/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53904065/usa_today_9970968.0.jpg)
Bill Self has struggled all season to keep this mischievous group of Jayhawks in line. It appears he’s finally had enough with one of their star players. Freshman Josh Jackson will not be allowed to play in any of the remaining games in the NCAA Tournament.
“Enough is enough. The timing was finally right to send our program a gentle message that these shenanigans will not be tolerated for the remainder of the season,” Self told reporters Saturday evening after the Jayhawks suffered their second home loss of the season.
Josh Jackson, though upset his career with Kansas is likely over, understands where Coach Self is coming from.
“He has always been good about trying to teach us lessons when he knows it won’t impact our success on the court,” the future Sacramento King told WRNL.
Throughout a majority of the season Bill Self has decided to handle discipline internally. He even made the empty threat of moving players back to traditional student housing where an increased police presence might help his athletes learn their lesson.
Fans aren’t happy with the decision to forfeit the remainder of the tournament, especially after a loss in Kansas City, a place they’ve been able to rack up one Big 12 tournament title in the last four years. #FireBillSelf has even begun trending on Twitter.
Five years since a Final Four appearance is unacceptable for the program that literally invented the sport. #FireBillSelf #ProvenLoser
— Devin Rudicel (@DevinRudicel) March 26, 2017
@RedAndBlue_KU your program is in free fall. players can't stay out of trouble. #fireBillSelf
— Joseph Calabro (@OfficialOrbalac) February 3, 2017
Back to back home losses. #FireBillSelf
— Dom B. (@DomahawKChop) February 14, 2017
Self also implied that should these transgressions continue further, punishment would definitely be put into effect after Jackson leaves campus for the NBA Draft.
The head coach, who now boasts the record for the most losses in the Elite 8, wants one thing to be very clear to future student athletes: if you’re a Kansas Jayhawk, you shouldn’t expect to be playing in the Final Four. Period.