Bill Self didn’t watch the Liberty Bowl live ... but heard a lot about the thriller

Bill Self’s duties as Kansas men’s basketball coach prevented him from attending Wednesday’s epic Liberty Bowl football game between KU and Arkansas in Memphis.

“Want me to be honest? I was out recruiting. I didn’t get a chance to see one play,” Self said Friday of the Jayhawks’ 55-53 triple overtime loss to the Razorbacks.

Self said he “got reports on (his) phone” while attending the Tournament of Champions high school event at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He sat next to Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton and Cowboy staff member Keiton Page at a game between Oklahoma high schools Bartlesville High and Kingfisher High.

Bartlesville combo guard David Castillo, a 6-foot-1 junior ranked No. 22 in the recruiting class of 2024 by Rivals.com, is considering KU, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Arkansas, Gonzaga and others.

“Of course I had text threads going, people kind of commenting on some things that were going on (in the football game),” Self added.

Self contacted KU football coach Lance Leipold after a thrilling Liberty Bowl in which the Jayhawks erased a 25-point second-half deficit.

“I actually told Lance this after the game. … I said, ‘You should be proud,’ and I know he is because Jayhawk nation is proud,” Self said. “There were a lot of positives that happened this year including the ending because what the ending showed is there’s fight in our program. What it showed is that, ‘Hey, no matter what we’ll compete.’

KU converted a late onside kick and completed a two-point conversion in rallying from 15 points down in the last three minutes.

“That’s what it showed, at least from an outsider reading and studying after the fact without actually seeing the game except for some key plays on replay. That’s what it showed,” Self continued. “I think those things definitely provide a foundation for momentum moving forward as much as anything else.”