Give credit to Bill Self for one thing. He's come out swinging.
When you are accused of alleged NCAA violations, you have two options. You can cooperate and bank on leniency. Or you can fight. The Kansas basketball coach has chosen the latter option.
As the Kansas City Star reported, Kansas has received a notice of allegations from the NCAA concerning widespread rule breaking in its athletic program. The allegation include three separate Level 1 violations in basketball, including a lack of institutional control and a head coach responsibility charge against Self. That could bring a postseason ban of up to five years and a one-year ban for the Kansas head coach.
The Star referred to the allegations as "seismic."
Self fired back in a public statement accusing the NCAA of a "false narrative" and claiming that the Indianapolis body was trying to "regain control" after being embarrassed by what transpired in the FBI's investigation into college basketball corruption.
"The narrative is based on innuendo, half-truths, misimpression's and mischaracterizations," Self said.
The coach has a point, but not sure that's going to help his case. As Dan Wetzel of Yahoo points out, "much of the notice of allegations comes from under-oath federal testimony and other evidence provided from T.J. Gassnola, a longtime Self confidant and friend who also served as a so-called 'bag man' for Adidas grassroots basketball."
There was plenty of damning testimony involving Kansas in the FBI's report and the trials that followed. The Jayhawks have claimed they were a victim of Adidas' bidding, but that will be more difficult to prove after Gassnola's testimony.
It's probably true that the NCAA is aggressively trying to re-establish its control over the sport. But I doubt Self's claims are going to hold much weight with the body. Bottom line: The Kansas coach is in real trouble.
