“This makes me so sad but I’m very happy for you”: Kansas fans emotional as Bill Self’s assistant pens heartfelt message for his departure

Kansas coach Bill Self has built a strong program during his tenure with the Jayhawks, starting in 2003. Part of the reason the team has had so much success is that Self surrounded himself with other excellent coaches and staff.

One of those people was Fred Quartlebaum, also known as Coach Q. Coach Q was hired by Kansas in 2013 as the Director of Student-Athlete Development. He was then promoted to the Director of Basketball Operations in 2020. However, on Thursday, Coach Q announced he was leaving the team.

"Came with a dream, but leave with a deeper purpose. The hope is to leave it better than you found it. ROCK CHALK."

Fans reacted to the announcement on Instagram.

"This makes me so sad but I’m very happy for you Coach Q! One of the really really great guys," one fan wrote.

"Helluva run, Q! Impacted a lot of lives in those 12 years! Love your passion and enthusiasm for life, my friend. Best of luck in the next chapter," one fan commented.

"Much love to you, Coach Q. The highest honor you can give a man is to tell him that you would follow him as a leader. You’re a good man and I would follow you," one fan added.

"The most positive and uplifting person I know!!! Cant wait to see what comes next," one fan wrote.

"Incredible person, impactful coach, high level motivator, class act. The game needs more like you. Well done my brother. Looking forward to seeing how you continue to impact lives in this next chapter. You are special. Keep Going," one fan commented.

"All the best in the next stage of your journey my brother… Hell of a run," one fan added.

Image via the comments of the Instagram post.

Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks will look to overcome the loss of Coach Q next season

While losing Coach Q is a blow for Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks, they do not have much time to linger on it. Next season is set to be an important one for the Jayhawks, primarily due to the addition of Darryn Peterson, who is viewed by most as one of the top recruits in his class alongside BYU's AJ Dybantsa.

Peterson is only expected to play one season before declaring for the NBA draft. As a result, Kansas will be looking to capitalize on this window.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Alexander O'Reilly