The university announced Thursday that Kansas Jayhawks basketball coach Bill Self will miss the remainder of the Big 12 tournament after undergoing a procedure.
The university initially announced that Self would miss Kansas’ Big 12 quarterfinal game against West Virginia due to illness. the The Jayhawks went on to beat the Mountaineers 78-61 Thursday under assistant coach Norm Roberts.
After the win, Kansas said Self will not join the team for their matchup against Iowa State on Friday because he is receiving care at the University of Kansas Health System after a procedure. A hospital spokesperson did not go into detail about the procedure, but noted that he did not suffer a heart attack.
The hospital said in a statement Shared by Kansas. “He arrived in the emergency department last night and had a standard procurement procedure, which went very well. He is expected to make a full recovery.”
Self did not provide a timeline for his return, saying only that he was “excited to be back with my team in the very near future.” He added that he was “extremely grateful for the overwhelming number of well-wishes my family and I have received.”
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Baylor coach Scott Drew addressed Self’s absence after his team lost to Iowa State in the quarterfinal game on Thursday.
“We’re praying,” Drew said. “Life is short. Winning the game of life is the most important thing.”
Kansas entered the Big 12 tournament ranked No. 4 in the USA Today men’s basketball coaches poll. With a 25-6 record, the Jayhawks are in contention for the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament when the stadium is announced Sunday. Self won his second national title at the school last season, defeating North Carolina in the championship game.
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Roberts coached the team for four games earlier this season when Self served a suspension related to an ongoing NCAA investigation into rule violations. No decision has been announced on the case.
Self was present for the shooting at the T-Mobile Center on Wednesday and appeared to be in pretty good shape. He met reporters for 20 minutes outside the locker room and said his team was ready for another round in March.
“We’ve talked about going to Kansas City to try and put ourselves in a position for them to win this thing, but knowing it’s better to take it one game at a time,” he said. “I was focused on let’s play to the best of our ability. What the Championship (Big 12) does, it can validate what your regular season is like. And this is an opportunity to validate that.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
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