Bill Self’s $4 Million NIL Expenses Questioned as Fed Up NBA Analyst Decodes Kansas’ Big 12 Woes

It was a tough night for Kansas basketball. The Jayhawks lost a game at home against the top-seeded Houston Cougars, dragging the game into overtime, twice. With how promising the team looks on paper, they weren’t expected to amass their third conference loss of the season. Bill Self’s Jayhawks are now standing 5th in the Big 12 conference, with 5 wins to their name. With as careful and expensive a roster construction as theirs, critics are not pulling their punches with Kansas, calling the organization and Bill Self out for their failure.

On Locked On College Basketball, NBA analyst Leif Thulin minced no words for Bill Self and his team. He argued that the Cougars have continued to hold their own, despite losing one of the best defensive and offensive players in the country– Jamal Shead. “They find a way. That’s what Houston does. Their culture and coaching tenacity, everything shine through,” he says. But for a team that has added immense new talent this season through transfer portals, backed by NIL, Thulin isn’t very happy with Kansas’ position.

“Kansas bought their team,” he said in a very bold statement. “They bought AJ Storr for over a million dollars. They brought in Rylan Griffen, who actually had an excellent game, to complement Hunter Dickinson, who they also bought in the transfer portal.”

Bill Self & Co. have added 7 transfers to their roster this season, including AJ Storr and Rylan Griffen. The latter of the two reportedly sought $1 million in NIL money during commitment. While the rest isn’t much known, the Jayhawks reportedly invested over $4 million into NIL this season, ranking 3rd in college funds. And it hasn’t all been for nothing.

Hunter Dickinson leads the team in scoring with 15.8 average while Zeke Mayo follows right behind at 14.9. The game on Saturday night even saw the two recording double digits in points– 17 and 16, respectively. Griffen came out of the slump too, to post 17 points. However, while these have been individual miles, Thulin does not see it translated into team efforts, citing compatibility and personalities as a big issue for Bill Self to face.

“They can’t figure out how to play together, and that has seemed like the biggest issue. I thought it would be babysitting for Kansas… Would Bill Self be able to babysit all these egos and manage them properly?” The answer Thulin gave for that was a resounding no, considering that Self hasn’t been able to figure it out this season.

In recording their third loss in the conference, Bill Self admits the team fumbled in the absence of their leading scorers– Dickinson and Flory Bidunga. AJ Storr even went scoreless across 18 minutes of play, recording a rebound and an assist. Dajuan Harris Jr. would miss a free throw, Mayo recorded a turnover, and the Cougars dropped two 3-pointers, all in 18 seconds to snatch the 6-point lead away from the Jayhawks and force a second overtime. Kansas never recovered.

Houston prides itself on its culture. They hustle, they scrap, and they claw for their wins, evident against Kansas. “The culture beat the price tag that was bought by Kansas, and Houston goes into Kansas and wins,” Thulin adds. Bill Self, however, doesn’t seem to be dwelling on the process. He had expressed that change is an inevitable part and one has to adjust if they aren’t to be left in the dirt.

The Jayhawks have incurred 5 losses so far, maintaining their spot in the top 25 for 12 consecutive weeks. But they still have work to do.

What comes next for Bill Self and his Jayhawks?

With March Madness slowly creeping up, the Kansas Jayhawks have a lot to prove in their post-season run this year. They have twelve games left before the tournament and the Bill Self team is vying for a revival after an upsetting run last season. The team had lost more conference games than they had in the last 30 years (10-8).

They are nearly halfway there, having started off the conference with a 62-61 loss to West Virginia. But with AJ Adams’ return by Feb 1st and the resilience the Jayhawks showed in a game against a team like Houston, which is on a 12-game win streak, they aren’t too off the mark.

Flory Bidunga impressed with a career-high 19-point performance, Griffen bounced back, and Dajuan Harrisproved to be the reliable force with 8 points and 12 assists. But as Thulin states, a few players haven’t quite found their roles in the team just yet. “You haven’t found AJ Storr the ability to go downhill, because what you want is for him to shoot because they have three inept shooters. But he’s not a catch and shoot guy, he’s a driver.”  

The NBA analyst also talked about how Rylan Griffen fits the catch-and-shoot role. Unfortunately, he has been fluctuating in and out of the starting line-up. Kansas will now have to lock in its culture, and double their efforts. If they want to disprove all the talk about them not being able to win, Bill Self and company must put in the hard yards.