Bill Self details “most proud thing” recalling FBI’s Investigation into Kansas

Kansas coach Bill Self revealed the proudest moment in his career was when the Jayhawks won a national championship in 2022 amid an FBI investigation against the school.

The two-time champion coach made the revelation during The Goodman and Hummel Basketball podcast, which was uploaded on YouTube on Sept. 27.

Bill Self and the school were accused of using a renowned sports apparel brand, which happened to be the Jayhawks' sponsor, to lure more recruits to Lawrence.

"The most proud thing was we actually won a national championship at the height of it," Self told hosts Robbie Hummel and Jeff Goodman. {2:14-2:20]

Self was challenged with the kind of adversity he faced at that time. He worked on the players and reaped on the fruits of the labor in April 2022 when they won over North Carolina in the final.

"We weren't we weren't able to recruit the same way that we've recruited in the past. And the kids we go after — Christian Braun, Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack, Jalen Wilson, Remy Martin and Dajuan Harris Jr — basically came to us."

"(We're) very under recruited. We knew they were good players but we had no idea they'd turn out to be. The level of that (impressive run) was it very gratifying and fun," he said. [2:24-2:55]

Bill Self described the 2022 championship run as the most fun he had as a coach despite the probe launched against the college basketball team. He was very proud of what the coaching staff and the players achieved during that time.

The independent accountability resolution process reduced the five Level I charges against Self and the school to Level II and Level III violations. However, Kansas was forced to vacate its 2018 Final Four appearance and wins garnered that season because of Silvio de Sousa's participation.

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Bill Self leads new-look Kansas squad into 2024-25 college basketball season

Kansas coach Bill Self looks to bounce back from the second-round ouster in the NCAA Tournament. He will have a strong lineup for the 2024-25 college basketball season with 7-foot-2 center Hunter Dickerson leading the Jayhawks' charge.

Kansas had an impressive haul of offseason acquisitions with transfer pickups AJ Storr, Rylan Griffen, and Zeke Mayo providing support to fifth-year senior Dajuan Harris. Five-star center Flory Bidunga and four-star forward Rakease Passmore are the team's freshmen looking to make a statement in their first year in college.

The Jayhawks open the season with an exhibition game against Washburn on Oct. 29 at the Allen Fieldhouse and will start their non-conference regular season against Howard on Nov. 4. Kansas will also play former champions North Carolina (Nov. 8), Michigan State (Nov. 12), Duke (Nov. 26), and NC State (Dec. 14) in their non-conference slate.

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Will Kansas win against the four former champions it'll face in its non-conference schedule? Let us know your views in the comments section.