The Kansas Jayhawks took care of business in their first-round matchup against the Howard Bisons on Thursday. And the West region’s top-ranked seed did so without head coach Bill Self on the sideline, as he recovers from a health issue that forced him to miss the Big 12 conference tournament.
Self is still not ready to return to coaching, as Stadium hoops insider Jeff Goodman reported Saturday morning that the legendary coach will miss today’s game against Arkansas. Though, before its second-round matchup against the Razorbacks, Kansas went through practice with the 60-year-old coaching veteran.
BREAKING: Kansas coach Bill Self will not coach today’s game against Arkansas, source told @Stadium.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 18, 2023
Self, who has been the head coach at Kansas since 2003, went to the hospital last week, complaining of chest tightness and balance concerns, according to ESPN. Self underwent a heart catheterization and had two stents placed for the treatment of blocked arteries before ultimately being discharged.
The Jayhawks are operating on a day-to-day basis with Self. Though, they’re focused on the task at hand — Arkansas — before they start looking ahead to whether Self will be able to return for the Sweet Sixteen. In the meantime, assistant coach Norm Roberts has stepped up to the plate and served as Kansas’ interim coach for the past four games.
“It’s a day-to-day situation with him … We will see what happens,” Roberts said via ESPN.
We’ll have to see if Bill Self returns to the sidelines if Kansas can hold off an Arkansas upset later today.
[Jeff Goodman, ESPN]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.