The post Kansas Jayhawks adding Tony Bland in assistant coaching role appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self has hired veteran assistant Tony Bland to his staff, sources tell ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
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Bland, most recently an assistant at Washington, comes to the Kansas bench shortly after the Jayhawks lost another veteran assistant, Norm Roberts, who retired after last season. Self also lost assistant Chase Buford to the Denver Nuggets last week.
On3’s Jerry Tipton confirmed Thamel’s report, shedding some light on why Bland was an attractive candidate for the Jayhawks.
“Bland, known for his strong recruiting connections and deep ties to Los Angeles, spent last season at Washington and several years as USC’s associate head coach,” Tipton wrote via X. “Self’s hire is a statement—blending veteran experience with national recruiting pull.”
It should also be noted that Bland was one of the assistants who lost his job amid the FBI’s corruption investigation into college basketball, which began in 2017. Bland pled guilty to one count of conspiracy after he was dismissed from USC. Kansas was also wrapped up in the scandal but escaped major ramifications.
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Tony Bland’s hire comes amid uncertainty for Kansas basketball
Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Kansas men’s basketball has been about as sure a thing in sports as there is for the last two decades, but the Jayhawks are coming off of — by their standards — a pair of down years. They are 44-24 overall the last two seasons and just four games above .500 in the Big 12, a conference they are used to winning virtually every year.
Self, meanwhile, has endured multiple health scares, including undergoing a heart procedure in July. At 62, Self said he has not considered retirement — except for maybe when things got tough during the season.
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“Well, when we lost, like, three out of four last February? Yeah, I thought about it,” Self said, per On3. “But, from a health standpoint? No, no. No, I haven’t thought about that.”
He added that his doctor did not advise him to step away from coaching, according to Kansas beat writer Matt Tait.
“Self said he asked the surgeon if this should change the way he thinks about his future in coaching and how it relates to his health,” Tait wrote via X. “He said the surgeon asked, ‘Do you love what you do?’ And Self said yes. The doc followed with, ‘Then keep doing it.’”
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