It’s hard for me to see the Wildcats losing this one. They’ve clearly been the best team in the tournament. To Kansas’ credit, even when they haven’t played well — which has been plenty — they’ve found ways to win. I’ve got the Wildcats cutting the nets down tonight, even if Davis says in the following interview he hasn’t even thought about that yet.

Anthony Davis joined Westwood One with Kevin Kugler to discuss his feeling heading into the game, the expectations that have been on this team all year, the best part of his game, blocking shots, the matchup with Kansas’ big men, memories from the first meeting with Kansas this year, his celebration after the game on Saturday night and what he might do if they win again tonight.

What are your feelings like heading into the big game?:

“A lot of rush. It’s going to be a great game and I’m just going to go out there and have fun. We’ve got to come out with a lot of energy. We can’t come out lackadaisical. Kansas is a great team, great inside, great shooters, great shot-blockers, so we know we have to come out prepared.”

What’s it been like playing this year with the expectations that you would have to make it to this point for it to even be a successful season?:

“We don’t think of it as pressure. We let the guys outside of our team and our family think of it as pressure. We just think of it as another game. We knew, in our mind, that we could go all the way. We’ve just got to go out there and have fun and we can’t let nothing get to us. Like I said, just think of it as another game. I think if we do that, we’ll be fine.”

What do you think is the best part of your game?:

“I’d probably say my shot-blocking. I love to block shots. It gets the other team rattled and it gets my team and our fans just going crazy. It brings a lot of energy to the team. It leads my team to fast-break points, leads their team to not scoring. That’s one less possession they didn’t score on and it’s great to just have fun.”

You blocked a 3-pointer on Saturday night. Is there a shot you won’t try to block?:

“I try to block everything. If I think I can get to it, I’m going to jump and try to block it. If I don’t block it, we’ve just got to rebound after. We struggled rebounding against Louisville Saturday night and that’s how they stayed in the game.”

What do you think about the matchup between you and Kansas big men Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey?:

“It’ll be a great matchup. Great players — rebound, defend, can score the ball at will. Robinson is very physical and so is Withey. Withey’s a 7-footer, so it’s going to be hard to try some moves on him, but we’ve just got to get into their bodies on offense and defense, stay low, try to make them catch it not in their comfort zones.”

What do you remember about the Jayhawks from the first time you played, when you guys won by 10 way back in early November?:

“Man, that was so long ago. I feel like we played them last year. But they’re a great team. Robinson got in foul trouble, so he really didn’t play as much, didn’t play as aggressively as he wanted to. So we’re going to try to get into their body, draw a couple fouls and just go out there and have fun. They’re a great 3-point shooting team. They stayed in the game. Both teams kind of struggled. It was kind of the first big game, especially in Madison Square Garden. … I’m sure both teams got better and it’s going to be an excellent game.”

On his celebration on the court as time expired in the victory over Louisville:

“I was very excited. I don’t remember. Everything was just going crazy. But when you come to Kentucky, Coach Cal prepares you for this — go out there on the biggest stage and just go out there and have fun and do what you do.”

Have you allowed yourself to think about what it might feel like to cut down the nets tonight?:

“I haven’t even thought about it. We still have to play the game. If we win, I’m not going to know what’s going to be happening. I’m not sure what I’m going to do … but it’s going to be a fun experience.”

Listen to Anthony Davis on Westwood One here

Jeff Withey had seven blocked shots in the Jayhawks’ semifinal matchup with Ohio State, and has been one of the tournament’s best defenders.

Jeff Withey joined Westwood One to talk about tonight’s national championship game in New Orleans. He also discussed his seven-block performance against Ohio State, and the root of why he’s become such a great shot blocker, as well as Kansas’s early-season matchup with the Wildcats and the key to tonight’s affair.

On how he’s feeling about tonight’s game:

“Awesome. We’ve been through a lot this year but we’re making our strides late and we’re really excited for this game.”

On Danny Manning, his assistant coach, and the man who held the Final Four single-game shot-blocking record before he broke it Saturday night:

“He’s been the main person. He helps me out every day with my footwork and my moves on the post. And he gives me little tips throughout the game. And I wouldn’t be here without him.”

On how being a former volleyball player helps him to block shots on the basketball court:

“A ton. In volleyball you’re jumping nonstop and that’s what gets me to the ball so easy, just it’s quick, and my jumping ability is quick just like in volleyball and the timing of blocking shots.”

On if the Jayhawks can take anything away from their mid-November meeting with Kentucky to prepare for tonight’s game:

“It was so long ago, but we can take a little bit from it, just the personnel. But it was so long ago — we’re two different teams now. They’re obviously a great team and we’ve learned a lot. And tonight we’re gonna play defense like we’ve never played before.”

On Thomas Robinson and Anthony Davis going head to head:

“I don’t think that’ll happen too much. I think that I’ll probably be playing Anthony the most of the game. But if it they’re guarding each other it’s gonna be a great matchup.”

On how special it would be to win tonight:

“Man, it would just be a blessing. And we’re definitely going to try our hearts out, and to bring something like that back to Kansas would be awesome. Our fans definitely would love it and we would love it too.”

On the key to this game:

“Defense. If we play defense like we have this whole tournament then we have a good chance, by muddying it up, making it a sloppy game, and making sure that they don’t get on the runs that they usually do. If we do that, then we have a good chance.”

On if coach Bill Self was animated during halftime of Saturday’s game against Ohio State:

“No, it wasn’t that bad. He definitely said that we could play a lot better than we were. He kinda left it on us to go out there and play. He said it could be either our last night of playing or we can go on and try to win a national championship. And we kinda took those words to heart, and we went out in the second half and played really well and our defense stepped up.”

Listen to Jeff Withey on Westwood One here

Danny Manning joined WHB in Kansas City with the Border Patrol to talk about how good the Kansas bigs were against the North Carolina front-line on Sunday, if he thinks this year’s Kansas team has played to its ceiling more than others before it, how much stock they can put in the first meeting against Ohio State, and how tough it will be to avoid distractions in New Orleans.

On the Kansas bigs over the weekend against North Carolina’s front-line:

“I think Thomas (Robinson) and Jeff (Withey) have done a fantastic job all season long. Last night was no exception. They battled and both teams battled. You go back and look at the stat line and like you said we got the best of the rebounding total but there were some balls that were coming off the rim that those guys were chasing down like men, with a purpose, and that’s on both ends. It was just a good game to be a part of and it was fun to watch as well if you’re a basketball fan.”

Whether he thinks this year’s Kansas team has played to its ceiling more than others before it:

“I think this team has played closer to its ceiling more so than most of the other teams that we have had here just in terms of the roles that individuals have on our team and how they have to fulfill them for us to have success. They’ve done a tremendous job of meeting expectations head on and buying into what Coach Self wants them to do, locking into scouting reports, and maintaining our defensive principles but also making sure we do the intangibles. Going after loose balls, making sure we play defense, shot goes up we put a body on somebody and we go chase the ball down, all these little small things have added up and put us in a great position.”

How much stock they can put in the first meeting against Ohio State:

“I think for us and for our players we have a chance to really go back, watch tape, and see what the other players did in terms of how good they are in their roles. Aaron Craft is a terrific point guard and in four games you can talk about how well someone does this or does this but not until after you play him do guys realize he is the best on-ball defender in the country and you kind of get a grasp for it. So the biggest thing for us is knowing how talented that team is and then we have to get ready for (Jared) Sullinger because he didn’t play. He’s a first team All-American, he’s a load, and we will have our hands full but it’s a challenge that we gladly accept and we’re looking forward to it.”

How tough it will be to avoid distractions in New Orleans:

“The first thing coach talks to the guys about is making sure we eliminate as many possible distractions as we can. We’d like for our guys to get the ticket lists done and make sure they get with our academic people and take care of any concerns there. Once we get there we’re going to do a very good job of making sure our guys are focused. We’re going to get locked into the hotel. Now we will get out to go to practice, have our team meals, and do what we normally do but it will be at a high level of security, that’s for sure.”

Listen to Danny Manning on WHB in KC here

The group, with more veteran players, didn’t make it to this point last year. Now this year’s young squad is there after beating Cincinnati in the Sweet Sixteen and Syracuse in the Elite Eight. But Matta can’t sit around and enjoy it too long, as his group already faced Kansas in the non-conference season and lost by 11 points. The rematch awaits.

Thad Matta joined 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis with Dan Dakich to discuss Lenzelle Smith Jr.’s performance, Jared Sullinger battling back from foul trouble, his impressions of Kansas, taking a moment to enjoy the successful run and sharing his story about being handicapped by his leg.

Lenzelle Smith Jr. had another big weekend. How much does he come up big for you guys in big moments?:

“He really did. The biggest thing with Lenzelle is just getting him to understand that job that he needs to do to help this team. I had a long talk with him a couple weeks ago about changing his mindset of every day he needs to ask himself what he needs to do to help this team win. When he does that, he’s very, very effective. Quite honestly, he hit some big shots for us the other night.”

Jared Sullinger had the first-half foul trouble against Syracuse, but it looked like he played angry in the second half:

“I think he did. He had the two fouls and had to sit the last 14 minutes of the first half. He was into the game on the sideline. That was probably the biggest thing. He was talking to guys in timeouts. He was very, very vocal from the bench, and that led me to believe his mind was where it needed to be. I’ve always said this about Jared, he likes the big games and I said at halftime to him, ‘You should be well-rested now and we need a big half from you in the second half.’”

On going with a unique approach against Syracuse’s zone in going inside more than relying on the 3:

“I think that was the one thing we tried to sell our guys. … We talked, from the time we beat Cincinnati after the game, we talked about the zone, we talked about the zone, we went to practice Saturday and talked about the zone. Right before tipoff I said, ‘Hey fellas, the one thing we forgot to talk about is defense.’ If we can guard these guys, that’s what’s going to win us the game. And I do think our defense was very effective.”

What were your impressions of Kansas in the win over North Carolina?:

“We played them in early December and actually a couple guys, their starters, did what they did. But the difference was kind of the guys coming off the bench was what got us. They pose a lot of problems with their size. They’ve got guys that can make plays off the bounce. Once again, we’re going to have be as sound as we possibly can. But the thing, the last three games, I think they’re averaging 17 offensive rebounds a game, so we’ve got to come up with the first-time rebounds.”

Isn’t it strange how seasons work out? A more veteran team last year doesn’t make the Final Four and this one does:

“We were talking about it last night as a staff. We’re going to the Final Four with one senior. It’s funny, we get upset two years ago in the Sweet Sixteen by Tennessee and William Buford is the only player on the team that played in that game. I’m proud of these guys.”

On enjoying victories for one night, reflecting and moving on:

“People don’t understand that, as a coach, you have to decompress after a game. You need time alone. You need to sit down and kind of go through your mind of what worked, what didn’t work. The next opponent, that’s going to come. That’s the one thing that I kind of want to do is enjoy this a little bit. I probably didn’t do it a few years ago when we went to the Final Four. It was just like, on to the next thing. But taking a deep breath and saying, ‘This team has accomplished a lot.’ As I told the team … I said, ‘Hey, we’re going to take this week and we’re going to get better. We’ve got to be a better basketball team on Saturday night than we were last Saturday.’”

What made you come out and tell the story about your leg?:

“My wife kind of talked me into it from the standpoint of letting people know that have a disability that you can go on and do things. … I didn’t want to do it and I told him no several times. … I’m kind of glad I did it because it let’s people know that have a disability that hey, they can go on and do things in life. If one person’s helped by it, I’m happy.”

Listen to Thad Matta on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis

K-State head coach Frank Martin joined Kevin Kietzman on WHB in Kansas City to preview his team’s opening-round March Madness matchup with ninth-seeded Southern Miss. He also talked about his squad’s fairly undramatic path back to the tourney, how excited he is to be breaking from Big 12 play, while providing a quick scouting report on Southern Miss star Neil Watson, who is a local product, and also admitting his team would embrace the chance to take on Syracuse in the second round.

On how it felt to make the tournament without any drama in 2012:

“I felt pretty good about it until the second region got put out and we were still not on there. That’s when my stomach started tossing around a little bit. But I felt good about it going in and to know that we’ve been in it three straight years, four outa five — the one year we didn’t get in we were right there. Says a lot about the kids and our staff and our administration and our fans — just how committed all of us at K-State are to continuing to build our program and we can never lose sight of the fact that there’s a lot of good teams that didn’t get in this year and there’s not too many programs in the country that can say they’ve been in it four of the last five years.”

On the team’s fairly ideal path to the tournament:

“Yeah absolutely. You know, Kevin, when we went into Virginia Tech and won, Virginia Tech was just coming off a game in New York City where they had Syracuse on the ropes until the last two minutes of the game. And we didn’t expect Virginia Tech to not win games the way they did coming down the stretch. We beat Alabama at a neutral site, we went to Hawaii, Long Beach State — obviously a NCAA tournament team. Xavier was the pick to win that tournament, they were top 15 in the country at the time, and unfortunately for them they fell apart a little bit but they regrouped and they got in . . . we exposed our team to some difficult environments and difficult games — the way we always try to do it — and then you get into this crazy league that we’re in, this Big 12, which I’m happy we got six in because it’s what it deserved, the league did. But I’m also disappointed that Kansas and Missouri didn’t get one seeds because they were both ranked higher, had a résumé that–look who Missouri beat and how they beat in non-conference play. And then they go on to win the league tournament and they don’t get a one seed, and that was hard for me to understand. Same thing with Kansas — I can’t tell you the job Bill Self did. To go 16-2 in this league after losing both starters or whatever he lost last year? It’s unbelievable. But we’re in, now everyone understands what they got in front of them and now we’ve gotta line up and play.”

On his recent statement that he and his team were tired of Big 12 play and ready for the next step:

“Oh, absolutely. You know, Kevin, if you go to work and you see the same person every day and you do the same exact thing every single day–imagine that? Having the same meeting every day over and over and over, and that’s what we’ve been doing in Big 12, and there’s not an easy day in the Big 12. Every environment you go into is impossible to play in, every game you play is difficult to win. And going from 16 to 18 doesn’t doesn’t seem that much — of games, I mean, in league play — it is a huge difference. And to be able to go see another team that you don’t know anything about, that rejuvenates you, that gets you excited about everything that you do. And then when you’re fortunate enough to be in the tournament at this time of year, that just adds fuel to the fire, and our guys have been off the charts in preparation for our Thursday game.”

On Southern Miss guard Neil Watson, who’s from Kansas City:

“What a year that young man’s had. I believe he was at Coffeyville (Community College) last year and had a great year for them, and obviously he’s turned up as newcomer of the year in Conference USA, and he led that team. Typical (Larry) Eustachy team — they’ve got three fifth-year seniors that have all been on major programs before. They’re an older team, they’ve been in close game after close game after close game, and they’ve ended up winning a large majority of those games because of that experience, because of the great job Eustachy does. All of us in the Big 12 remember him, know that his teams were always unbelievably difficult to play against and how hard they played and what a grind of a game it is. Well it’s no different, he’s just at Southern Miss and they play just as hard and they defend you just as difficult.”

On the similarities between his team and Southern Miss:

“Yeah, when I watch them play it looks a lot like us. And it’s gonna be two teams that have similar wills battling each other. But the team that makes the fewest mistakes will definitely win the game.”

On the Eagles’ lack of size:

“Yeah they’re not big as far as having a bunch of 6-11 guys out there but they have tremendous athleticism and strength . . . they play high-major schools, they’ve got guys that played at high-major schools, so they understand what it takes to win games against high-major schools and I don’t think that size is gonna make them run out of the building.”

On how difficult it is to bring the energy for an early-round game with lots of empty seats and a sub-par environment:

“Well as a coach you spend all your energy all year to get your players to focus in on what happens on the court and not be concerned with what’s going on outside the court. And it’s because of that, I think, that our players learned during the course of the year to pay attention to that and I think that’s one of the reasons we had success away from home — it’s because we don’t get wrapped up with the emotion of the building. We get wrapped up with the emotion of the team and focused in on what we’re there to do, which is play the game to the best of our abilities, Kevin. And hopefully all those lessons help us out and we worry about what’s happening on the court and not so much with the atmosphere in the buildings.”

On the prospect of playing Syracuse in Round 2:

“Well, you know, Kevin, that’s why we continue to build our program to compete for the Big 12 championship. And I know we fell short of that being one of our goals this year, but we do understand that we’re as good as anyone in our league and I’ve always said that if you can compete for the Big 12 championship, then you put yourself in the place where you can compete against anyone in the country . . . if we’re fortunate enough to get past Thursday, we’ll be super excited for that opportunity and any time we can put K-State in a place where we have a chance to make our program better, to show the country what a great place Manhattan, Kansas and this university is, it’s a chance that we wanna embrace and take advantage of to the nth degree.”

Listen to Frank Martin on WHB right here

Brad Gagnon is also the NFL editor at theScore.com‘s Goal-Line Stand blog. He can be followed on Twitter right here.

Sure, it’s still early, but Missouri has already beaten Baylor and Iowa State — the only other two teams above .500 in league play — on the road and Kansas has yet to lose. There’s sure to be more intrigue, but first-year coach Frank Haith has his Tigers controlling their own destiny.

Frank Haith joined WHB in Kansas City with Between the Lines to discuss beating Baylor on the road, why the team has been so good on the road, having a team that can shoot this well, where this team ranks against others he’s coached, keeping the team in check mentally and the Big 12 race shaping up.

On beating Baylor on the road:

“I thought our guys did a great job. We had great focus all week preparing for those guys and I thought we went out and played with great toughness and tremendous poise down the stretch. It was really good to see and I’m sure from a fans standpoint it was a fun game.”

You took over a team that struggled on the road last year. Why the success this season?:

“They’re a year old, so that helps. The fact that we got taken out to the woodshed a couple weeks ago in Manhattan and I think our guys came back and regrouped and talked about it a little bit, talked about what it takes to win on the road and toughness was a key topic of conversation. … Our guys understand that we’re a good team, but we’ve got to play with great toughness in order to win on the road.”

On having a great shooting team:

“We’re taking good shots. That helps. We’re not going to shoot the ball great every night. We’ve got to find other ways to win games, too, and that’s being good defensively and rebounding. … We have found a way to understand great shots and they share the ball and I think that’s why we shoot a high percentage. We don’t hunt shots. I’ve stressed this to these guys, we should hardly ever have to shoot a contested shot because we’ve got such great ball skills and we have to play with unselfish play.”

Where does this team rank against others that you’ve coached?:

“Obviously I think in terms of this team and what we’re doing, keep in mind we won like six ACC games in a row and Duke was I think ranked second in the country and Wake was ranked like sixth in the country and we had a run there. And obviously we had a run at Texas where, with T.J., we got to the Final Four. I’ve told this team that we’re capable of doing great things. We are, because we’ve got the intangibles, chemistry, ball skills … and now we’ve started to show we’ve got a little toughness. … This team is very capable but it’s still a long year.”

How do you keep this team in check mentally?:

“I think that’s going to be on us. They’ll feel the sting a little bit and we’ll keep them on point as much as we can, but you always worry about that when you have success. … We always have a session in film that we go over after every game, the good, the bad and the ugly, and they’ll see things we’ve got to get better at. But I really believe if you enjoy the process as a player — enjoy the preparation and get focused on that — you’ll get yourself ready to play.”

How much are you starting to hear from fans about Kansas and the Big 12 race?:

“I don’t pay attention to a lot of that stuff other than I do know Kansas is playing outstanding. … You’ve got to think Bill’s done an outstanding job with probably a team that’s not typical, from a talent standpoint, that he’s had in the past. He’s still got this team right here undefeated in the Big 12. He’s done a great job and you’ve got a really good team that’s playing extremely hard. That’s down the road for us.”

Listen to Frank Haith on WHB in Kansas City here

What Self does see is a team embracing who it is and winning thanks to 10- and 15-minute stretches, usually jump-started by stingy defense. The Jayhawks beat Texas over the weekend to push their winning streak to nine. They’ll try to make it double digits against Texas A&M this week.

Bill Self joined KCSP in Kansas City with Bob and Josh to discuss the team embracing its style, its most improved player to this point, unrealistic expectations for 7-footers, Tyshawn Taylor’s season and the improvement of Thomas Robinson.

When did you see this team really start to embrace and enjoy the style of play?:“

“Against Baylor, second half, we didn’t guard anybody, but the way I think you can kind of see that is K-State we weren’t great offensively by a longshot, but we had runs off our defense. Oklahoma no doubt we were average at best and played a great 10 minutes, Tech we were average at best, maybe below average, and play a great 10 or 15-minute stretch. We’ve become more of a spurt team because we’re basically scoring off our defense. … We’re never going to look unbelievable offensively for 40 minutes.”

Who has grown the most so far this season?:

“If I was going to pick one person, the guy that impacts our games and probably dictates when we play well as much as anybody is Jeff Withey. He protects the rim, he’s close to a double-figure rebound guy whenever he’s playing well. He’s got nice touch, doesn’t get a lot of shots, but he’ll go 4-for-6 or 5-for-7.”

Is there too much pressure put on 7-foot guys to go out and dominate games?:

“I think from a fan’s perspective, it’s why didn’t he just dunk it? That’s the one I get. Well, you’ve got people weighing on you. … I think in some people’s cases, and Jeff might be one of them, when you wake up every day 7-foot tall, people just assume that you should be really good at this. So much of getting really good is having the heart for it and I think he’s got the heart for it.”

How would you describe Tyshawn Taylor’s season?:

“Very good. He turns that ball over. Even against Baylor he had five turnovers, and that’s not good, but I think he’s played very well. He’s had a couple of games where it kind of got away from him. That’s probably as much coaching as anything else. … He’s played well in my opinion. He’s so talented and he puts pressure on the defense and is getting the ball to the paint. If there’s anything I’d say he can work on it would be his defense.”

On the improvement of Thomas Robinson:

“He’s trying so hard and he tried hard in the offseason and we said before the season started that for us to be a good team, he’s going to have to play to an All-American type level. I think a lot of people thought, ‘How can a guy that only played 14 minutes a game play to an All-American type level?’ He has. … I hope he can keep it going.”

Listen to Bill Self on KCSP in Kansas City here

But Weis has it all mapped out. It seems he wants to take a page from rival Kansas State’s book and build the program into a team that can consistently go 10-2, as the Wildcats have done this year. And Weis seems to believe he can get the program there in five years and then he’ll retire and hand the keys to one of his assistants. Let’s check back in five years and see how that plan goes.

Charlie Weis joined KCSP in Kansas City with Bob Fescoe to discuss what sold him on Kansas, why it was a better opportunity than others he’s been presented with, his family situation, what he learned about assembling a staff when he was at Notre Dame, his five-year plan, his biggest mentors and how long it takes to get a program up and running.

What sold you on the University of Kansas?:

“At the beginning of the day, I thought it was just like a cursory interview. And the more we talked, the more intrigued I became about the possibilities. Obviously I really enjoyed my year in the Kansas City area last year with the Chiefs, but for family reasons we had to get out of here, especially to take care of my daughter. But the more and more [we] talked, the more I liked what Kansas had to offer and I thought, ‘Why not?’ This is as good an opportunity as I’ve seen come along. I think it provides me a great chance to take a program that’s on the losing side and turn it into a winner.”

Why was this such a great opportunity compared to others?:

“When you look at a program that has facilities like you do, that’s willing to spend the money like they are, that’s 2-10, when your interstate rival — who you’re competing against for the same recruits — is 10-2, the logical question you ask is why can’t you be teh 10-2 team instead of the 2-10 team. I don’t know the answer to that yet, but that’s where I want to start.”

You mentioned your daughter and the need to leave. Why, then, come back?:

“That was part of the reason why I took this job. My daughter is not leaving the school she’s in in Florida. Therefore, my wife’s not leaving. … My wife’s going to be where my daughter is. I had to set up lines of transportation that made it a little easier for me and my wife. What I’ve done, contrary to popular reports where Kansas is flying my wife all over the free world, I have said up a way for my wife and daughter to fly back and forth at my expense … so that we’re still a family.”

What’s one thing that you learned from Notre Dame that you know you have to do differently or change this time around?:

“I think that the biggest problem I had when I got to Notre Dame, even though I won big the first two years and went to two BCS games, when I composed my staff, I was coming from 15 years in the NFL and didn’t really know the college coaches the way I know them now. I think the one area where it’s totally different this time in hiring the staff … is chemistry. I think that chemistry on a coaching staff is a critical factor to the success of any college program, both on and off the field and especially in recruiting.”

How do you respond to the concern that this may  just be a quick stop for you?:

“It’s going to be a quick stop. It’s going to be five years. That’s the quick stop. I’m going to be here for five years, because my wife and I had planned for me to be working at Florida for the next five years and then try to be put in a situation where we can walk away. … What we’re going to do here is we’re going to go try to turn this program into a perennial winning program and then try to have it where one of the guys on this coaching staff takes over.”

Who’s your biggest mentor?:

“You have to say the Bills. I don’t think you can separate them because I think they were two unique individuals. Parcells and Belichick are quite unique. … Parcells taught me the psyche of the game. I think Belichick’s two greatest strengths are both his insight and his foresight to the game.”

Realistically, how long does it take to get a football program up and running?:

“Honestly I believe a full recruiting cycle. You can get them better in a hurry and sometimes things can fall into place for you, but I think you have to go a full recruiting cycle where you know everyone you’ve brought in the program and their strengths and weaknesses.”

Listen to Charlie Weis on KCSP in Kansas City here

Kansas coach Bill Self added to the frenzy this week when he told reporters that he wouldn’t feel the need to schedule Missouri in the longstanding rivalry if the Tigers left the Big 12. The two schools have played every year for nearly 100 years. Self says he wouldn’t feel obligated to schedule them and that Kansas basketball and the Big 12 will be just fine whether Missouri stays or goes.

This interview clearly took place before Friday’s news that TCU has been invited to join the Big 12, but that development shouldn’t really affect his stance on any of this as Missouri continues to assess its options.

Bill Self joined KCSP in Kansas City with Bob Fescoe to discuss his stance on not scheduling Missouri were the Tigers to leave the Big 12 for the SEC or elsewhere, how the Tigers’ move out of conference would affect the rivalry in general, why he thinks the Big 12 will be fine regardless of what changes are still to come, all of this shifting being all about money and whether he feels there is any stability within the conference right now.

You said this week that you would consider not playing Missouri — a team Kansas has played every year since 1907 — in a non-conference game if the Tigers left the Big 12. Expound on that:

“I don’t know what’s controversial about it. We’ll do whatever we feel like we should do and what’s best. I’m not obligated to do anything just like they’re not obligated to do anything. Who would know if they would want to continue to play Kansas. Certainly I would feel no obligation to do so. … We’ll wait and see. The bottom line is this, I don’t want that. I want Missouri to be in our league. Missouri and Kansas are good together even though it’s a hatred rivalry. … I would hate to see it go, but if it does, it does.”

Do you feel like, even if you did play Missouri, that the rivalry would feel the same?:

“That’s exactly right. You look at Illinois and Missouri. I was a part of that rivalry. It’s great. But it’s not so great that they feel like football has to play. … It’s just not the same. Your rivals are the ones that are in your league. Your league is so much more important than any non-conference game. I guess Kentucky-Louisville is a great non-conference rivalry, but they’ve always been in different leagues. … When you go from being a rival in the league to being outside the league I don’t see how it would ever be the same.”

What do you think would be the situation at Kansas if the Big 12 would collapse?:

“First of all, I haven’t heard from my higher-ups at all since three weeks or two weeks ago that the Big 12 will fold without Missouri. There may be speculation … but Texas wants this to work and from what I gather OU is kind of on board with Texas now. … We can go get schools. If the commitment is made by the other schools, if we have a core eight, eight’s not bad. … But I think we can go get schools from other leagues and bring them in and have a great league. … I think our league is here to stay. … If it wasn’t, then I think that it would hurt Kansas basketball, I’m not going to lie. I think would hurt Kansas basketball, but the thing about it is I don’t think it would kill us.”

What are your thoughts on this whole conference realignment movement when it comes to being all about money?:

“That’s the appearance, but all our rules, within the NCAA, is about student-athlete welfare. … All these things are the movement of the NCAA to toughen academic restrictions. That’s what the presidents want, which, hey, when you raise the bar, usually people follow. I’m not saying good or bad with that, but if that is the case, give the kids the best chance.”

Do you feel there is any stability in the Big 12 right now?:

“There’s not. But, if anybody thinks that the Big 12 won’t be better than it’s ever been, if everybody’s on board to sign these long-term deals and make the buyouts where you can’t get out or the cost would be so expensive, and add a couple of teams or whatever they’d choose to do, this league goes from being the appearance of being unstable to the league that maybe schools want to get in. … We can get to the point where there is stability. I feel really bad for our ex-commissioner because he was really a good guy, but he was captain of the ship whenever there was so much instability nationally. … Stability I think will come with Missouri staying, to be real honest with you. But if Missouri doesn’t stay, I think we’ll be fine, but there will be the appearance of instability because they leave in the short-term. But in the long-term, schools in the Big 12 are going to win out.”

Listen to Bill Self on KCSP in Kansas City here

For the first time, or at least one of the first times, we’re now hearing the thoughts of a Big 12 basketball coach. Kansas head man Bill Self weighs in on the topic, calling all situation hypocritical in that the NCAA is saying that it’s all about the student part of student-athlete, yet how would these potential changes be a positive in that respect? Self doesn’t offer up any predictions, but says he’s comfortable where he’s at in Kansas and isn’t pressing the panic button.

Bill Self joined KSCP in Kansas City with Bob Fescoe to discuss where things stand in the Big 12 realignment procedures, why the realignment talks are hypocritical, if he’s nervous about where Kansas stands in the discussion, if there will come a time when we stop using the term student-athlete, TV’s influence on all of this and why he doesn’t have a prediction for what might unfold.

Where are we right now in all of this realignment business?:

“We’re at a crossroads and I think the decisions of a few are going to affect many, many moving forward.”

Isn’t that kind of hypocrisy when you look at it?:

“It is hypocritical. It’s hypocritical to think that APR is so important. They’re going to start pulling teams out of postseason competition if their APRs aren’t certain rates. There’s a direct correlation between making good grades and going to class. Now they’re putting kids in a position that they’re going to miss more class than they’re already going to miss. … It is somewhat hypocritical. I don’t know what the answer is. … The Big Ten Network, the Longhorn Network, there’s so many things out there that we’ve allowed people to do. And it’s not anyone’s fault. … People say it’s Texas’ fault. I don’t see it that way at all. I see it as a situation where we want parity, we want a level playing field, but let’s be honest, that’s impossible to achieve. … This is not a cookie-cutter business. … It’s not a sad day yet, because we don’t know what’s out there. Something positive could come out of it, but it’s nervous times. The way we know college athletics could change in a real short period of time. It started last year and then the Big 12 kind of held it together. This situation could lead to expansion to other leagues, which leads to breakups. … It’s going to be a different time, moving forward.”

Are you more or less confident than last year with where Kansas stands in all of this?:

“I’m fine. I like our leadership. I think that we’ll be OK. There could be some anxious moments and I think there are some anxious moments right now, but I don’t see it being all negative. I don’t see it being all positive, either. I’m just kind of straddling the fence right now, because if you remember last year, everyone pushed the panic button, and at the end of the day we panicked for no reason. … This year, I’m not pushing it. … I think people should take a wait-and-see approach. … But, really, over time, I can’t see student-athletes in many of these institutions benefiting from what the rigors of a schedule will put them through.”

How long do you think we keep calling them student-athletes and not minor-league athletes or something like that?:

“Let’s call it like it is. The NCAA, the presidents, the organization itself, has every rule change, everything involved, based on graduation rate, based on APR, based on providing more educational opportunities. … If you want to play big-time college athletics, there’s certain things these schools need to do. … Now you have, obviously, a situation where it begs the thought of hypocrisy in that we want this, we say this and the rules apply to everybody else, but do they really apply to me.”

Did you ever think you’d be coaching in a day where TV had so much influence in what was going on?:

“I probably haven’t thought about it much, but there’s no question the last two years, you can definitely see a movement. Does this trigger, now, the super-conferences? If you have one go to 16, does that trigger other super-conferences? Then, with the other super-conferences, how important is the total body of the NCAA? I was at Oral Roberts; I was at Tulsa. I think it’s important. But you have the decisions of a few that are affecting the entire landscape, potentially. … This could be a serious trickle-down and I can’t see it being good.”

What do you think is going to happen when it’s all said and done?:

“Nothing. No, I don’t know. I don’t have any idea. I don’t know enough about it or am on the inside enough to have predictions. … I want everybody to be happy as long as we’re a part of that equation.”

Listen to Bill Self on KCSP in Kansas City here