Bill Self already has a couple of names in mind to be his potential successor when the time comes for him to retire at Kansas. Self is getting ready to enter his 21st season at the helm in Lawrence, where he became the winningest coach in program history last season. His resume is a long […]
Bill Self already has a couple of names in mind to be his potential successor when the time comes for him to retire at Kansas. Self is getting ready to enter his 21st season at the helm in Lawrence, where he became the winningest coach in program history last season.
His resume is a long one that includes four Final Four appearances and two national titles as well as a plethora of conference championships. Replacing him won’t be easy, but he identified a couple of names on his current staff who might be in line to take a shot at it.
Speaking on Inside College Basketball with Jon Rothstein, Self was asked whether Jacque Vaughn could be a candidate. He agreed it was a possibility before enthusiastically throwing out another name.
“Oh, I guess so,” Self said of Vaughn. “And I’d say Jeremy Case for sure. Jeremy’s been in the business a while and been with me and he’s been fantastic. …Jeremy has been unbelievable and basically carried us through this portal season.
“Then you get a chance to hire a guy (Vaughn) that’s been a three-time NBA head coach and been in the league for 12 years as a player. Those are things that obviously mean something.”
Both Vaughn and Case are former Jayhawks players, with the latter even playing for Bill Self during the coach’s first three seasons at Kansas. He was a reserve on the 2008 national championship team, Self’s first title in Lawrence.
Case immediately joined Self’s staff as a graduate assistant for the 2008-09 season. He then had stints as an assistant at Southeast Missouri State (2009-12) and Houston Baptist (2012-16) before reuniting with Self in 2016 to join KU’s staff as a video coordinator. He was promoted to assistant ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Vaughn played at Kansas under coach Roy Williams from 1993-97 and was a starter every season. He was drafted late first round in the 1997 NBA Draft and went on to play 12 years in the league, winning a championship in 2007 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
After his playing career was over, Vaughn got into coaching. He has been the head coach of both the Orlando Magic (2012-15) and Brooklyn Nets (2022-24) before joining the Jayhawks’ staff in May.
But while it might be fun to hypothesize about who could replace Self, the 62-year-old coach added that he has no plans of stopping any time soon. So if Vaughn or Case do take over, it still might be a few years down the road.
“I guess people will talk about my successor maybe because they want it to happen sooner rather than later,” Self said, laughing. “But the bottom line is, I plan on doing this. I feel good. I plan on doing this a while. So we’ll see how it all plays out.”
Category: General Sports
