Why Bill Self believes Wichita State basketball is ‘in good hands’ with coach Paul Mills

Back when Bill Self was a first-time college basketball head coach, he felt like he had maximized the potential at Oral Roberts.

The program was transitioning from NAIA to NCAA Division I and Self managed to win 21 games in the 1996-97 season.

“We were really good and we got beat in the first round of the NIT,” Self said. “And we were really good.”

More than two decades later, Paul Mills came along to Oral Roberts and took the program to the Sweet 16 in the 2021 NCAA tournament.

The accomplishment always resonated with Self, now the Hall-of-Fame head coach at Kansas who is keenly aware of the difficulties of winning big at ORU.

“For him to take that program to the Sweet 16,” Self said, “speaks volumes.”

Even before Mills took the job at ORU, Self was aware of who he was as a longtime assistant on Scott Drew’s staff at Big 12 rival Baylor.

The two met for the first time as head coaches this past Saturday, as Self’s No. 2-ranked Jayhawks had little issue putting away Mills’ first team at Wichita State in a 86-67 win at T-Mobile Center.

Afterward, the two-time national championship coach praised the Mills hire for WSU.

“They’re going to do well,” Self said about the Shockers. “The program is in good hands and Wichita State, I don’t know it inside and out, but they love their ball and they’re going to be happy with the hire.”

When Mills was hired at ORU in 2017, Self reached out and offered his help in any way. He’s been a mentor to Mills ever since.

Just like Mills’ Sweet 16 run stuck out to Self, that unsolicited generosity from Self made an impact on Mills.

“As a person, he’s been tremendous to me and I think he’s been an encouragement to a lot of basketball coaches,” Mills said. “I think what coach Self does is he has tremendous perspective. He really sees the game in a unique way. For me, he was extremely helpful when I was at ORU and he told me about his experiences when he took over at ORU.”

In fact, a text message from Self after Mills’ third game as a head coach at Oral Roberts has still made an impact on Mills.

It came after the Golden Eagles lost by 43 points, 91-48, at Oklahoma State on Nov. 16, 2017.

“Man, I only lost by 42 points when I was head coach at Oral Roberts and we played Oklahoma State,” wrote Self to Mills in reference to a 94-52 loss in Stillwater some 24 years before.

The message behind the message applies to Mills’ current journey at WSU.

“It was just a reminder that this is a marathon, not a sprint,” Mills said. “I think I texted him back, ‘If I become a Hall-of-Fame coach, I’ll remember this text message.’ It was just one of those reminders: There’s ups and downs involved in a season and your job is to get better through that whole process.”