Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self provided the latest on injured freshman center Joel Embiid during this morning’s Big 12 coaches teleconference.

Self said Embiid, who as reported by the Journal-World on Saturday is in Los Angeles this morning to see a back specialist, is seeing the specialist as result of a request by the Embiid family for a second opinion.

“All that (seeing specialist) is basically precautionary and us basically doing what we promised the family we would do. They requested we should maybe have somebody else looking at it to make sure everybody was on board,” Self said this morning.

“So we’re doing that. That’s what we should do for all our athletes. That’s what’s happening. We’ll know more probably later on today what his availability would be in practice later this week or even this week in the Big 12 tournament.

“Hopefully that will be the case where he is ready to go. If it’s not, we can certainly sit him another week and have him practicing full speed hopefully by next Sunday or Monday and be ready to go next weekend. We’ll play it by ear based on what we’re told today, based on what his symptoms are,” Self added. “He’s still a little tight. He’s tons better than what he was. He’s actually run in the pool and done some things, certainly not to the point where he’s gotten knocked around (at practice).”

Self stressed he was not discouraged by Embiid’s back woes of the past several weeks and the fact he may indeed have to miss this week’s Big 12 tourney.

“This week is important but it pales in comparison to the importance of what happens after this week,” Self said of the NCAA Tournament, which starts a week from Thursday. “I want him as healthy as possible for the NCAA Tournament and want him to be as close to 100 percent as possible for that. Getting reps and playing does lead to better performance moving forward more than likely. We will not risk him being out there and having a setback so to speak so that way we wouldn’t be quite as good next week (in NCAAs).”

Self said he does believe the 7-footer will play in the NCAAs. “We think we are on the right track,” Self said. “I don’t really know what his availability will be this weekend. If he’s not ready we’ll hold him until the start of next week.”

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Self was asked light-heartedly why he wasn’t named Big 12 coach of the year Sunday.

“Well probably because I didn’t deserve it,” he said. “There were two deserving guys for coach of the year. I know Rick (Barnes, Texas) got it (Sunday) and very much deserves it. You can also make a strong case for Lon (Kruger, Oklahoma). I thought both those guys did an unbelievable job with their respective teams. Both were terrific.”