New KU hoops assistant Jeremy Case ready to recruit: ‘It’s all about relationships’
Jeremy Case accepted an interim assistant coaching position on the Kansas men’s basketball staff on April 6 with no assurances he’d eventually be named full-time replacement for new Texas aide Jerrance Howard.
“One of the things Coach (Bill) Self said was, ‘Put your head down and work. We’ll discuss things later on,’’’ Case, KU’s 36-year-old former video coordinator said Tuesday morning, a day after officially joining Norm Roberts and Kurtis Townsend as assistants on Self’s Jayhawks staff.
“I kept working, kept grinding. I think coach liked that. I think it helped me,” added Case, who during the 2021 summer recruiting period attended two AAU tourneys with the Jayhawks’ 19th-year head coach.
“Coach needed to see me in that role, show we can work together,” Case stated.
Self — he’s known Jeremy since the former KU combo guard was a baby (Case’s dad is Self’s former Oklahoma State teammate, Win Case) — liked what he saw from Case in the interim role the past several months.
“I’m very excited about his abilities to not only coach on the floor, but also to be a tremendous recruiter. He has done a terrific job since we put him into the interim position back in April and I anticipate him being a star within our profession,” Self said Monday.
Case, a McAlester, Oklahoma native who was a member of KU’s 2008 NCAA title team, actually had some recruiting experience prior to this spring and summer.
“I’ve recruited seven years, three at Southeast Missouri and four at Houston Baptist. I know how it works, just not at this level. Recruiting is all about relationships, building relationships with kids, AAU coaches, high school coaches, letting them know who I am, what I am. You want to be yourself, want the kids to like you. You just show your personality the best you can,” Case said.
Case said he has a lot to sell in his pursuit of future KU players.
“I don’t think it’s one thing. It’s a whole thing. It’s the winning culture, Hall of Fame coach, great staff, facilities, tradition, so many things. It’s a great place to live in (McCarthy Hall), a great college town,” Case said. “There are so many angles to go at. There are a lot of other good places, not a place you can say that tops Kansas. You cannot look at another place and say it’s better than Kansas,” Case added.
Case — he’s been KU’s video coordinator since August 2016 — says he embraces his new duties with great personal motivation.
“Coach believes in me,” Case said. “That’s the biggest thing that gives me confidence. He trusts me, has faith and has given me an opportunity to prove myself.”
Case thinks his first season as full-time assistant at KU could be special.
“Of course,” Case said, asked if he wants to win the national title as a coach to go with his title as a player.
“I want one as video coordinator. I want one as G.A. (grad assistant). At this level it’s what you play for, practice for. That’s always the end goal. You want to win. On paper we’ve got a good team. We’ve got a great group of guys, a lot of pieces. It’ll be fun seeing coach Self putting them together, figuring the best way to go about it. Coach Self is one of the best at that.”
Of the assistant coaches also responsible for molding the team, Case said: “I think the world of them (Roberts, Townsend). They are all another father to me. I played for coach Self and coach T. I played for coach Rob one year. All of them have been in it a long time. I’ve leaned on them during these three months as interim.”
Case, by the way, won himself some KU fans not only winning it all, but after taking on the role of peacemaker at the end of the KU-Kansas State game on Jan. 21, 2020 at Allen Fieldhouse.
Benches emptied in the south end zone after Silvio De Sousa of KU blocked a shot by K-State’s DaJuan Gordon. Case suffered an injury while trying to prevent players from throwing punches in the melee.
“I tried to jump in, tripped on a (TV) cord on the back of the goal and I fell directly on my arm,” Case recalled. He broke his right arm and wore a sling for a few weeks.
“I tried to catch myself. It was a freak deal. I wanted to help break it up before it got way out of hand,” he added. “It looked already out of hand. I don’t think coaches should just stand there and watch it, but try to get guys out of there, stop it before it gets way out of hand.
“It was painful. After two weeks most of the pain was gone,” he added, noting he did not need surgery.
Of Case the person, Self said: “He’s sharp. He’s personable and he’s prepared. Kansas is fortunate to have him represent this university.”
