Bill Self walked the red carpet in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Center Court grand ballroom into the waiting arms of John Doleva on Thursday afternoon. Doleva is the Hall’s president/CEO, and he was helping Self, Kansas’ 15th-year coach, slip on the famed “Orange Jacket.”
“I don’t know if it’s the jacket you can wear out in public that often, but this certainly is nice,” Self said of the coat given to all inductees the day before enshrinement ceremonies.
“I hope it doesn’t feel like a ball. It’s supposed to look like one,” Self added, running his fingers over the smooth garment.