Kansas coach Bill Self might have coached his last game for the Jayhawks.
After a crushing, buzzer-beating loss to the St. John’s Red Storm on Sunday, the legendary Kansas coach, 63, said he will determine his sideline future in the coming days.
“I’ll get back and get with family and visit and see what’s going on,” Self told reporters after the stunning 67-65 loss in the second round of March Madness. “I love what I do, I need to be able to do it where I’m feeling good and healthy to do it fairly well. I’ll get back home, and it’ll all be discussed.”
Self has dealt with health issues in recent years, appearing to begin in 2023, when he underwent a minimally invasive heart procedure after complaining about tightness in his chest, and missed the team’s postseason run.
The Jayhawks were eliminated in the Round of 32 in 2023 with a loss to Arkansas. Assistant coach Norm Roberts, who previously coached St. John’s, filled in for Self.
Self also visited the hospital earlier this season due to being under the weather and missed a Jan. 20 game in Colorado, where assistant Jacque Vaughn took over for him.
Still, the two-time national champion coach did add that he generally feels “as good as I’ve felt in a long time.”
Self changed his diet in the offseason, cut down on his alcohol intake and increased his exercise, which led to a 20-pound weight loss.
“I found out it’s a lot easier when you have healthy habits,” Self said near the start of the season. “I was an emotional eater. I’d eat because of the stress before game, and then I’d eat after a game. Those kids can eat four big meals a day, and I was trying to do the same thing. When I had my first episode, I probably faked my way through it. When you don’t feel well, it just becomes the norm.”
Self is 634-167 as the Kansas head coach, guiding the likes of Darryn Peterson this year and stars like Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins during his time in Lawrence.
Should he choose to step down after the disappointing exit from a season in which they were preseason ranked No. 19 in the nation by the Associated Press, Kansas would become one of the more heavily sought-after jobs in the country.
Self previously coached at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois.