Allow me to vent for one minor moment.
I received an allegedly humorous “Bill Self Choking Guide” email in my work inbox right before I left for the day. And like most rational people, I kind of chuckled at it, because it was at least slightly humorous.
But what pisses me off, is this notion that Bill Self is a “choker”. In Self’s eight years at the helm of the Hawks, KU has made 8 NCAA tournaments, won 18 postseason games, reached 5 Sweet Sixteen’s, 4 Elite 8’s, 1 Final Four, and won a national championship. That’s a helluva resume. Here’s how it breaks down year by year:
Self:
2004: 4 seed, lost Elite 8 to 3 seed.
2005: 3 seed, lost first round to 14 seed.
2006: 4 seed, lost first round to 13 seed.
2007: 1 seed, lost Elite Eight to 2 seed.
2008: 1 seed, national champions.
2009: 3 seed, lost Sweet Sixteen to 2 seed.
2010: 1 seed, lost second round to 9 seed.
2011: 1 seed, lost Elite 8 to 11 seed.
That’s choking? Come on. I would argue that a 1 seed should reach the Elite 8 bare minimum. Under that definition, KU choked once – last year, to Northern Iowa, by a whopping three points. I would also agree that the 2005 and 2006 first round flameouts were a “choke”. The other five though, how are these a choke? Losing to a higher seed, like in 2004 and 2009, is not a “choke”. Losing in the Elite 8 is not a choke. And winning a national title is anything but a choke.
So fine, let’s say Self “choked” three times (although I’d argue it was only two – Bradley was criminitely underseeded in 2006. Criminitely underseeded. And they proved it by reaching the Sweet Sixteen and nearly reaching the Elite 8, barely losing to Memphis. But still, its a 4/13, it's a choke).
But for sh*ts and giggles, let’s compare the “choker” to the most highly respected coach in basketball today, Coach K at Duke:
Coach K 2004-2011:
2004: 1 seed, lost Final Four.
2005: 1 seed, lost Sweet Sixteen to 5 seed.
2006: 1 seed, lost Sweet Sixteen to 5 seed.
2007: 6 seed, lost first round to 11 seed.
2008: 2 seed, lost second round to 7 seed.
2009: 2 seed, lost Sweet Sixteen to 3 seed.
2010: 1 seed, national champions.
2011: 1 seed, lost Sweet Sixteen to 5 seed.
You want to talk about a choker? Sweet Jesus, this guy wrote the book on it! Five different times as a one seed, and three times he crapped out before the Elite 8. CHOKE! The other three years, he lost to a lower seed short of the Elite 8. CHOKE! Duke has legitimately CHOKED out six of the last eight tournaments, yet nobody talks about Coach K as a choker. And look at who some of these flameouts were too. 2006, to LSU. LSU! They haven’t been relevant since Dale Brown was still somewhat respected! 2008, they beat Belmont by one point, then got annihiliated by West Virginia, hardly a powerhouse in the John Beilein days. They crapped out to an Arizona team this year that dropped 55 on them in the second half!
And my favorite, their spectacular loss in the opening round in 2007, to? Give you anti-KU folks five seconds to guess. It’s the win that established this team’s program. That’s right, the team that launched VCU to national prominence as a tourney threat, was Duke, getting its ass kicked by Eric Maynor and company in 2007.
If you want to call Self a “choker” fine. But there’s a helluva lot bigger chokers in the game than Bill Self. One of whom is a legend of the sport who somehow, someway, crapped out two wins shy of breaking Bob Knight’s record this year. Now THAT’S a choke job.
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