Big Ten Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)
By Joey Loose
9. Big Ten Basketball coach – Bill Self (Illinois, 2000-2003)
Had Kansas not come calling in 2003, there is no doubt that Self would be much higher on this list. He came to Illinois in 2000 after leading Tulsa to a surprise Elite Eight and there would plenty more success in the decades to come. Even though he spent just three years with the Illini, Self created and left behind quite a legacy in those seasons.
This past year’s team was a major step forward, but it’s hard to picture Illinois regularly competing at the top of the Big Ten. In all three of Self’s seasons, Illinois finished in the top two of the Big Ten and won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament. His first team secured a 1-seed and fell in the Elite Eight to Arizona. Self led the Illini to another Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2002. A 78-24 mark is fantastic and clearly attracted Kansas that next offseason.
Self is an incredible recruiter and put together the Illini team that would make the national title game a few years after his departure. He’s due a lot of the credit for this program’s success since the turn of the century. Despite only spending those three years in the Big Ten, the conference was better off because of him. Had Kansas not come knocking in 2003, it’s surreal to think of what this Illinois program could have done in the early part of the century.