HC Bill Self heaps praise for Kansas new assistant coach Jacque Vaughn, addressing the media for the Jayhawks

Off a disappointing 2024-25 season, Kansas basketball is looking to make some changes, and Jacque Vaughn may be the answer. Longtime Jayhawks boss Bill Self has already delivered one significant shift in hiring Kansas legend Vaughn as an assistant coach for next season. In a media event, Self talked about Vaughn and his impact on the program.

Self promotes Vaughn's NBA experience as offering "immediate credibility" to Kansas

"It's exciting for Kansas, because obviously, there's been a lot of beloved players since I've been here and obviously, in regimes before I arrived here. But when I think about the most beloved that I've had that combine talent, on-court success, community involvement, connection to fans, one of the first ones I think about would be Devonte' [Graham].

"Well, to me, this was the equivalent of Devonte' under Coach [Roy] Williams. I think it's exciting, but I don't think you hire somebody because people like him. I think you hire only because they complement what your talents are. And he does that in a way that brings something to us that's different than what we've ever had before.

"We have a college assistant coach that was a three-time NBA head coach, that's trained Kevin [Durant] and Kyrie [Irving]-- guys that bring immediate credibility to guys that want to be pros out there, knowing that they're going to get to work with somebody that knows first-hand what it's supposed to look like."-- Bill Self

Kansas's offseason struggles

Hiring Vaughn coincided with a difficult Kansas offseason. The Jayhawks' star transfers like Rylen Griffin and AJ Storr head elsewhere. Coupled with senior attrition and the lack of a massive incoming portal signee, critics have often dubbed the Jayhawks one of the losers of the transfer portal period.

Kansas seems poised to put a lot of importance on top freshman recruit Darryn Peterson. It's certainly a 2025-26 roster with much less depth than the one from a season ago. But the hiring of Vaughn is one clear positive.

Vaughn's history

As Self noted, Vaughn is an experienced NBA head coach. He compiled a career 129-226 mark with the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets. Twice, Vaughn's Nets made the NBA playoffs, but they lost in the first round each time. Vaughn was also an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs before he became a head coach.

In his playing days, Vaughn was a two-time All-American guard at Kansas who parlayed that success into a 12-season NBA career that ran from 1997 to 2009. Vaughn won an NBA championship as a player with the Spurs in 2006-2007. Now, he'll try to help the Jayhawks work back atop the world of college hoops as his alma mater's assistant coach.

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