In 2003, Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber walked into his team’s locker room before a game wearing a black suit and told them he was there to bury Bill Self.
Self was not dead then. He’s not dead now, in fact, still alive and well and coaching basketball at Kansas. Weber simply needed to kill the idea of Self, who had reached a legendary status in his time as Illinois’ basketball coach prior to Weber. The stunt produced some odd looks toward Weber, including from Self, but it also worked.
The next season, Illinois was a No.