Madness came early: Bill Self, ‘slaves’ and TCU without a star player at Big 12 in KC | Opinion

March Madness came early in Kansas City. And the drama unfolding this week at the Big 12 men’s basketball conference tournament at T-Mobile Center is worth a recap.

Where shall we start?

The night before KU tipped off Thursday’s quarterfinal win against West Virginia, head coach Bill Self was hospitalized, according to officials with the University of Kansas Health System. The Hall of Fame coach underwent a successful standard medical procedure and is on the mend, the hospital announced.

We don’t know why Self fell ill. While a mystery, his ailment is a personal matter and we should all respect his privacy. Self is recovering, and his health is more important than basketball games — even ones played in March.

Self will miss the rest of the tournament. The Jayhawks, the NCAA’s defending champions, will go on their latest March Madness journey under interim coach Norm Roberts, a tall but doable order.

Kansas advanced to Friday’s semifinal game in Kansas City against Iowa State. Win or lose, we — along with all of college basketball — wish Self a speedy recovery.

Texas Tech’s Mark Adams blunders on Bible

College basketball players are not slaves. Never should a coach equate athletics with slavery. Newly-former Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams found that out the hard way why correlating owning human beings with playing on a sports team has no place in our society.

On Wednesday, the embattled Adams stepped down. It was the correct decision. Days before Tech arrived in Kansas City, he was suspended pending the outcome of an investigation into his use of words that school officials deemed racially insensitive and unacceptable.

Adams, who is white, used a Bible scripture to encourage a student-athlete to be more receptive to coaching, according to a statement from Texas Tech athletic officials.

The ex-coach “referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters,” Tech officials wrote. “Adams immediately addressed this with the team and apologized.”

Adams never made it to Kansas City. We don’t know whether he’s contrite for his poor choice of words. But the alleged statement, under the pretense of religion, was inappropriate. Adams should use his time off for reflection.

TCU’s Eddie Lampkin takes on coach Jamie Dixon

One of the strangest developments from this week’s Big 12 conference tournament was the beef between Texas Christian University head coach Jamie Dixon and center Eddie Lampkin, TCU’s leading rebounder.

Lampkin never made it to Kansas City, either. He stepped away from the team ahead of the Big 12 tournament. Citing mistreatment, Lampkin reportedly left because of alleged racial remarks directed at him by Dixon.

In a series of Instagram posts, Lampkin accused Dixon of misconduct, too, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

A screenshot of an exchange between Lampkin and a coach sheds light on some of the player’s concerns.

““The pain didn’t come out of nowhere,” read Lampkin’s post. “Coach you know how Dixon treat us and (how) he do us, I told you this (expletive) everyday. I cried to coach to you and Benford. You know wassup, I’m hurt for real for real.”

Earlier this week, in Kansas City for the Big 12 tournament, Dixon declined to comment.

Coaches like Adams and Dixon must do better to motivate the young men under their tutelage. Student-athletes are real humans with real feelings, and must be treated as such.

And that is something all Big 12 fans should agree on.