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Coach Bill Self's Kansas Jayhawks won the national championship against the North Carolina Tar Heels last night. The coach celebrated with former players like Paul Pierce and Mario Chalmers after the game.
Winning an NCAA basketball national championship is exceptionally challenging, as some of the NBA's most accomplished players never win national championships. Many of college basketball's best coaches haven't won multiple titles because of how difficult it is.
Coach Bill Self won the second national championship of his career at Kansas. Kansas won the 2008 championship with his Mario Chalmers. The fourth championship in the program's history brought out many of the best players in the program's history to celebrate. During his career, Self has been to four Final Fours. He's been in three title games (going 2-1).
Self has been the Jayhawks' coach for 19 years. He has seen many great players come through the program and has a relationship with many other alumni. Those relationships are why he took time to celebrate with Paul Pierce, Mario Chalmers and other alumni.
Of the players that Self spoke with post-game, the notables are Devan Dotson and Mario Chalmers, although Paul Pierce and others were part of the alumni group.
After shaking hands with Paul Pierce and another player, Self embraced Devan Dotson and gave him a championship hat. Dotson was a senior in 2020 who did not get to play in his last NCAA tournament because the tournament was canceled.
Following speaking with Dotson, Self spoke with Chalmers about the team's performance. When Chalmers led the Jayhawks to a championship, the key was his clutch shooting, but the 2022 Jayhawks won because of their clutch defense.
Coach Bill Self, Mario Chalmers and Paul Pierce's impact on the Kansas Jayhawks
Paul Pierce was one of the most prominent players championing the Jayhawks during their March Madness run. He was not one of Self's players that he spoke to the most.
Still, Paul Pierce was one of the more individually accomplished players during his tenure at Kansas. He was so good the Jayhawks have already retired his jersey.
Mario Chalmers is also someone with his jersey retired, thanks to his fantastic run with the Jayhawks during the 2008 NCAA Tournament. That NCAA Tournament was also when Self won his first national championship.
Self's second national championship places him among the ranks of the greatest coaches in Kansas basketball history. Given that the Jayhawks are one of the bluebloods of college basketball, being the coach with the most national championships is a significant achievement.
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