Kansas Jayhawks' Early Exit: No One to Blame but Their Self

Since Bill Self took over the reigns as Kansas' head coach in 2003, the Jayhawks have won, won some more and won again. The man can coach, and the man knows how to win.

He even found a way to bring back the big prize to Lawrence in 2008 after a 20-year championship drought. 

Despite his successes with the Jayhawks, that 2008 national championship may be the only thing saving Coach Self from the Jayhawks faithful unleashing resentment similar to that of Roy Williams opting to coach his alma mater, which allowed Self to be hired for the position.   

In his eight-year tenure, Self has accumulated a stellar 237 wins, 107 conference wins and an unprecedented seven consecutive Big 12 regular-season championships.

However, Self's Kansas team has struggled to perform when it has mattered the most: in the NCAA tournament. 

In four Elite Eight appearances under Self, KU has only prevailed once, with three of those attempts coming as a No. 1 seed.

One may point out how difficult it is to reach the Final Four, and how competitive the NCAA tournament is. That is a perfectly plausible argument, but a coach must not only be judged on wins. He must also be judged on wins when it means the most, and that's something Bill Self has not consistently proven himself capable of.

In fact, Self is just 1-5 in his six Elite Eight appearances as Kansas' head coach, losing those five games by an average of 8.6 points. His predecessor Roy Williams won four out of his five Elite Eight games at KU, and overall Ol' Roy is 7-3 in Elite Eight appearances. 

As used to winning as Kansas fans have gotten over the past two decades, satisfaction at the conclusion of a season can usually only be achieved with the likes of a Final Four or national championship run. For Kansas followers, anything else is filed as obsolete.

Jayhawks fans often forget how difficult it is to succeed, and at times it may be extremely easy to be critical of the program.

Also, it's hard to pinpoint failures, letdowns and the causes for the two. However, in this case there is one constant in the formula.

The coach.

Time in and time out, Bill Self has failed to have his team prepared to play when it has mattered the most. Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying Self is a horrible coach or should be canned immediately.

The point is, I am tired of watching my Jayhawks not even show up on a consistent basis when it matters the most against teams with far less talent.

No hatred towards VCU. I tip my hat tremendously to their desire to win and their execution in doing so.

It was no secret how VCU won their first four games to reach the Elite Eight. The Rams hit bombs from deep, and would out-hustle you all day. If there was a loose ball to be found their players would be all over the floor before you gave a second thought about it.

I might not be the smartest man alive, but I'd like to think a coach would have his team ready to defend the three and bust their butts to get every loose ball out there. But what happened?

The Jayhawks watched.

They watched the less talented, more motivated Rams out-hustle them. They watched wide open Rams bury three-pointer after three-pointer.

At the 12:51 mark, Brandon Rozzell sank a three that put VCU up 17-10, causing Self to call a timeout. Consequently, I turned off my TV. I had seen this before and was not going to sit around to watch it again. 

Give Virginia Commonwealth University all the credit in the world. They deserve it.

But University of Kansas fans deserve better.

Once a storied name and a feared team that ran deep into the tournament every single year, now a tarnished name no longer feared, a team that chokes in the tournament every single year.

Seven years ago, you say Kansas and people think, "Big 12 champions, Final Fours, winning."

Today, you say Kansas and people think, "Bucknell, Bradley, Northern Iowa, VCU."

Hell, some still think Davidson.

In a world full of shouldas, couldas and wouldas, think about what happens if Stephen Curry gets an open look or if Jason Richards nails that three to win against KU in the 2008 Regional Semifinal.

Just think what the country would think of Kansas; what we would all think of Self.