A 44-minute initial phone conversation between Bill Self and Jeff Long, followed by additional chats between the Kansas basketball coach and the Jayhawks’ athletic director candidate, apparently proved pivotal in Long taking the job.
“I saw first hand why Bill Self is such a great recruiter, because I’ll be candid, he recruited me here,” former Arkansas and Pittsburgh AD Long said Wednesday at his introductory news conference in KU’s Lied Center.
“That meant a lot to me that Bill reached out," Long said. "And he did. He recruited me. I’ve respected him throughout my career in athletics.