by Michael Rosenberg

Updated: April 10, 2008, 4:36 PM EST 324 comments

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Self had just restored Kansas atop the college basketball world. He did it 20 years after Danny Manning and the Miracles won the title. He did it with Manning on his bench, as an assistant. He did it while remaining as approachable as any big-time coach in the country, happy to answer any question, quick to deflect any praise.

He doesn't ask for sympathy when he loses and doesn't complain when the fans overreact. He says it is part of coaching at Kansas. It's the price you pay for a chance at nights like Monday.

Now Self is a national champion and has decided to stay at a program where he can recruit more national-championship talent.

But why on Earth would he ever have left?

I wonder if Self was thinking about that Monday night. Actually, I bet he wasn't. I bet it never crossed his mind, because I bet leaving Kansas never crossed his mind.

Oklahoma State was on the verge of an unconventional alumni fundraising campaign: one where the school tries to give money to an alum. Self went to Oklahoma State. He and his wife Cindy are from Oklahoma. They were surely going to receive a monster offer from Oklahoma State, which would have included:

1. Ginormous checks, like the kind they give out after golf tournaments and in Publishers Clearinghouse commercials.

2. Solid gold rims on both the basket and the Selfs' cars.

3. A lifetime supply of toilet-paper rolls made of money.

Oklahoma State booster T. Boone Pickens is serious about buying an elite athletic program. It's not how I'd spend my money, but hey, it's not my money.

Self was asked the Oklahoma State question again Monday night, and again, he didn't rule it out. He even said of his leaving: "I guess it potentially could happen." But as I listened to Self under the Alamodome stands, I got the sense I have heard this kind of talk before.

It was not the talk of a man who is about to jump ship.

It was the talk of a man who is about to get a raise.

Self said he will always take a call from Oklahoma State, because it's his alma mater and he has great affection for it. He said he would advise Oklahoma State to "go in another direction."

And he said that if his conversation with Perkins goes well, he'll stay at Kansas. Apparently it did go well. Kansas just won a national championship and beat Roy Williams en route. The school was not going to sit idly by and let its coach skip town.

To sum up: Self didn't want Oklahoma State. But if he can use this to get a raise...well, this is America. Boone Pickens isn't the only smart businessman.

Self said something else Monday night that should excite Kansas fans (not that they need any more excitement). He was asked about finally breaking through in the tournament — until this year, the Elite Eight featured a '"DO NOT ENTER, BILL SELF'" sign, and his Kansas teams were known for getting upset in the tournament.

His response: "Everybody is saying 'finally this' and 'finally that.' I'm not that old."

Self is 45. Some very good coaches don't get their big break until they turn 45. He now has an opportunity to coach another 15 to 20 years at one of the top five programs in college basketball, having already delivered a national championship.

How rare is this chance? Well, Mike Kryzyzewski is the only active coach who knows what it's like. Coach K won his first title at Duke in 1991, when he was 44. The last two decades have worked out pretty well for him.

Rick Pitino had the chance at Kentucky, left and later regretted it. Tubby Smith looked like he'd have the chance at Kentucky, but he got tired of the Lexington pressure cooker. Williams didn't win his title at North Carolina until he was 54.

Kansas just reaffirmed its place alongside Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA on college basketball's top shelf. Indiana should be there, and Tom Crean might make that happen. But who else has that combination of prestige, tradition, fan support and upside? Nobody.

Five years ago, Self left a plum gig at Illinois to go to Lawrence. His Illinois team had just earned a No. 1 seed in the tournament; he had Deron Williams and most of the team that would almost win a national championship in 2005. But when Kansas called, he eagerly answered.

"Illinois is a great job," Self said then. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

He knew it then and he knows it today. Boone Pickens might have bundles of cash, but for a college basketball coach, Kansas is truly a gold mine.

Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg is a contributor to FOXSports.com. An archive of his Free Press columns can be found here.