Kansas did not have head coach Bill Self for Thursday’s Big 12 Tournament game versus West Virginia.
The university announced Thursday morning that Self would miss the quarterfinal win against the Mountaineers in Kansas City “as he is recovering from an illness.” Kansas defeated West Virginia 78–61.
An update from the school Thursday afternoon said Self had been hospitalized at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City and clarified that the coach had not suffered a heart attack.
A KU statement said, “Chief Medical Officer Steve Stites would like to clarify that Coach Self did not suffer a heart attack, as was reported by some media.” He is expected to make a full recovery.
according to the Lawrence Journal-World, Self’s “long-term prognosis” is “positive”, but it is unclear when he will be able to return to coaching. Self was with the team for practice and met with reporters Wednesday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, and the school did not say Thursday afternoon whether Self would rejoin the team during the tournament. Kansas is set to play Iowa State on Friday.
Self said of the school, “I am so grateful for my family and the overwhelming number of well wishes I have received.” “I look forward to being back with my team in the very near future.”
Norm Roberts, an assistant on Self’s staff since 2012, will serve as acting head coach in Self’s absence. Roberts took on the role of acting head coach for the first four games of the season, while Self served a four-game suspension for recruiting violations.
Self, 60, has been the head coach at Kansas since 2003 and has led the Jayhawks to nine Big 12 Tournament titles and two national championships. The Jayhawks, currently 26–6 overall and No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25, won the Big 12 regular season title for the 17th time during Self’s tenure in Lawrence this season.
Defending national champion Kansas has been touted as a potential No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
