Bill Self on expectations surrounding Darryn Peterson, his health and MORE | College Basketball

Summary

Podcast Summary: Eye On College Basketball

Episode: Bill Self on expectations surrounding Darryn Peterson, his health and MORE
Date: October 23, 2025
Host: Gary Parrish (CBS Sports)
Guest: Bill Self (Kansas Jayhawks Head Coach)

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Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Gary Parrish sits down with Hall of Fame coach Bill Self to discuss his health journey, Kansas basketball’s recent seasons, and sky-high expectations for freshman phenom Darryn Peterson. Self opens up about recovering from health issues, reflects on his program’s standards, and examines how the sport—and his own motivation—has evolved in an era of swift change.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Bill Self’s Health and Coaching Outlook

• Recovery and Energy

  • Self shares that after a challenging summer and second heart procedure, he's feeling much better and has renewed energy for coaching.
    • "I feel good. Yeah, I feel good... Taking a little bit better care of myself. So my energy level is good." (01:13 – Bill Self)
  • He admits that, for a long period, he didn’t even realize how bad he felt.
    • "Now that I actually feel better... now I know that I actually felt like crap before as opposed to this is just how you feel." (01:49 – Bill Self)

• Reflecting on Recent Seasons in Light of Health

  • Parrish asks whether there’s a connection between Self’s health and KU’s “below standard” recent seasons (seven and four seeds after back-to-back one seeds/national championship).
    • Self is candid: "What would be pretty good for a lot of folks came across as not any good... Our bad years are most people's good years." (03:36 – Gary Parrish / Bill Self)
  • He explains that injuries (losing a five-star guard) and tough Big 12 competition contributed, but ultimately, "those are actually excuses because you have to prepare for the negative. And I didn't think we did as good a job of that last year." (04:17 – Bill Self)

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Darryn Peterson: Next Jayhawks Great?

• Elite Freshman Hype

  • Parrish draws a parallel to past KU freshmen (Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid), recalling Self’s early Embiid prediction.
    • “You were like... that’s going to be the best player I’ve ever coached.” (05:19 – Gary Parrish)

• Self’s Evaluation of Peterson

  • “This is the most talented player I’m going to coach, most talented freshman, hands down, best combination of prospect player at age 18.” (05:33 – Bill Self)
  • Self is quick to note how prepared and mature Peterson is compared to previous elite recruits:
    • "Darryn is more prepared right now than any of the guys I’ve ever had... The game's in slow motion to him compared to other 18-year-olds." (05:33 – Bill Self; 07:01 – Bill Self)
  • Still, he emphasizes potential over guarantees: “It remains to be seen if Darryn... can get to the level where you’re amongst the world’s elite as opposed to the high school nation’s elite.” (05:33 – Bill Self)

• Peterson’s Skillset and Poise

  • Parrish notes scouting reports for Peterson are “almost unlike any other” with superlatives across the board.
  • Self agrees but highlights the challenge ahead: “It takes a lot of energy to be elite at everything... But I actually agree with things that have been said about him, but he’s still got to do it at a higher level.” (07:01 – Bill Self)

• Kobe Bryant Comparisons

  • Parrish asks about comparisons to Kobe Bryant. Self, amused, urges caution:
    • “That’s definitely a slowdown... Could he be one of the Premier players in college basketball this year? Absolutely. But... making those comparisons [is] a little premature.” (07:54–09:00 – Bill Self)

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Coaching Motivation and Embracing Change

• Retirement Speculation and Drive

  • With college basketball coaches retiring earlier, Parrish implies Self may be close to stepping away after health scares.
  • Self is unequivocal: “I didn’t think about it until I had my recent health scare. Then the doctors kind of confirmed to me that, Bill, why, if you love it, why would you stop it? Because you’re fine.” (09:30 – Bill Self)
  • He’s motivated not to leave on a "down year" and wants to prove Kansas can remain elite amid a shifting landscape.

• The Changing College Basketball Landscape

  • Self acknowledges the frustration with today’s recruiting—"recruiting professional players to come play on college teams, that's just different. That's hard for people to put their arms around." (10:10 – Bill Self)
  • Still, he finds pride in adapting: “What I would take great pride in is... the Coach Sutton's... the Mike Krzyzewskis of the world that did it in different time frames and was able to figure it out enough to excel in each time frame… It’s a different time frame now and I really want to see if we can be in the elite in this time frame.” (11:02–11:39 – Bill Self)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Health:

  • “Now that I actually feel better... now I know that I actually felt like crap before as opposed to this is just how you feel.” (01:49 – Bill Self)

• On KU’s Standards:

  • “Our bad years are most people’s good years.” (03:36 – Gary Parrish)
  • “The worst team up until last year that I’ve had... was a 4 seed in the tournament.” (03:38 – Bill Self)

• On Darryn Peterson’s Talent:

  • “Most talented freshman, hands down, best combination of prospect player at age 18.” (05:33 – Bill Self)
  • “He’s not 18 years old when he steps on the court. He’s a 25-year-old vet when he steps on the court.” (07:01 – Bill Self)

• On Kobe Bryant Comparisons:

  • “That’s definitely a slowdown... making those comparisons [is] a little premature.” (07:54–09:00 – Bill Self)

• On Retirement:

  • “I won’t even consider not going out on a down year. I mean, that’s not even consideration. We got to get this thing back to exactly where I know it can be.” (10:00 – Bill Self)

• On Adapting to Change:

  • “All professions evolve and change over time. We’re at the height of the change... But right now it’s so frustrating because... that is recruiting professional players to come play on college teams, that’s just different.” (10:10 – Bill Self)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 00:43–01:49: Bill Self on his health, recovery, and new energy
• 02:50–04:42: Recent KU seasons, injuries, and adapting to challenges
• 04:42–07:45: Darryn Peterson’s hype, Bill’s scouting memories, and Peterson compared to past KU stars
• 07:45–09:00: Comparisons to Kobe Bryant, the difficulty of dominating young
• 09:00–11:42: Coaching legacy, thoughts on retirement, adapting to college basketball’s new era

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Conclusion

This episode offers a candid, insightful, and at times humorous look into Bill Self’s mindset. He’s energized after a health scare, has high hopes for Darryn Peterson, and remains laser-focused on guiding Kansas to sustained greatness, even as the sport transforms around him. Basketball fans and Jayhawk faithful alike will find Self's blend of honesty, humility, and competitive fire as compelling as ever.

Transcript

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[Gary Parrish]

Gary Parrish, CBS Sports. I own college basketball podcast here with of course, the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, Naismith Memorial hall of Famer, multi time national champion, Bill South. Bill, how you doing? It's good to see you.

[Bill Self]

Hey, you read that exactly as I had written it for you. That's fantastic.

[Gary Parrish]

You do understand you can be introduced the rest of your life. Hall of Famer, multiple national champions.

[Bill Self]

There's a lot of other ways I think that people would like to introduce me in some form or fashion, but I appreciate it.

[Gary Parrish]

You look good. How you feeling?

[Bill Self]

I feel good. Yeah, I feel good. I didn't have the best into summer, but since then I think I've had a knot put on my head and I've rebound from it pretty well and actually taken a little bit better care of myself. So my energy level is good.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah. So for people who don't know, you had a second heart procedure earlier this year, and in listening to you talk about that, you said something that really stuck with me, which was for a while you just felt the way you felt and you just think that's the way you're supposed to feel. You didn't even know what feeling good felt like.

[Bill Self]

I.

[Gary Parrish]

And I think I understand that because I think I'm the same way.

[Bill Self]

I actually, you know, I had a, I had a situation where I couldn't coach in 23, you know, miss the NCAA tournament and all that, and actually got sick right after that and didn't recover because they couldn't figure out what's wrong with me for a long time. And then I had this episode and it's been like for. Since so two years, it's been like a revolving cycle where I never quite got back to 100%. So I just kind of went with the flow like what you're saying. And now that I actually feel better and taken a little bit better care of myself and stuff like that, now I know that I actually felt like crap before as opposed to this is just how you feel. So I'm excited about it. I like our team. I got energy. I love coaching them. And if we don't perform well. That will not be the reason why.

[Gary Parrish]

Do you connect? Do you make any connection between your health and the past two seasons? Because obviously they've fallen below the standard that you have incredibly set.

[Bill Self]

You know, we were a four seed last year and a seven seed the year last year in the four seed the year prior and you know that's coming off back to back one seeds and, and a national championship and it felt like more of a letdown and disappointment and I felt bad for the guys because you know, we had experienced, you know, more success and so what would be pretty good for a lot of folks came across as not any good.

[Gary Parrish]

Your bad years are most people's good years.

[Bill Self]

Yeah. And last year was a, a bad year by our standard. You know, the worst team up until last year that I've had since 2000, 2001 was a 4 seed in the tournament. So that's the worst team that we've had. And last year was we were seven and we labored and kids played their butts off. But you know, it was just a harder team pieces didn't quite fit as well and our league was damn good. So you know, we, you know, you couldn't just go get well in in a two or three, three week span in our league. So, so.

[Gary Parrish]

And you also lost a five star guard in the preseason.

[Bill Self]

Yeah, we did. But, but, but, but that's part of it though. I mean people get hurt. People lose a wide receiver or a quarterback or a pass rusher or whatever and it totally changes how the team looks. But you know, at the end of the day it's still a bottom line business. And those are actually excuses because you have to prepare for the negative. And I didn't think we did as good a job of that last year.

[Gary Parrish]

Let's talk about this season's team, headlined of course by Darren Peterson. You probably won't remember this. I remember it vividly. I came to Lawrence in advance of Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid's freshman season and I was there to do a story on wigs because he was the CBS Sports preseason national player of the year. And we were there at Allen Field House, maybe the practice facility, and Joel Embiid was doing some individual work with like a manager. And you were like, so you're here to do a story on wigs? And I said yeah. And you then pointed at Joel and said that's going to be the best player I've ever coached. And I said really? Because he's not even ranked that way.

[Bill Self]

Right now he didn't even start.

[Gary Parrish]

Yes.

[Bill Self]

Yeah, I didn't even start at first.

[Gary Parrish]

And I just. That has always stuck with me because he is. He's gone on to be an mvp. And now when you talk about Darren Peterson, you say, this is the most talented player I'm going to coach, most.

[Bill Self]

Talented freshman, hands down, best combination of prospect player at age 18 and you coach an MVP. But it remains to be seen if Darren or whoever can get to the level where you're amongst the world's elite as opposed to the high school nation's elite. But as far as coming in, I mean, Darren and Joel or Darren and Wiggs or Darren and Josh or Darren and Sharon or some of those guys that I've had, Darren is more prepared right now than any of the guys that I've ever had. But those guys got a lot better after they got here. And it remains to be seen what that finish line looks like with Darren. But I wouldn't be surprised if he can't develop into one of the elite players in the world in due time.

[Gary Parrish]

Right. I have obviously seen him. I enjoy reading the scouting reports because they're almost unlike any other scouting reports you read about anybody. For instance, you read a scouting report about a guard sometimes that'll say, well, athletic, can really shoot it, but lacks a feel for the game or isn't an alpha or motor isn't great. And yet with Darren, and you would know better than I, but everything I read is great motor, great focus, can really handle it. Can't shoot it. Can't. It's like he's elite at basically everything you want somebody to be elite at.

[Bill Self]

Could be. Yeah, could be. You know, it takes a lot of energy to be elite at everything, you know, But I actually agree with things that have been said about him, but he's still got to do it at a higher level. And the other thing is, the most impressive thing about him is he's not 18 years old when he steps on the court. He's a 25 year old vet when he steps on the court, the game's in slow motion to him compared to other 18 year olds. And I think that's the thing that probably makes him as special as anything is that he plays well beyond his years.

[Gary Parrish]

People have thrown around the name Kobe Bryant.

[Bill Self]

When you hear that, I haven't heard that one. But that's a but when you hear.

[Gary Parrish]

That, do you say slow down?

[Bill Self]

That's. That's definitely a slowdown.

[Gary Parrish]

Okay, gotcha.

[Bill Self]

No, no. Could he be one of the Premier players in college basketball this year. Absolutely. But at age 19, if I'm not mistaken, Kobe may have made the All Star Game. I mean, if. Did Kobe.

[Gary Parrish]

I believe he was there that young was in the documentary.

[Bill Self]

Yeah, Yeah, I thought he did. Now, if he did in his first year, he did.

[Gary Parrish]

He was very young.

[Bill Self]

Very young. Now, can. Can. Can a college kid become that? I guess they can, but you know that those guys are few. Look at some of the best ones that's come out. Cade Cunningham. Cade is great. Still, took him a couple of years to get his feet, you know, legs under him and stuff like that. And there's more. Cooper. It'd be great to see how Cooper reacts in his first year because he's one of the best players college basketball has seen in the last decade, and there's so many others. It's hard to dominate grown men when you're 19 years old. First you got to dominate at our level. And does he have potential to do that? Absolutely. But making those comparisons a little premature to do that.

[Gary Parrish]

Last thing before I get you out of here. We now are working in an era where we were seeing coaches lead the sport earlier than I think some of us anticipated. Jay Wright, Tony Bennett, Bruce Pearl, most recently. On one hand, I think people will look at you and say, okay, 62 years old, had a couple procedures. Maybe it's close. On the other hand, I hear you say, I feel better than I felt in a long time.

[Bill Self]

I actually do feel better, and I felt a long time.

[Gary Parrish]

Where are you at in that conversation? Do you think about it at all?

[Bill Self]

I didn't think about it until I had my recent health scare. Then I'm. Then the doctors kind of confirmed to me that, Bill, why, if you love it, why would you stop it? Because you're fine. So if you take care of yourself, you're fine. The thing, Gary, that probably interests me as much as anything. We've had two down years by Kansas standards. I won't even consider not going out on a down year. I mean, that's not even consideration. We got to get this thing back to exactly where I know it can be consistently, because it's been proven over time. And the other thing is, everybody says, which I agree in theory, that the college game is so different, bring back the way it used to be. We miss the way it used to be. You know what? There's things about it that I really miss, too. There's things about a lot of people miss about the way their job was 15 or 20 years ago. But all professions evolve and change over time. We're at the height of the change. It'll lessen out, the guardrails will get back on, there will be parameters. But right now it's so frustrating because when you're at the end of the career and you're seeing some of the things that's going on right now, that is recruiting professional players to come play on college teams, that's just different. That's hard for people to put their arms around. But that's in the short term. And to me, what I would take great pride in is the Coach Sutton's of the world, the Larry Browns of the world, the Mike Krzyzewskis of the world that did it in different time frames and was able to figure it out enough to excel in each time frame. I think that we've actually done a good job in winning it in 08 and then winning it 14 years later. But it's a different time frame now and I really want to see if we can be in the elite in this time frame.

[Gary Parrish]

Bill, it's always good to see you. I appreciate your time. All right.

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