I'm not sure what the myth is. It's pretty much a point that can't be proven or disproven. I'm of the opinion that there never was a chance to keep Self if KU came calling. He clearly likes to play a bit looser than our admin would agree to. Plus, it's going back home. I think IU would have an extra draw for example, for a coach from the midwest. You actually don't have to look much further than the Self hiring itself. Kansas couldn't offer Roy Williams enough money to stay because of the draw of his alma mater. No Self wasn't a KU guy, but he did coach there and he did play in that conference.I find this myth ridiculous. Arkansas isn’t some Blue Blood, lol, and it’s not a better job than Illinois. We were underpaying him BADLY, and he was either going to get an appropriate raise or go somewhere he would be paid fairly. If Whitman’s checkbook were out, this place would have had as much “cache” as anywhere else.
Guenther made plenty of poor decisions. Hiring Lou Tepper when Mackovic had set us up for a good hire was first, second, and third on that list. But failing to keep Self wasn't on him because I don't think anything would have kept him.