A ruling in the case, which has been ongoing since KU received a notice of allegations from the NCAA in September of 2019, likely will not come until sometime in 2023. Not only has KU not yet had its hearing with the Independent Accountability Resolution Process, a date for the hearing has not even been scheduled.

So while Self and assistant coach Kurtis Townsend sit KU’s first four games of the regular season, which opens Monday, Roberts will have final say on game days.

“I’m excited for Norm,” Self said after Thursday’s exhibition win over Pitt State. “He’ll probably be a voice that the players enjoy and respect hearing far more than the one they’ve been hearing.”

Self and Townsend can work with the team in practices during the suspension. They just can’t have anything to do with the program for the 24 hours of game days, starting with Monday night’s opener against Omaha.

That time will be Roberts’ time, with assistance from Jeremy Case, Joe Dooley, Brady Morningstar and Fred Quartlebaum and Brennan Bechard in their regular roles.

“We’ve been together a long time,” Self said of himself and Roberts. “And there’s a correlation in us being successful and who your coaches are. I don’t know that anybody can compare with the staff that we’ve had over time, and Norm has been a huge part of that. So, he’ll do well and our players will respond.”

This isn’t exactly new territory for the native New Yorker who turned 57 this summer.

During a 30-plus-year coaching career that has taken him to eight different schools, Roberts was the head coach for 290 games.

That included 108 games at his alma mater, Queens College, from 1991-95, and 182 more as the head coach at St. John’s from 2004-10.

More important than any of those numbers, though, is Roberts’ close connection to Self. The longtime friends and colleagues have been together, off-and-on since 1995, when Self first hired Roberts as an assistant at Oral Roberts.

He was with Self at Oral Roberts from 1995-97, joined him at Tulsa from 1997-2000 and was on the Illinois bench during all three of Self’s seasons with the Illini from 2000-03. He then made the move to Kansas for Self’s first season before heading to St. John’s.

Other than his six seasons leading St. John’s, the only time Roberts has not been with Self since 1995 came during the 2011-12 season, when he was an assistant to Billy Donovan at Florida. The Gators were a 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament that season and reached the Elite Eight.

That familiarity with Self and his system, has everyone in the KU locker room feeling comfortable about the temporary transition from Self to Roberts on game nights.

“We’ve got a great coaching staff and a great circle,” KU junior Jalen Wilson said. “We’ve been a team that’s been through a lot of adversity and we always come together in tough times. We know what we do in the practice gym, how we prepare for games, and it won’t change.”

Added junior guard Dajuan Harris Jr.: “Coach Rob’s a good coach. He’s got great energy, and he’s going to have us fired up Monday night when we play.”

Other than his faith in his longtime friend, the other reason Self believes Roberts and the Jayhawks will be fine without him is because all parties involved expect things to run as they always do on game nights and in practice.

“I don’t know that responsibilities will change a ton,” he said. “The responsibilities are (in) practice a lot more so than they are on game day. So, I think it’ll be pretty consistent except on game day, and I’m not sure there’ll be a big change in roles other than the fact that Norm’s going to put people in and take people out.”

Self said KU’s game prep also would be mostly the same. KU’s three full-time assistant coaches, including Roberts, handle the scouting reports on a rotating basis well in advance of game day.

“Game plans are done by that time,” Roberts said. “We know what we want to do or how we want to play.”

Added Self: “I’m hopeful that whatever the game plan is, we can execute the game plan. But Norm’s going to go into the game knowing who the first big off the bench is and who the first guard off the bench is. We’ll do it the same way we always do it. I’ll be in practice, but he will be in charge. Anything that happens after 12 a.m., that’s going to be Norm’s call.”

Monday’s season opener against Omaha is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Allen Fieldhouse and will be televised on Big 12 Now via ESPN+.