Bless their hearts. On day No. 1,863 since incriminating news broke pertaining to Kansas men’s basketball via the FBI, the school got around to acknowledging that, gosh, maybe it has some NCAA culpability here. Maybe the victimhood play had run its course.
Maybe head coach Bill “Just Gotta Get A Couple Real Guys” Self was more than just a naive sap hoodwinked by Adidas in the federal investigation of corruption in college basketball. Maybe assistant coach Kurtis Townsend—heard on an FBI wiretap saying, “We're going to have to do it some way,” in response to a list of impermissible benefits allegedly being sought by Zion Williamson—has some NCAA rule exposure as well. Maybe enlisting bagman T.J. Gassnola and sneaker execs James Gatto and Merl Code to help with recruiting could have some consequences. Maybe Gassnola paying player Billy Preston’s mom $89,000 could be a problem the school has to answer for.
Maybe, after five years of being anything but accountable, Kansas was sufficiently cornered that it has to do something with a head coach who was charged with one of five Level I violation levied at the Jayhawks. Not a lot, of course. But something.
