KU’s Bill Self makes plans without Cliff Alexander

Kansas’ Bill Self said Monday that he would coach his team from here on as if freshman Cliff Alexander will not be available for the rest of the year.

Alexander, a 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, is still sidelined while the NCAA investigates possible impermissible benefits received by his family from a third party.

“I’m not counting on Cliff coming back,” Self said. “I’m not saying he’s not coming back, but I’m saying we’re not going to count on it, saying ‘OK, when Cliff runs back, this is the sets we want to run or this or that.’

“No, the whole deal is let’s get our team ready, and then if Cliff comes back, we’ll somehow plug him in as opposed to him being a focal point.”

Self said he learned a lesson from last season after expecting that center Joel Embiid would return to the floor while batting through a back injury in early March. Embiid, a future lottery pick, sat out the Big 12 tournament and did not return before Kansas lost to Stanford in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Ellis’ knee to be re-evaluated

Junior forward Perry Ellis will have his sprained right knee re-evaluated Tuesday. If the results are promising, Ellis could practice full speed by Wednesday and potentially play in the Big 12 Tournament opener on Thursday.

“If he can’t go full speed by Wednesday, we’re not going to play him Thursday,” Self said. “He’s got to go full speed before we’ll play him.”

Sophomore guard Wayne Selden, meanwhile, said his sprained ankle is “getting better” after being limited in the Jayhawks’ 75-73 loss at Oklahoma on Saturday.

“It’s still probably not 100 percent,” Selden said. “It’s still not where I want it to be. But it’s definitely getting better.”

This story was originally published March 9, 2015 at 5:35 PM with the headline "KU’s Bill Self makes plans without Cliff Alexander."