Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo ó If big bucks are needed to fend off Oklahoma State and keep Bill Self as the Jayhawks’ basketball coach, wealthy Kansas donors seem ready to reach for their wallet.
“If they’re going to need to raise a lot of money, I’m sure there will be many people step forward,” Dana Anderson, a businessman/developer and prominent Kansas donor, told The Associated Press. “Bill Self is a great individual and a great coach and he’s perfect for Kansas.”
Immediately after Kansas beat Memphis in overtime Monday night for the NCAA championship, speculation intensified that oil and energy magnate T. Boone Pickens might be coming after the Jayhawks’ coach on behalf of Oklahoma State.
An Oklahoma native who played for the Cowboys and was an assistant coach at the school, Self remains popular there.
Pickens, who once gave Oklahoma State’s athletic department a $165 million donation, could probably outbid any single Kansas booster.
Kansas fans are tired of losing coaches whose teams play in NCAA championship games. Larry Brown left for the NBA after winning the 1988 national title, and Roy Williams heeded North Carolina’s call just days after Syracuse beat Kansas for the 2003 title.