Longtime KU assistant Norm Roberts announces retirement

LAWRENCE, Kan. (KCTV) - One of Bill Self’s right-hand men throughout his coaching career is calling it a career.

Kansas men’s basketball assistant coach Norm Roberts announced his retirement Monday following 37 years in college basketball.

Fourteen of those seasons came at Kansas, where Roberts coached teams that won seven Big 12 regular season titles, three Big 12 Tournament championships and the 2022 national championship.

“I want to thank everybody at the University of Kansas and from everywhere I’ve been lucky enough to coach,” Roberts said in a release. “I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never worked a day in my life. Being able to coach at Kansas and be part of this program has been unbelievable.”

Roberts began coaching with Bill Self as an assistant at Oral Roberts in 1995.

“This is a bittersweet moment for me,” Self said. “Norm has played a key role to our success at all of the stops we’ve 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.”

During Roberts’ time at KU, 60 KU players were named to All-Big 12 teams, including five Big 12 Players of the Year, four Big 12 Defensive Players of the Year, two Big 12 Freshman of the Year, two Big 12 Newcomers of the Year and a Big 12 Most Improved Player of the Year.

Roberts spent three seasons at Illinois with Self from 2000-03 and was the associate head coach for KU during Self’s first year in Lawrence. He spent six seasons as the head coach at St. John’s and returned to Kansas in 2012.

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