What's Next for the Jayhawks?

The "Bill Self Can't Win the Big Game" notion is officially out the window, and the confetti is still falling from the lighting rigs in the Alamodome ceiling... is it too early to look ahead to next year?

Of course not.

Here's a very early look at what's ahead for the 2008-09 defending national champs:

Coaching: Bill Self is going to be a very wealthy man -- either in Lawrence, Kansas or Stillwater, Oklahoma. In the aftermath of Kansas' overtime win, Self re-stated his earlier assertion that he's not looking for a new job -- but he also refused to rule out a move to his alma mater, Oklahoma State and a massive paycheck funded by oil gazillionaire T. Boone Pickens.

My guess is that he uses the interest from the Cowboys to wrangle a raise and contract extension from the Jayhawks... but it's never really safe to rule out the possibility that a college coach might job-hop.

Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News raised a particularly interesting scenario: if Self does leave for Oklahoma State, one candidate for the Kansas job might be John Calipari. Calipari got his start as a Kansas assistant under Larry Brown, and met his wife while working there. (Calipari's name has also surfaced as a candidate for the soon-to-be-vacant head coaching job with the New York Knicks.)

Roster: The Jayhawks lose five seniors from the championship team, including key contributors Russell Robinson, Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson. Others might depart for the NBA -- Darrell Arthur, Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers are all projected as first-round picks by NBADraft.net.

But that doesn't mean the cupboard will be bare. Self has an excellent freshman class arriving in the fall, headlined by twins Marcus and Markieff Morris -- power forwards both -- shooter Travis Releford and banger Quintrell Thomas. Also new on campus: high-scoring small forward Mario Little and defensive-minded point guard Tyron Appleton -- junior college transfers who will be expected to step in and fill the voids left by Robinson and (potentially) Rush.

Outlook: Repeating as national champions is next-to-impossible in today's NCAA, except in rare cases (as with the Florida Gators of 2006 and 2007) where players decide to forego NBA riches for another run. But the Jayhawks should be a contender in the Big 12 and a high seed in next year's tournament -- no matter who is calling the plays.