The Kansas Jayhawks punched their ticket to the 2012 Final Four on Sunday after defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels. It's certainly an exciting time to be a Jayhawks fan.
Kansas' coach Bill Self met with the media on Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse to talk about the season, and the upcoming challenge against Ohio State.
As expected, Self was nothing but complimentary about the Buckeyes:
"Their team has gotten better. People should talk about (sophomore forward) Jared (Sullinger) because he's terrific. He's an All-American without question, but I think (senior guard William) Buford is pretty good and (sophomore forward) Deshaun Thomas is averaging 22 points per game in the tournament. (Sophomore guard Aaron) Craft is as good as any guard around and (sophomore guard Lenzelle) Smith (Jr.) has played exceptionally well throughout Big Ten play. Their bench is good too, and they're big. Jared is terrific and deserves the accolades, but they're not a one-man band."
That's pretty much what you'd expect Self to say, and it's good that Self isn't just focused on Jared Sullinger. Self is also aware that Kansas' victory over Ohio State earlier this year is essentially meaningless. When asked if people can take anything away from that game, Self said:
"You can, but the circumstances are completely different. This might as well be a whole new year since the last time we played them. Jared (Sullinger) didn't play which is the biggest thing."
Self, of course, is exactly right. Even if Sullinger had played, the result of the prior meeting is inconsequential on the Final Four matchup.
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