Bill Self’s lifelong assistant coach pens emotional message as he announces retirement

After a 37-year-old coaching career, Bill Self’s lifelong assistant Norm Roberts is calling it a day. The coach had stints as an assistant at Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Illinois, Florida, Queen, St. John’s and Kansas. The Jayhawks, his team for the past 14 years, honored the iconic assistant coach with an Instagram post on Monday.

Roberts detailed what he’s going to miss from his time on the sidelines and around campus, revealing how connected he’s been with all the players he’s coached.

“The thing I’m going to remember most is the players and watching them grow, watching them succeed, and watching them fight through adversity and come back from that,” Roberts said.

Bill Self reacts to Norm Roberts’ departure

Self also reacted to the Norm Roberts news. He didn’t mince words when discussing Roberts’ impact on his team’s success while crediting him for playing an important role in recruiting and developing talent.

“This is a bittersweet moment for me because Norm and I have been together since 1995,” Self said. “Norm has played a key role to our success at all of the stops we have had together, especially here at Kansas. From recruiting to developing players to scouting and his knowledge of the game both on and off the court, Norm has been instrumental in what we have achieved. We won a lot of games together – many conference titles, deep NCAA Tournament runs, Final Fours and a national championship. We’ve had some unbelievable memories that will last our lifetimes.“

Although he’s been a head coach in St. John’s and Queens, Roberts has thrived at his assistant coach role. He first joined the Jayhawks’ coaching staff during the 2003-04 season. He then served as St. John’s head coach from 2004 through 2010 before taking assistant coach duties at Florida during the 2011-12 season.
He reunited with Self in the 2012-13 season, staying with Kansas until the final days of his career.

Roberts helped the Jayhawks win the 2022 NCAA national championship, advance to five Sweet 16s and four Elite Eights in the national tournament.