Kansas coach Bill Self was released Sunday from a Kansas City-area hospital where he had been recovering from a procedure to treat blocked arteries in his heart, and the member of the The Hall of Famer plans to rejoin the No. 3 Jayhawks as they begin their NCAA Championship defense this week.
Self went to the emergency room Wednesday night, shortly after watching his team in a final round before the Big 12 Tournament, complaining of chest tightness and concerns about his balance.
Dr. Mark Wiley, chief of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Kansas Health System, said Self underwent a standard cardiac catheterization and had two stents placed to help treat blocked arteries.
“Coach Self responded well to the procedure and is expected to make a full recovery,” Wiley said.
The Jayhawks were coached to the Big 12 Tournament by Norm Roberts, who also served as interim coach earlier in the season while Self served a school-imposed four-game suspension. They beat West Virginia and Iowa State before falling 76-56 to seventh-ranked Texas in Saturday night’s championship game.
Afterward, Roberts said he hoped Self would coach the Jayhawks to the NCAA Tournament.
“I am so grateful to the amazing staff at the University of Kansas Health System for the excellent care I received,” Self said in a statement. “I’m proud of our team and our coaching staff for how they’ve handled this and I’m excited to be back with them as the best part of the season begins.”
Self, 60, is 581-130 in his two decades at Kansas and 788-235 in his 30 seasons as a head coach, which includes stops at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois. He led the Jayhawks to their fifth national title in 2008 with an overtime victory over Memphis. Kansas hung its sixth banner at Allen Fieldhouse after its victory over North Carolina last April.
The Jayhawks, who won the Big 12 regular-season title, hardly seemed bothered by their lackluster loss to Texas, when they were also missing injured defensive end Kevin McCullar Jr. Instead, they were looking forward to the NCAA tournament and getting both. McCullar and his coach are back on the court.
“We already cleaned it up,” Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. said. in their mostly empty locker room Saturday night. “We just have to get ready for March Madness. It’s a quick turnaround and a new season.”
Report from The Associated Press.
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