Kansas head coach Bill Self will coach the USA U18 team in the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men June 11-17 in St. Catherines, Canada.
Dayton coach Anthony Grant and Wake Forest’s Danny Manning will assist.
As a result, Self and his staff will have access to a tremendous pool of recruits, although the team has yet to be named. Last year’s U17 Junior National Team October Minicamp roster included current Kansas signee Quentin Grimes, uncommitted Class of 2018 shooting guard Romeo Langford and uncommitted 2018 point guard Anfernee Simons, among many others. Uncommitted Class of 2019 stars Vern Carey and Scottie Barnes of University (FL) School were both among the pool.
“The leadership of Bill, Anthony and Danny will be instrumental in the development of the U18 national team,” said Matt Painter , head coach at Purdue University and chair of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee, which is responsible for selecting the USA U18 staff and athletes. “They are outstanding leaders that get the most from the players they coach and will be able to continue the success that the U18 team has experienced on the global level.”
Now in his 15 th season at the helm of the University of Kansas, Self will tackle his first USA Basketball coaching assignment. Previously, he served as a member of the 2005-08 USA Basketball Men’s Collegiate Committee.
With the Jayhawks, he has compiled a 443-95 record (all records are as of March 12) for an incredible 82.3 winning percentage.
Self has led Kansas to 14-straight Big 12 Conference regular season championships (2005-18), two NCAA Final Four appearances (2008 and 2012) and the 2008 NCAA national championship, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
He owns a career record of 650-200 (.765) in 25 seasons overall as an NCAA head coach, including four seasons at Oral Roberts University (1993-94 to 1996-97), three at the University of Tulsa (1997-98 to 1999-00) and three at the University of Illinois (2000-01 to 2002-03).
In 2017-18, Kansas is 27-7 and has earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for an eighth time in the past 12 years, which comes on the heels of winning a Big 12 Tournament title.
“It’s an honor to be selected to coach, and I look forward to working with Danny and Anthony and the young men that will represent the USA in the U18 competition,” Self said. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’ve worked with Danny (Manning) quite a bit, but I haven’t had a chance to spend a much time with him as of late, and I look forward to reconnecting,” Self added. “I’ve always thought he has a great basketball mind. I’m very excited about working with Anthony (Grant). He has spent a lot of time running his own programs but also has spent a lot of time with coach (Billy) Donovan at Florida and with the (Oklahoma City) Thunder. I think he will add some things to the staff that we can utilize and make us better.”
