Kansas hopeful coach Self will be on bench for opener
Bill Self's status for Kansas' opener in the NCAA Tournament was uncertain Wednesday, though assistant coach Norm Roberts said the Jayhawks remain hopeful he'll be on the bench when they play Howard today.
Kansas' Hall of Fame coach was discharged from a Kansas City-area hospital Sunday, where he'd been recovering after a procedure to treat blocked arteries in his heart.
Self attended practice Wednesday but did not participate in his team's media availability. Roberts said Self also was at practice Tuesday and has been at all of the team's meetings.
“He's doing well, he's getting better all the time,” Roberts said. “We're hopeful, and everything is dayto-day with him, but if you ask our guys, he got after them pretty good today so he was doing really well.”
Roberts said Self missed the news conference so he could get some rest before the top-seeded and defending national champion Jayhawks begin play in the West Region.
Self went to the emergency room the night of March 8, shortly after watching the Jayhawks in a final shootaround ahead of their Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal. He was complaining of chest tightness and concerns with his balance.
Dr. Mark Wiley, the chief of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Kansas Health System, said the 60-year-old Self underwent a standard heart catheterization and had two stents placed to help treat the blocked arteries.
Roberts coached the Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament. Roberts also served as acting coach earlier in the season, while Self was serving a school-imposed four-game suspension.
Kansas beat West Virginia and Iowa State in the Big 12 tourney with Roberts again on the bench before getting blown out 76-56 by seventh-ranked Texas in Saturday night's championship game. ALABAMA'S MILLER HAS SECURITY GUARD >> Alabama star Brandon Miller was accompanied by an armed security guard to the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday because of threats directed his way, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said.
“If you guys saw some of what I've seen sent his way, I think you would understand why that's the case,” Oats said of the extra protection that the school lined up for Miller. “I don't want to get into all that. The entire situation, as you know, is just a heartbreaking situation on all accounts.”
Miller's name surfaced last month in court testimony involving the capital murder case of former Alabama player Darius Miles and another man, who are charged in the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Jamea Harris on Jan. 15.
A police officer testified that Miles texted Miller asking him to bring Miles' gun in the early morning hours of the shooting. Fellow freshman starter Jaden Bradley was also at the scene. Neither Miller nor Bradley has been accused of any crime, and the university has described Miller as a cooperating witness, not a suspect.
The Crimson Tide (29-5) are a No. 1 seed in the tournament for the first time in school history. They play their opening game in the South Regional today, facing No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Birmingham.
The guard, who wore a gun, badge and Alabama polo shirt, accompanied Miller to the interview area and later watched him take part in a light practice.
The freshman, who was the Southeastern Conference player and newcomer of the year, declined to go into specifics about the extra security, implying it was nothing unusual.
“I always travel with security to all the games,” Miller said. “That's all I'm gonna say on that.”
But Oats conceded it was hardly business as usual.
“Some of the messages from people that can sit behind fake email addresses, but who knows whether they're real or not,” Oats said. “But if you'd seen what I've seen, you would understand what's going on right now.”
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON TO THE DANCE >>
Ansley Almonor scored 23 points and Fairleigh Dickinson beat Texas Southern 84-61 Wednesday night in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio.
Fairleigh Dickinson (2015) shot 50% and advanced to the East Region to play top-seeded Purdue in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday.
John Walker III led Texas Southern (14-21) with 22 points.