The man who invented basketball wasn’t very good at coaching it

Believe it or not, James Naismith is the only coach in Kansas basketball history with a losing career record

With his team’s 77-69 victory over Michigan State in the Champions Classic last Tuesday, Bill Self became the winningest coach in the history of the Kansas basketball program 

(In reality, he did it last year, but since the NCAA has successfully convinced people that it’s possible to vacate wins we all saw occur, Self had to wait a little while longer.)

Given where he’s employed, that’s no small feat. The coach he just surpassed, Phog Allen, has his name gracing Kansas’ famed arena. Beyond that, the Jayhawks are a model of consistency in college basketball, with just eight full-time head coaches since it played its first game all the way back in 1898.

While Self has established himself as one of the greatest coaches in the sport’s history – with two titles, four Final Fours and 814 career wins – he oversees a juggernaut that’s well-positioned for success. No program is truly shielded from a lull or a bad coaching hire – just ask Kenny Payne, Billy Gillispie and Matt Doherty – but Kansas might be the closest thing to an idiot-proof operation. Of the eight men who have coached at least 15 games for the Jayhawks, seven have won at least 59.6% of their games. 

In fact, only one coach finished his Kansas tenure with a losing record. It just so happened to be the guy who invented the sport.