Bill Self thanks doctors, others for support during health scare

In the heat of Kansas‘ Big 12 Tournament run, head coach Bill Self was sidelined by an undisclosed health problem that hospitalized him and required a procedure. Self missed the Big 12 and NCAA Tournament, but held a press conference for the first time since his health scare on Wednesday, which he started with a great deal of thankfulness.

“The texts, the emails, the cards have been countless and they’re certainly appreciated and I apologize for those I have not been able to respond too, I’d like to be able to do that, but I haven’t been able to do that yet,” Self said. “This was a health scare for me and I certainly could not thank the KU Health System for the care that they gave me, the doctors, the nurses, everybody’s just fantastic and want to thank all the supporters and everyone at KU.”

Self also thanked his staff and players for their strength during throught the process, and even apologized for being a distraction in a situation that was out of his control.

“And primarily I want to thank my coaches and my players that I thought rallied around this. And even though it didn’t end the way we all hoped it would’ve certainly I thought they competed and gave it their very best when maybe there was a distraction that I certainly would never ever want to occur. I’ve always taught my team to eliminate distractions in the most important time of the year and here I am, I was one of them,” Self said. “So certainly I hate that and wasn’t being able to be there with them but it was the right decision and I’m just excited to get back to work. And I am working and certainly look forward to everything moving forward.”

Self also revealed that he fully intends to remain Kansas’ head coach not just next season, but for many years to come, as he pulled back the curtain on what his life has been like since his worrisome episode.

“I’m doing well, I’ll be honest I haven’t done a lot since the Big 12 Tournament. But I’m exercising almost daily, I don’t know if you guys can believe this but they told me I need to improve my diet and exercise more,” Self said getting a laugh out of media members. “I don’t know if anybody can believe that and I’m actually in the process of doing both and been pretty diligent at that.”

It sounds like Self is headed in the right direction, and hopefully he can get the Jayhawks headed in the right direction moving forward. The Selfless Jayhawks were eliminated in the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. His two leading scorers Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick have both declared for the 2023 NBA Draft, as Self will look to improve his roster and his health moving forward.

“But I feel fine, my energy level is probably back to where it was prior to the episode, but not where it’s getting ready to go I believe. I think sometimes we don’t realize that we don’t feel well until we actually feel well and know the difference, and I’m in the process of feeling well again,” Self said. “So I’m excited about that.”