Kansas wins title -- and could lose its Self in the process

SAN ANTONIO -- Yo, T. Boone. We ain't talking no drive-thru teller anymore. Forget the cashier's check. Go directly to whatever hedge fund you fancy and start withdrawin', pards.

Will Bill Self leave Lawrence and take his national title net to Stillwater? (AP)

Six million? Bill Self spits on $6 million. That's the amount Oklahoma State's Ol' Billionaire -- T. Boone Pickens -- is rumored to be willing to pay the Kansas coach just for putting his name on a contract to coach the Cowboys.

Once he does, Self could get into some really serious money. Six years for an additional $26 million in actual salary is a number that could set up Self's grandchildren's grandchildren for life. That's before Pickens offers to take, say, 80 percent of that money and invest it for Self.

That's what the great money managers do. Two years ago Pickens gave a then-record $165 million donation to Okie State. The New York Times reported that the money spent less than an hour in the university's account before being invested in a hedge fund controlled by Pickens' own BP Capital Management.

It is said to be worth $300 million now.

Monday night, then, was great for Self, bad for Kansas. The guy is going to make out like a bandit one way or another. Good for him. He deserves everything he gets. Five years into the job, Self won the school's third national title, first in 20 years.

Kansas? Athletic director Lew Perkins better have his short list ready.

What we're trying to say here, Jayhawks, is that Mario and the Miracles winning the national championship was about the worst thing that could happen.

To your program.

Pickens is the sweetest of Sugar Daddies. The noted corporate raider is nearing 80. He has preferred late in life to buy Oklahoma State, his alma mater, multiple championships in any sport possible, but mostly football and, now, basketball.

A Tulsa World columnist wrote in a weekend column what we've all been hearing here in San Antonio, that Pickens is going after Self the way Ahab went after whales.

Even if the money figure is not accurate -- some say it's a $10 million bonus -- the whole episode would be ground-breaking.

Maybe it's enough, Jayhawks, that you have your title. Maybe you're willing to wave a fond goodbye to Self.