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Kansas’ Bill Self Suffers Major Coaching Staff Blow on Monday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Rowan Fisher-Shotton | Last updated May 5, 2025 12:02 PM ET

The Kansas Jayhawks, led by 22-year head coach Bill Self, are coming off a 21-13 season in which they finished 6th in the Big 12 with a conference record of 11-9 and bowed out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

They were considered the consensus No. 1 overall team in the nation heading into the season.

Now, Self faces another significant offseason challenge after longtime assistant Norm Roberts announced his retirement on Monday morning, ending a 37‑year coaching career that included 14 seasons on the Kansas bench.

The news was reported by NBC Sports' John Fanta on Monday via X.

NEWS: Kansas assistant coach Norm Roberts, a member of the Assistant Coaches HOF, announced his retirement Monday following 14 seasons at Kansas and 37 years in the coaching ranks. The Queens native was the head coach at St. John’s from 2004-10. Big vacancy in Lawrence.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) May 5, 2025

Over the past decade and a half, Kansas has been the model of consistency in college basketball.

Since Roberts joined the staff in 2012, the Jayhawks have captured eight Big 12 regular‑season titles and three conference tournament crowns, punctuated by a 2022 national championship.

In that span, KU made five Sweet 16 trips, four Elite 8 berths, and two Final Four appearances, a testament to both Self’s leadership and the support staff that propels the program year after year.

Roberts, a Queens, New York native and member of the A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame, departs after almost a decade and a half alongside Self.

With the Jayhawks poised to contend again in 2025‑26, finding a coach with proven rapport and experience will be paramount. Kansas faces a pivotal offseason decision.

Can Self assemble a staff capable of sustaining the Jayhawks’ elite standard without Roberts’s steady hand? The answer will shape KU’s pursuit of another national run.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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