Kansas head coach Bill Self will miss the entire Big 12 tournament after checking into hospital

Kansas coach Bill Self will miss the Big 12 Tournament after going to the ER Wednesday night for what doctors called “a standard procedure,” and it’s unclear if he’ll return for the Big 12 Tournament. NCAA.

Dr. Steve Stites, medical director of the University of Kansas Health System, said Self did not have a heart attack, as some media reported, but remained a patient Thursday. Stites also did not describe the nature or extent of the procedure, though Self is expected to make a full recovery.

“We didn’t really let guys know until this morning because there wasn’t anything concrete about what was going on,” said Kansas assistant Norm Roberts, who led the No. 3 Jayhawks to a 78-61 win over West Virginia. in the quarterfinal round.

“Coach is doing well,” Roberts added. I spoke to him on the phone (after the game). He is doing fine. He already wants to watch movies and all that. He is doing fine. He is better.

Kansas officials announced that Self was ill about five hours before kickoff Thursday and that Roberts would be the interim coach. It’s a role he filled earlier in the season when Self served a four-game suspension imposed by the school.

Kansas assistant coach Norm Roberts took over as Jayhawks win over West Virginia

The Jayhawks are the defending Big 12 Tournament champions and are trying to secure a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, where they will attempt to defend the national championship they won last April.

‘Just come together through it all. Coach Self would obviously want that,’ Kansas guard Gradey Dick said. ‘A lot of what he preaches to us is next man, and in this case he was the coach. And he is a bit similar to the beginning of the season.

“Obviously a bit more serious now with Coach Self, but we hear all is well.”

The 60-year-old Hall of Fame coach led Kansas to the regular-season championship in the nation’s toughest conference this season, despite losing several key players from the team that beat North Carolina for the national title. last April.

He was present at a target practice Wednesday at the T-Mobile Center and appeared healthy. He met with reporters for about 20 minutes outside the locker room and said his team was ready for another race in March.

“We’ve talked about going to Kansas City to try to get in position to win this, but knowing that it’s better to play one game at a time,” Self said Wednesday.

“I’ve put the emphasis on, ‘We’re going to play the best we can.’ What the tournament (Big 12) does, can validate what your regular season has been. And this is an opportunity to validate it.’

Self is 581-130 during his two decades with Kansas, and 788-235 in his 30 seasons as head coach, including stops at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois.

The Jayhawks are the defending Big 12 champions and are motivated to win the tournament for Self

He led the Jayhawks to a pair of national championships, beating Memphis for the title in 2008, and the Big 12 regular-season title was his 17th in 20 seasons in Lawrence.

With the retirement of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim on Wednesday, Self climbed the list of winningest active coaches in men’s college basketball behind Bob Huggins, John Calipari and Rick Pitino.

‘Coach Self has always treated me very well. Really respect him and respect his program,’ said Iowa State coach TJ Otzelberger, whose team will face the Jayhawks in Friday night’s Big 12 Tournament semifinals.

‘I certainly want to wish him the best. I sent him a text earlier today and let him know that we are keeping him in our thoughts.