Bill Self Sends Strong Message on New Assistant Coach at Kansas
Bill Self Sends Strong Message on New Assistant Coach at Kansas originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Kansas Jayhawks are three years removed from winning the men's NCAA championship, but they haven't had much success since, and they're looking to return to prominence.
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This spring, they lost several players to the transfer portal, and they gained forward Tre White from Illinois and guard Jayden Dawson from Loyola Chicago.
They will also have a new assistant coach in Jacque Vaughn, a former NBA player who spent four seasons at Kansas in the mid-1990s. He has extensive experience as an NBA coach, most recently with the Brooklyn Nets.
Head coach Bill Self seemed happy with the addition of Vaughn during a recent press conference.
"He brings something to us that's different than what we've ever had before," Self said.
As a player at Kansas, Vaughn, a 6-foot-1 guard, averaged 9.6 points and 6.4 assists a game and shot 45.9% from the field and 38.3% from 3-point range. He was named the Big Eight Player of the Year during the 1995-96 season when he was a junior.
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He had a 12-year playing career in the NBA, first with the Utah Jazz in the 1997-98 campaign after they made him the No. 27 pick in the 1997 draft. He eventually made his way to the San Antonio Spurs, where he won an NBA championship in 2007 alongside Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
After a couple of years as a Spurs assistant coach under Gregg Popovich, he became the head coach of the Orlando Magic in 2012. He had two separate stints as the Brooklyn Nets' head coach, and his second stint there ended when he was fired in February 2024.
Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn watches from the sideline at they take on the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.David Butler II-Imagn Images
Vaughn will be replacing the retired Norm Roberts and will look to guide the Jayhawks past the second round of the men's NCAA Tournament for the first time since they won it all in 2022.
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This past season, they lost in the first round to Arkansas by seven points.
Related: Top College Basketball Recruit Sends Strong Message After Visit With Duke
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
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