There are a lot of persons laboring under a mistaken notion that Jay Wright should be mentioned in the same breath as Bill Self regarding basketball coaching ability.
The cool aid is very strong these days--in politics AND sports.
The Deep State is apparently spiking everyone's water coolers to try to keep from losing too much control.
I am not qualified to give you the political antidote, but as a long time fan of college basketball I am willing to give you a bolus of 90 proof Old Spellbreaker about Jay Wrong and speak truth to the water cooler spikers.
Here is the difference between Wright and Self this season.
Wright has a medium stack of the kind select Nike coaches appear to get.
Self is doing it with mostly with 4 stars he coached up.
Wright started with a team with ALL the classic pieces of a power house including 6 players that shoot >39% from trey.
Self started with four combos, including one combo converted to a 4, a big still new to the game coming off an operation that couldn't make a free throw, Mitch Lightfoot for a backup, and an OAD that never started a regular season game.
Wright managed to lose four games with a team that should have gone undefeated and ended his own modest 3-conference title streak in a mid-major conference by finishing second.
Self lost his OAD, brought in a high school senior at mid season and somehow with no depth miraculously won his 14th consecutive title in a Power Conference.
Wright was given an unearned 1 seed in a marshmellow joke of a regional.
Self was given a deserved 1 seed in the toughest regional in the tournament.
Wright has made it to the Elite Eight for the fourth time and the Final Four for the second time.
Self has made it to the Elite Eight for the 9th time (at three different programs no less), and the Final Four for the third time.
Wright's overall record is .684.
Self's overall record is .766.
Wright's record at mid major Villanova in a mid major conference is .718.
Self's record at elite major KU in a Power Conference is .825.
In short, there is NO comparison.
None. Zero. Zip.
Self is up here.
Wright is down here.
Jay's team has the right shoes; that's all.
Bill's team does not.
Without the right shoes, Jay Wright would not even be .500 this season. No one would know Jay Wright's name without the right shoes and most anyone that knows anything about basketball coaching knows it. Wright is Sean Miller without the scandal.
In Jay's early days he took Hofstra to a first round loss in the NCAA.
In Bill's early days he took Tulsa to an Elite Eight.
Jay has never coached in a Power Conference.
Bill has coached in two.
Stop with the cool aid.
Beer are on me.
