Jayhawks’ Bill Self a ‘fan’ of George Mason coach/former Mizzou standout Kim English

Hall of Fame basketball coach Bill Self, who turned 59 on Monday, calls himself a “fan” of 33-year-old up-and-comer Kim English, the former Missouri Tigers star-turned-first-year George Mason University head coach who will bring his Patriots to Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip.

“He is so young and (to) have a job that he does at a young age … he’s going to be one of the young stars in our profession,” Self said of the former Missouri Tigers guard, who went 2-6 as a player against Self’s Kansas teams from 2008-09 to 2011-12.

English, a former Colorado assistant under Tad Boyle, Tennessee assistant under Rick Barnes and Tulsa assistant under Frank Haith, has directed his first Patriots team to a 7-5 record, which includes wins on the road over Maryland and Georgia.

“I’ve actually gotten to know Kim a little bit post college through coaching,” Self said. “I’ve become a fan of his. I was actually a fan before because I don’t know if you guys (media members) remember, we used to jab back in the forth in the media a little bit.

“He would say Kansas City is a Missouri town. I’d get the stats out to disprove that was the case, stuff like that. We actually had some fun (with the back and forth banter). I think he is doing a great job,” Self added.

Under English’s direction, George Mason has averaged 72.8 points a game on 45.9% shooting. The Patriots have attempted 27.1 threes a game, hitting 9.8 per contest. KU, meanwhile, has averaged 86.0 points a game on 52.1% shooting. The Jayhawks have attempted 20.3 threes a game, making 7.6.

George Mason guard DeVon Cooper has made 32 of 82 threes for 39.0% while guard D’Shawn Schwartz has made 31 of 83 for 37.3%.

“They shoot a lot and they make a lot,” Self said. “They’re definitely going to pull the trigger.”

The Patriots start four guards around 6-foot-9 junior forward Josh Oduro, who leads the Patriots in scoring at 17.4 points per game. He’s second on the team in rebounding at 6.8 per contest.

George Mason, a member of the Atlantic 10, has won three games in a row. No. 6-ranked KU has won six straight games.

The Patriots were added to the KU schedule this week. The George Mason game is a fill-in game for the KU-Colorado contest that was canceled last Tuesday in Boulder because of COVID concerns in the Buffs’ program. TCU originally was slated to play KU on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse, but COVID-19 in the Horned Frogs’ program forced postponement of that game.

It will be rescheduled; the Colorado contest will not.

“I kind of grew up watching Kim English a little bit, just in the (KU-MU) rivalry,” said KU junior guard Christian Braun, a graduate of Blue Valley Northwest and the Jayhawks’ second leading scorer at 17.3 points per game.

Oak Park High grad Ochai Agbaji averages 21.5 ppg to lead the squad.

“Coach (Self) hasn’t talked about that much. He’ll fill us in before the game,” Braun added of Self speaking about English, who was 0-4 versus KU in Allen as a player, 2-4 in Mizzou Arena. “I’ve heard great things about coach English. I’ve heard he’s done a really good job, gotten some big wins early in his career. It’s an exciting matchup for us, also exciting for him.”

English played for the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls and also played overseas.

“He was a pro,” Braun said, “so he was good (as a player), in my eyes.”

KU is slated to open Big 12 play on Tuesday at Oklahoma State in an 8 p.m. tipoff.