Stoops-Self comparison worth making once more
Published: 10/26/2011 9:05 AM
Last Modified: 10/26/2011 9:06 AM
Two proven coaches. Two terrific recruiters. Both have won a national championship. Both rule the Big 12 Conference.
Both have also come up short in several other postseasons. And every now and then, both lose games that everybody had them winning.
Bob Stoops and Bill Self. You would love to have them. You would be nuts to criticize them. But then that clunker comes along and people like Skip Bayless start screaming in the streets.
Eric Sorrentino of the Lawrence Journal-World made the Stoops-Self comparison last March after VCU stunned the Jayhawks to reach the Final Four.
"The unfortunate reality for these coaches is that the last game of the season is the one that's remembered most," Sorrentino wrote. "For Stoops, much of the time, it's Boise State's miracle in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. For Self, much of the time, it will be VCU."
After Texas Tech jolted OU last Saturday, Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star revisted the comparison.
Stoops and Self, Kerkhoff wrote, "rarely lose at home, spoil their fans with remarkable success, are the envies of the Big 12 and battle Texas as their chief competitive rival.
"Both fan bases go full zombie in the aftermath of an upset loss, which usually ends a national championship quest. For the Jayhawks, it happens in the NCAA Tournament, as it did last March against VCU. For the Sooners, it probably happened Saturday."
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
