KU coach Bill Self will hold ‘standard’ news conference for 1st time since health issue

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self is set to make his first media appearance since his health issue before the Jayhawks began play at the Big 12 Tournament.

On Wednesday, the Kansas coach will hold a “standard” press conference, a KU Athletics official clarified on social media, to recap the 2022-23 campaign, which ended in a Round of 32 Jayhawk loss to Arkansas. The press conference will be streamed via the KU Athletics website.

The KU basketball Twitter account noted the press conference will serve to “wrap up the 2022-23 season and preview the upcoming offseason.”

Fans have wondered about the KU basketball coach after he missed the entirety of KU’s postseason while recovering from a heart catheterization in which he had two stents placed for blocked arteries. Self received care at the KU Health System after attending practice at T-Mobile Center on Wednesday, March 8.

He was released from the hospital ahead of the team’s trip to Des Moines, Iowa, though he did travel separately. Self was present at NCAA Tournament practices, albeit not as a full participant. He said on the Jayhawks’ pregame radio show he was mostly “sitting and watching” as compared to “participating in a big way.”

Self indicated in an interview released before the Arkansas game he was hoping to return to the sideline had KU advanced into the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.

“I’ve got my energy back to an extent,” Self said to KU broadcaster Greg Gurley on ESPN+.

Kansas assistant coach Norm Roberts served as acting coach in place of Self. Roberts, who also led the Jayhawks for four games while Self served a program-imposed suspension to start the year, went 7-2 as fill-in coach in 2022-23.