Winning is a sure sign of success. So is a large fan base. Sometimes, too, a sports program can be measured by the number of assistant coaches it loses.
Norm Roberts, hired Tuesday to take over St. John’s University’s troubled men’s basketball program, is the sixth aide Bill Self has lost during his stints as head basketball coach at Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas.
In other words, Self won’t be treading into unfamiliar territory as he seeks a replacement for his associate head coach.
“I’m confident we’ll have an excellent pool of candidates to choose from as we move forward,” Self said Tuesday.
KU’s coach said he already had a couple of individuals in mind he has known in the business throughout the years and said he would consider promoting from within, also.
“I don’t have a timetable. We’ll open it up and look in-house, too. We’ll always do that,” Self said.
If Self does not look outside to fill the Roberts vacancy, the leading candidate to become a full-time staffer probably would be former KU All-American Danny Manning, who worked on the sidelines last season — his first since retiring from the NBA — as director of student-athlete development/team manager.
Other possibilities for promotion from within are Sean Harrington, a player at Illinois while Self was there, and former KU guard Brett Ballard. Under Self, Harrington’s title is administrative assistant/video coordinator; Ballard is listed as a student assistant.
Self’s full-time aides are Tim Jankovich and Joe Dooley. Ben Miller, the lone holdover from Roy Williams’ staff, is Self’s director of basketball operations.
Whichever route Self chooses, he’ll do so with a bittersweet feeling of joy and a sense of loss.
“We’re so happy for Norm,” Self said. “He very much deserves this opportunity, and he will be a fantastic head coach. But we will all miss him very much. Not only are we losing a great coach, but also a great friend.
“He’s an excellent recruiter, he’s an excellent coach, and he conducts his business in a manner which any university would be proud.”
Roberts joined Self’s ORU staff for the 1996-97 season and stayed with him at Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas.
