Jayhawks hope to have Bill Self back for NCAA title defense

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas hopes to haveHall of Fame basketball coach Bill Self, who missed the entire Big12 Tournament after a medical procedure earlier week, back on thesideline when it begins its NCAA Tournament title defense nextweek.

Norm Roberts, who led the third-ranked Jayhawks to thechampionship game Saturday night, said that Self talked to his teambefore its 76-56 loss to seventh-ranked Texas.

“We plan on him coaching next week,” Roberts said. “He’s doingwell.”

It remains unclear what caused the 60-year-old Self to visit theemergency room Wednesday night, nor what kind of procedure tookplace. Dr. Steve Stites, the chief medical officer at theUniversity of Kansas Health System, only would say that Self didnot have a heart attack, as some outlets had reported, and isexpected to make a full recovery.

Roberts led the Jayhawks to four wins to start the season, whileSelf was serving a school-imposed four-game suspension, and guidedthem to tourney wins over West Virginia and Iowa State before theloss to the Longhorns.

“We’ve got a great staff,” the Jayhawks’ Dajuan Harris Jr. said.“Coach Self trusts them a lot, and we trust them too.”

Still, it’s hard to replace one of college basketball’swinningest coaches.

Self is 581-130 during his two decades with Kansas, and 788-235in his 30 seasons as a head coach, which includes stops at OralRoberts, Tulsa and Illinois. He’s led the Jayhawks to a pair ofnational titles, beating Memphis in 2008 and North Carolina lastApril, and the regular-season Big 12 title was his 17th in 20seasons in Lawrence.