Kansas interim coach Norm Roberts explains how Jayhawks will deal with Bill Self absence
Kansas announced this morning that head basketball coach Bill Self will miss today’s game against West Virginia to open the Big 12 Tournament due to a health issue. While there’s little information on what happened to Coach Self, we do know that assistant Norm Roberts will take over in his place for at least today’s game.
During the broadcast of the Baylor–Iowa State matchup preceding the Kansas game, ESPN caught up with Coach Roberts to discuss how he and the Jayhawks are handling the situation. Here was his response:
“Well we always say next man up. We always say faces change, expectations don’t, and that’s what coach preaches every day and our guys know that. We know he’s in good hands, he’s doing well and all those things.”
Of course, Roberts is no stranger to this position this season. He also took over as acting head coach for a few games at the beginning of the season when Bill Self was suspended. So he was then asked what worked earlier in the year to help the players avoid the distraction.
“Well, get the guys going, get them focused into the game, worry about the situations that are going on. Play the next play, don’t worry about things and stay positive the whole time,” said Roberts.
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Bill Self to miss West Virginia game
Kansas head coach Bill Self will not be on the sidelines today for the Jayhawks’ Big 12 Tournament opener vs. West Virginia, per a report from college hoops insider Matt Norlander. He posted a release from Kansas Athletics to Twitter, which read:
“Kansas Men’s Basketball Coach Bill Self will miss today’s Big 12 Tournament game as he recovers from an illness. Assistant Coach Norm Roberts will serve as the acting head coach. Self is doing well and receiving great care at the University of Kansas Health System.”
Pretty shocking development on the day of Kansas’ first postseason game, but apparently Coach Self is recovering from a bit of a health issue and won’t be able to man the sidelines today. Instead, Norm Roberts will take over head coaching duties for the time being, which was something he also did at the beginning of the season when Bill Self was suspended.