAA is pursuing Kansas and its coach, long a golden boy with the national media folks because he returns phone calls and trades gossip and information.

Coaches that I know jokingly call him “Dollar” Bill. I’ve always believed that “Teflon” Bill was a better fit.

This time, after you read a chunk of the evidence entered into the federal investigation and trials of college basketball over the last two years, you knew something had to happen with Kansas.

Adidas and its guy, T.J. Gassnola, were reportedly funneling money to at least a couple of 5-star recruits to make certain that the Kansas recruiting pipeline remained powerful. There were plenty of texts between Self and Gassnola, a guy known for his ability to get things done. Although Gassnola’s connection was with Adidas, the NCAA has tried to label him as a booster of Kansas.

There was also a particularly delightful exchange between Kansas assistant coach Kurtis Townsend and Adidas rep Merl Code.

Code reportedly said that Zion Williamson’s camp was asking for occupational prospects, money in the pocket and housing.

Townsend reportedly replied, “if that’s what it takes to get him for 10 months, we’re going to have to do it some way.”

Williamson, it should be noted, signed with Mike Krzyzewski and Duke. I draw no conclusions.

Actually, the only conclusion I’m ready to draw is Kansas will not use the same playbook that U of L used in recent interactions with the NCAA.

Kansas does not seem interested in self-reporting. Kansas does not seem willing to cut scholarships or volunteer for a postseason ban. Kansas appears to be backing Self, and the coach has responded the way Mike Tyson responded during his prime.

The public relations battle is already raging. In a statement, Self made the NCAA the bogeyman. He rejected the NCAA’s charge that he “has a pattern of non-compliance.”

He said they have created a false narrative. He said they were rushing to please the portion of the public that is tired of cheating in college basketball. He sprayed words like “innuendo,” “misinformation,” and “half-truths.”

Self dug in. Game on.

This time, the NCAA is not going after Cleveland State. Kansas and Bill Self vs. The NCAA will be the most impactful competition of the season.

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