Though Kansas basketball coach Bill Self watched Thursday’s Big 12 quarterfinal game against West Virginia from the hospital, he is hoping to return to the sideline soon.
Self, who was hospitalized Wednesday night with an undisclosed illness, will not coach the team during the Big 12 Tournament. However, he is expected to make a full recovery, according to a university release.
“KU men’s basketball coach Bill Self is a patient at The University of Kansas Health System. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Steve Stites wants to clarify that Coach Self did not suffer a heart attack as reported by some media. He arrived at the emergency department last night and underwent a standard procedure that went well. He is expected to make a full recovery. There will be no more further medical details released for now,” the statement read.
In Self’s absence, assistant coach Norm Roberts filled in, and the Jayhawks won 78-61 at T-Mobile Center. Roberts said the players did not know Self was in the hospital until Thursday morning as there was “nothing concrete” until then that Self would miss the game.
“Coach is always preaching us to, ‘Hey, get the job done. Stay focused on what you can control,’” Roberts said. “There’s other things you can’t control. So, you know, what we could control was getting the team ready and locking in and playing the way we needed to win the game. And I thought our guys did a great job of being very focused.”
Even with Self absent, there was at least some sense of familiarity for the team. Roberts filled in for Self for four games to start the season due to a self-imposed suspension, and the Jayhawks went 4-0.
“We always talk about next man up,” Roberts said. “Faces change, expectations don’t. And that’s our motto and that’s what we live by. Our guys understood that. I told those older guys you got to lock in and be focused, and young guys just understand that this is NCAA Tournament and Big 12 Tournament time and you guys got to be locked in.”
The Jayhawks (26-6) certainly had that on both accounts against the Mountaineers (19-14). Big 12 Player of the Year Jalen Wilson led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman Gradey Dick added 18 points and made 4 of 7 3-pointers.
Wilson said that even though Self wasn’t on the sideline, the Jayhawks showed how much of a team they really are.
“With him not being here, I think it brought us together even more,” Wilson said. “Throughout all the adversity we’ve been through the entire season, that just makes us come together even more and play as a team.
“It’s bigger than us. We play for our entire family across Lawrence, across Kansas, and it was just another moment to prove how tight this group is. And no matter the outside noise, we’re a team.”
The Jayhawks will play Iowa State at 6 p.m. Friday in the tourney semifinals.
“We just come together through it all,” Dick said. “And Coach Self, a lot of what he preaches with us players is if someone goes under, it’s next man up, and this case it was Coach. It’s a little similar to the start of the season when Coach wasn’t there. But obviously it’s a little more serious now with Coach Self. But we’re hearing he’s all good and we’re just waiting for him.”
