KU basketball names Jacque Vaughn acting head coach with Bill Self out Tuesday
Former Kansas basketball point guard Jacque Vaughn, who has served as head coach of the NBA’s Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets, will coach his first college game Tuesday night.
Vaughn, 50, was hired in May to replace Norm Roberts as an assistant on Bill Self’s coaching staff. He will fill in for Self, making the calls when the Jayhawks take on Colorado in a 10 p.m. tip at CU Events Center, Self announced Tuesday morning.
Self, KU’s 23rd head coach, was taken to LMH Health on Monday after feeling “under the weather.” The school said he received IV fluids at the facility.
Self issued a statement on Tuesday morning:
“I’m feeling much better and I want to thank the well-wishers and the great team at LMH Health. I’ll be sitting out tonight’s game, and as I’ve said before, we have an elite coaching staff at KU, and I know our players are in good hands in Boulder. Jacque Vaughn will serve as the acting head coach tonight. He will rely on our great group of coaches, Jeremy Case, Kurtis Townsend, Joe Dooley and Tony Bland, throughout the game to lead the team.”
Vaughn — he played at KU four seasons (1993-94 through 1996-97) and had his jersey No. 11 hung in the Allen Fieldhouse rafters on Dec. 31, 2002 — has more than 15 years of NBA coaching experience as either a head coach or assistant. He has coached NBA All-Stars Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan, Victor Oladipo and Ben Simmons and former Jayhawks Markieff Morris and Jalen Wilson.
Following his 12-year playing career, which included winning an NBA title with San Antonio (in 2007), Vaughn served as assistant coach for the Spurs from 2010 to 2012.
He compiled a 58-158 record as head coach of the rebuilding Orlando Magic team from July 2012 until February 2015. After his time as head coach of the Magic, he spent the 2015-16 season as a scout for the Spurs. Vaughn then became an assistant for the Brooklyn Nets for the 2016-17 season and was named interim head coach in March 2020 and guided the franchise to the NBA playoffs. He moved back to his assistant role that September under coach Steve Nash.
In November 2022, Vaughn again was named interim head coach of the Nets and shortly thereafter had the interim title removed. He guided the Nets to the playoffs for the second time in 2023. While with the Nets, he coached Durant, Irving, Mikal Bridges, Cam Thomas and Jarrett Allen.
He compiled a 78-71 record with Brooklyn. He was fired in February 2024 when the Nets opened with a 21-33 record.
After hiring Vaughn to replace Roberts, who announced his retirement, Self said: “I’ve always admired how he conducted himself professionally and how he has treated people. (He is a) tremendous Jayhawk that has a unique and impressive resume.”
After being named to Self’s staff, Vaughn said: “For me to come back after probably 30 years of being in the NBA and the experiences from those early years for me, and now to be able to talk with (players) about it, what my path has been, and hopefully guide them and be a mentor/coach and someone that is pulling for them more than they are pulling for themselves ... it’s pretty cool,” Vaughn said.
“One of the things that really brought me back is I’ve been fortunate to be around some great coaches, and we always talk about kids getting better and guys getting better. And I think as a coach, I want to get better. And so the opportunity to be around a Hall of Famer who has two national championships and is taking our program to a different level, really guided my pivot to come back home.”
Vaughn in 1997 concluded his career as KU’s and the Big Eight Conference’s all-time assists leader with 804, which now ranks third at KU. The Los Angeles native earned second-team All-America honors his senior year under coach Roy Williams.
Vaughn was a two-time Academic All-America first-team selection in 1996 and 1997 and was the 1997 Academic All-American of the Year. Vaughn and Cole Aldrich (2010) are the only two players in program history to be named Academic All-American of the Year.
Vaughn, a two-time all-Big Eight pick, was 1996 Big Eight Player of the Year. He also received the Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholar-Athlete Award in 1996.
On the KU career charts, Vaughn ranks third in assists (804), ninth in games started (125), 19th in steals (160), 23rd in 3-point field goal percentage (38.3%) and 40th in points scored (1,207).
“My biggest message ... is there are no shortcuts,” said Vaughn. “I really believe in putting in the work, and the results will come from that work. I like to do simple better, and so I don’t complicate things. And so that message to the guys, I’ve always said, ‘The less amount of keys on my key ring, the better off I’ll be.’”
Self has had a member of his coaching staff fill in as head coach before. Roberts, who has been working as a basketball analyst this season, had a 4-0 record serving as a replacement for Self, who served a four-game university-imposed suspension at the start of the 2022-23 season. KU beat Omaha, North Dakota State, Duke and Southern Utah.
Roberts had a 3-2 record taking over again later that season after Self was hospitalized. KU defeated West Virginia and Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament before losing to Texas in the Big 12 final. In the NCAA’s, he led KU to a win over Howard. The Jayhawks lost to Arkansas in the second round.
The Star’s Shreyas Laddha contributed to this report.
