This is a touchy subject around these parts, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t bring it up.

I think it’s time that we, as the unified body of Illini Nation, let Bill Self off the hook. Forever.

It’s true that the fires that once burned brighter than an Assembly Hall crowd toward Self ha…This is a touchy subject around these parts, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t bring it up.

I think it’s time that we, as the unified body of Illini Nation, let Bill Self off the hook. Forever.

It’s true that the fires that once burned brighter than an Assembly Hall crowd toward Self have cooled somewhat, but there are those who maintain that hatred, a hatred they may never relinquish.

I’m talking to you people.

I’m talking to my roommate and Illini Pride President Drew Logeman – you know, the one that sends you those “informative” e-mails seemingly every day. This kid knows more about Illinois sports now than I’ll know about anything ever. You think that’s a joke? He’ll walk into our living room while I’m watching TV, and he’ll start spitting about this recruit in Springfield’s height, weight, points per game and grandmother’s shoe size – and this kid isn’t even a guarantee to wear the Orange and Blue. Imagine how much he knows about the guys we do get. I feel like I know Brandon Paul personally.

I’m talking to Drew because every time he walks into our living room and I’m watching the Kansas Jayhawks – which happens every time they’re on ESPN – he gives a quick “pffbt” of disapproval and screams, “Go (blank)!” The blank signifies whomever the Jayhawks are playing.

I’m talking to members of the Inside Illini scout.com message boards, the biggest Illinois fans you’ll ever come across, some of who as recently as a week ago were still putting Bill Self high on their lists of “Top Ten Villains of Illini Basketball.”

It’s time to let it go.

Let’s rehash the Self Saga for those that are uneducated about it: Roy Williams left Lawrence, Kan., to take his dream job as North Carolina’s head coach, leaving a bitter and scorned Jayhawk faithful (sound familiar?). Self, who had been here for three years, led Illinois to believe he was happy where he was.

“This is a great, great program,” Self said to Illini fans and Sports Illustrated in 2003. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I am excited to be your coach.”

He never denied his interest in the Kansas job, one he later called his “dream,” so the Jayhawks kept pushing. Self left us in the lurch a little bit when he suddenly – though somewhat expectedly – bolted for the “Phog” Allen Fieldhouse, spawning nicknames like “Dollar Bill.” He got his raise and an office on Naismith Drive, and Illinois was forced to find another coach, Southern Illinois head coach Bruce Weber.

Now I have a certain loyalty to the Jayhawks, which I won’t get into – I’m not Perez Hilton – but it’s an undeniable loyalty. I’ve watched upwards of 30 of their games over the past two years, and I’ve come to one conclusion: Bill Self is one heck of a coach (yes, I said it) and recruiter and sure seems like one heck of a guy.

But to throw a bone to those that hate Self – are we so sure about that last point?

“He got offered a boat load of money to coach at Oklahoma State after he won the national championship (last year), but nobody here in Lawrence was worried that he would leave,” said Charlie Cassato, a senior and basketball fan at Kansas University. “We all know that he loves this school and we know that he will stay and coach here for a long time.”

An Illini fan saying those words in 2003 wouldn’t have been as certain.

But the guy turned down the biggest payday of his life last year to stay at the place he loves, an honorable move. Sure, we may have been a stepping-stone, but he’s exactly where he wants to be, at his dream school, and our program is on its way back to consistent national prominence.

Self’s departure wouldn’t have created such an uproar if we didn’t know what kind of potential he had. We knew. He led the Jayhawks to the National Championship last year while we toiled in the basement of the Big Ten, failing to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. Self danced until everyone dropped; we didn’t even see the floor.

But those times are long gone. We’re pushing into a new era here, an era in which Bruce Weber is king. Whatever recruiting issues he had have been corrected. He even managed to slip a jewel of a class, our current sophomores, past pretty much everybody. The primary reason that class has become a jewel is because nobody can coach ’em up like Weber. Nobody. Not Self, not Kelvin Sanctions, not anybody.

We’re not the most talented team in the country this year. Let’s face it, we’re not even close. But oh my, how bright the future looks.

Champaign is a dream for Bruce Weber, whose love for this place I don’t believe can be questioned. I can truly say that I’m very happy to have him.

Champaign wasn’t a dream for Bill Self. It was a three-year stop on the way to his goal in Lawrence. He’s there; he’s happy.

Let the guy Rock Chalk in peace.

Rich Mayor is a junior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]