Bill Self reacts to historic comeback win over UNC in national championship

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Chance LintonApr 5th, 2022, 2:51 AM

The No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks captured the fourth national championship in program history Monday night and did so in thrilling fashion, overcoming a 15-point halftime deficit en route to a 72-69 victory over the No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Things were looking dire for the Jayhawks at the halftime break as they were staring at a 15-point deficit, but they opened the second half with a 31-10 run and outscored the Tar Heels 47-29 over the final 20 minutes. UNC took a one-point lead with 1:41 remaining on a Brady Manek putback, but it was short-lived as David McCormack responded with back-to-back buckets to go up three and the Jayhawks held on from there.

McCormack finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the game, while Christian Braun scored 12 points and grabbed 12 boards, giving the Jayhawks two players with double-doubles in the game. Three other Kansas players scored in double figures. Jalen Wilson tied for the team-lead with 15 points, Remy Martin knocked down four three-pointers and scored 14 points off the bench, while Ochai Agbaji poured in 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

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Following the game, Bill Self met with the media to discuss the Jayhawks’ historic comeback against the Tar Heels to win the national championship. Here is what the Kansas coach had to say in his postgame press conference.

On the Jayhawks’ comeback win:

“I think we're probably all a little overwhelmed and spent. And I don't know that I've ever had a team flip the script like we have probably in the NCAA Tournament, whether it be Miami in the Elite Eight or whether it be this game. But it would be special to win regardless. But to win when your team had to fight and come back the way they did and show that much grit makes this one off the charts.

“I thought this would be good. And this is a heck of a lot better than I thought it would be.”

On previously saying that he has talked to his dad more in the past couple months than he had whenever he was alive, and whether he said anything to him during or after this game:

“Well, I said that, I talked to my dad a lot when he was alive, but not as much as he wanted me to. And you know, and so many parents that are my age grew up with families that lived through The Depression and The Dust Bowl and everything else. And so, he always felt that nothing was ever given, everything had to be earned.

“And, so, I think he would be very proud of this team because he knows, without question, they earned what happened tonight.”

On whether Ochai Agbaji is the most accomplished player he has ever coached and maybe in Kansas basketball history?

“No, he's not in Kansas basketball history. I can't say that. I think Danny was pretty good, too. But he's second. He's the most accomplished player that we have had at our university since Danny. To think that four years, win the national championship, win the league, win the Big 12 Tournament, win the NCAA Tournament, to be most outstanding player -- we've never had anybody -- we may have had some guys that had comparable years, but never had anybody cap it off like what he has other than D.”

On putting in perspective what this championship means for a program that demands and really craves championships:

“These don't fall off trees. I mean, they're hard to get. And so the first one we got and it was great and everything. And we knocked on the door since then but haven't been able to punch the ticket, so to speak.

“So I think when they're the all-time winningest program, just by a slim margin, and when the inventor of the game was your first coach, and when the likes of Adolph Rupp comes from Kansas and Dean Smith comes from Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain comes from Kansas, the expectations are such where being good is okay but it's not enough.

“Nobody's ever put pressure on me that we've got to win another one, but I think I put pressure on myself knowing that this place deserves more than what we've won.”

On Kansas getting contributions from so many different players in tonight’s game, and whether that is different than previous Kansas teams in that it was such a balanced attack:

“When (Mario Chalmers), he made the shot, and it was Mario's miracle, and it stuck, but Darrell Arthur was actually the best player in that game. But Mario gets all the credit, which he deserves for making the shot, I think all seven of these guys would be totally content after being around them all long this this is the 2022 miracle. I think they'll enjoy it more not having a name attached to it because that's how we played all year long.”

On whether this championship fills the void from 2020 when they didn’t get the opportunity to compete for a title since the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

“Well, you need to ask a new group of players. Most of these guys will be gone next year.

“But with the 2020, I think in 2020, we would have sold out on winning one whenever it was before '22. To me Devon (Dotson) was here tonight, (Udoka Azubuike) couldn't be here, Marcus (Garrett) couldn't be here and Isaiah (Moss) couldn't be here.

"But to me this was partially won for them too. I don't know how you guys feel. It's partially won for them because I always thought the 2020 team was better, more equipped to do well in the NCAA Tournament.

“After the way these guys played the last month, I think this team can play with any team Kansas has ever put on the floor.”

On this win putting him in a different echelon in terms of coaches that have won multiple national championships, how much that was on his mind going into this game, and his overall thoughts on winning his second national title:

“That wasn't on my mind, but I do feel that as many good teams as we've had over time, that we could have had more than one. So even though, like I said earlier, I never felt pressure from anybody that we had to do this. But I knew with what we've had that we easily could have done more. I actually think it means a lot to me. And this year, I don't know how these guys feel about me, but I've never felt more connected to a group than I have this year.

“And when you go through stuff and when individuals go through stuff, everybody deals with crap. But I never said a word to these guys about anything I was going through, but they rose their own level to a level that propped me up. This is what makes coaching the best, because players can learn from coaches, but certainly coaches can learn from players.”

This article originates on 247Sports.