MONSTER ENERGY BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL MEDIA DAYS

October 20, 2026

Bill Self

Keanu Dawes

Kohl Rosario

Tyran Stokes

Kansas Jayhawks

Media Day Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Kansas.

Coach, this is a unique group. It's changing so fast. So many new faces, new places. You have stayed the same. You are the face of Kansas basketball. What makes this group unique among all the teams and rosters you have compiled?

BILL SELF: Well, I appreciate you making me feel so old right when we get up here (smiling).

I like our roster. I liked our roster before three weeks ago. Our roster's changed dramatically in the last three weeks.

I think we're deeper. I think we're more skilled shooting the basketball. I think we're longer. I think we're more athletic. Now, those are nice things about a team. How tough are we? How much we like each other? Will we sacrifice for the good of others? Can we put winning over everything else? Those are intangible things that nobody will figure out till later on.

I think this team has a chance to be very, very good.

THE MODERATOR: Generally speaking, now that exhibitions are in play, secret scrimmages sometimes we hear about, how have those changed how well your team can gel and get you ready for the approaching season?

BILL SELF: I think our private scrimmages are going to be on ESPN against Duke and Louisville tomorrow, ESPN or whatever it's on (smiling). We don't get those. We've done those, and they've been very beneficial.

I think tomorrow will be a great eye-opening experience for probably both Louisville and ourself that what we've emphasized, if we actually can do what we emphasized. Even though everybody wants to win, all these things, and certainly we do as much as anybody, but let's focus on doing what we do and understand there's going to be situations that come up in the game that we haven't even discussed yet.

Be patient, but still yet what we have discussed is be as good as we can be at that.

THE MODERATOR: Kohl, what has you most excited playing somebody not wearing a Kansas jersey in practice?

KOHL ROSARIO: We've been playing against each other for about two months now, going at each other's heads competing. It's always good being on a team, a group of guys that are going to bring energy, toughness to get the win.

THE MODERATOR: Tyran, what does wearing the Kansas jersey across your chest mean to you and your basketball career?

TYRAN STOKES: For me, like I've been saying all day, it's a pride thing. All the players that came through this university and put on this uniform, they've all done something great or done what they can to make Kansas look great. I feel like when I put this uniform on, I go play against another team, I got to do whatever I can for that legacy to continue.

THE MODERATOR: Why was this the right landing spot for you?

KEANU DAWES: I think my senior year, one of the things I haven't proven I can do is win. If you look back at all my years, I haven't really won much in my college career. I feel like there's no better way to end than trying to win the biggest thing possible, and I feel like there's nowhere else I can do it better than Kansas.

THE MODERATOR: You can practice all you want, but sometimes you get into scenarios where now we know what we're going to do because this is very unique. How long do you typically feel it takes for you to know what your team actually is?

BILL SELF: I don't think that we'll become a team until we go through some stuff, and that will probably be in January, till we actually become a team.

I think we'll be a coach-led team because we have so many new faces, and we probably won't become a team team until it can become a player-led team. We're obviously still in the early stages of that.

I'm not going to get too hung up on what we do well or what we don't do well early, but I'm going to get hung up on the process of hopefully getting everyone to understand this is what we take to be good when it counts the most, and we need to practice that way each and every day to work towards that.

THE MODERATOR: Tyran, what are you looking forward to most about college basketball and playing in the Big 12?

TYRAN STOKES: Just the toughness. I like to play with toughness in my game. I'm very aggressive, people would say. Playing against other teams, like Houston, they're going to try to come and take our necks out each and every night. Brings the dog out of me and the rest of my teammates.

THE MODERATOR: Any newcomers like Tyran or anybody else on your team that hasn't experienced that, where does that advice begin to prepare for the gauntlet?

KEANU DAWES: I think it's something you can't put into words. It's more something you got to show. Like you can show as much as you can in practice, but it doesn't begin to show until you actually get into the thick of things.

KOHL ROSARIO: He's completely right when he says that. I feel like in this league you've got to hit first or you're going to get hit. The contact is going to come no matter what. We just got to be the aggressor.

THE MODERATOR: Because you are such a beloved coach and figure in this league, a lot of people are concerned about you and your well-being and your health. How are you feeling these days overall?

BILL SELF: I never heard anybody in Manhattan call me beloved. But I feel good. I had my knee replaced. I feel good. I'm excited to coach this group because I think this group wants to be coached.

THE MODERATOR: Haven't lost your sense of humor.

BILL SELF: Those are pretty bad jokes. If you guys laughed, you probably don't have much of one yourself (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Coach, I asked fellow coaches about your legacy. The responses were met with an overwhelming amount of respect and gratitude for you. Whether this is your last season or not, what is your message to Kansas fans and the college basketball world in general as you enter your 24th season?

BILL SELF: That's 24 at Kansas. It's a lot more than that when you look at the other spots. Kelvin is still a lot older (smiling).

You know what, I don't even think that I'll even think about the question. It's a good question, but what my legacy is? Hopefully what we do this year and what we do next year. There's a lot of great coaches in this league, as you guys know. It's a coaches' league. There's a lot of terrific talent.

The reality of it is that this league's going to remain good because of the people that are in charge of their respective programs.

I'm not really concerned about that. I'm certainly not thinking like it's my last. I know I'm on the back nine, but I don't have whether it's 14 or 16, I don't know what hole I'm on right now. A lot depends on how we feel. As long as we play well, I'll feel a lot better.

Q. Tyran, what is one aspect of your game that you worked on that people might not recognize when they watch your highlights?

TYRAN STOKES: I think when you watch my highlights, it doesn't really show my passing ability and how I can get my teammates involved, get them easy looks. I penetrate very well. Being able to get downhill easily, seeing the open man. Yeah, that's probably one thing I'd say, just my passing ability.

Q. Coach, when you look at how the college athletics landscape has changed over time, how do you see that affecting the way that rosters are built?

BILL SELF: Well, yeah, it's affected everybody. It's a great question in that in theory programs with the most money have the best opportunity to put together the best rosters. That is true.

But you can study, evaluate chemistry, a lot of those things may be even more emphasized now than ever before. The thinking is what percentage of your budget is player A worth, player B worth, player C worth. There's a lot of different strategies that go into it.

But I still think before rosters were more or less built on development. I think now the rosters are more or less built on win today.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, how have things changed in a day-to-day job perspective for you the most over the last few years?

BILL SELF: From my perspective, I think we all can be control freaks from time to time. There's not enough time in the day unless you don't delegate. You got to trust the people that you're delegating to.

I know that coaches' utilization of their own staff is different from a mindset and from an organizational standpoint than maybe what it even was five years ago because there was, it felt like, more hours in the day. There's no more hours in the day. There's just a lot more things you have to consider.

Removing responsibilities of things that maybe don't really emphasize winning and losing so you can focus on those things that do emphasize that.

THE MODERATOR: Coach and student-athletes, we thank you for your time.