photo by: Kansas Athletics screenshot

Kansas coach Bill Self, left, speaks during a press conference to announce the hiring of new assistant coach Jacque Vaughn on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas coach Bill Self admits he likely caught Jacque Vaughn a bit off guard.

“I think Jacque was probably a little surprised that I was calling,” Self recalled on Tuesday, “and even more surprised when I said, ‘Hey, I got something kind of off the wall I want you to think about.'”

The notion in question was for Vaughn, the former KU point guard and later NBA head coach who had been out of the game for a year, to join Self’s staff as an assistant coach following the retirement of Norm Roberts.

For Self, the value proposition of bringing Vaughn aboard was clear: “It’s not very often you can have someone on your staff whose name is hung with the retired jerseys on the west end, and on the east end his name is hung with the two-time first-team academic All-Americans too — and then obviously to be a 12-year NBA vet as a player, win a world championship and then go on to be an assistant coach and a three-time head NBA coach.”

For Vaughn, it took a little time — at least a couple days, as he consulted with his wife Laura. He also spoke to fellow college and professional coaches like former teammate Jerod Haase, “and they thought that it was a great idea and pivot at this time in my life.”

Soon enough he was ready to hear more from Self, and soon enough after that he was hired. Self announced his appointment to the position on May 21, as Vaughn became the first-ever former NBA head coach to join KU’s staff.

“I had to get it approved by my boss (Laura), who is also a Jayhawk — which, she loves being back home also,” Vaughn said. “I was telling guys that a lot of the moves that we made, my family made a huge sacrifice. One of my kids was born here in Lawrence, one is born in New Jersey, the last eight years or whatever they were in Brooklyn, they spent time, half of middle school in Orlando, some time in San Antonio. That’s what happens when you coach. This move was really special because I was able to kind of make this for her also.”

The former star point guard under Roy Williams said that the opportunity to learn from Self also played a key role in his decision to return to Lawrence.

“I’ve been fortunate to be around some great coaches,” Vaughn said. “We always talk about kids getting better and guys getting better, and I think as a coach, I want to get better. 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, who attended high school in Pasadena, California, and then played at KU from 1993-97, was a two-time All-American and in 1996 was the conference player of the year. Self said he essentially sees Vaughn as the Roy Williams-era equivalent of Devonte’ Graham in terms of “talent, on-court success, community involvement (and) connection to fans.”

“I think it’s exciting, but I don’t think you hire somebody because people like him,” Self added. “I think you hire only because they complement what your talents are, and he does that in a way that brings something to us that’s different than what we’ve ever had before.”

Vaughn played a dozen years in the NBA before beginning his coaching career as an assistant to Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs. He then went on to lead the Orlando Magic and serve in multiple roles with the Brooklyn Nets, including as the head coach until 2024.

Now he takes on his very first college coaching job — although as he puts it, “players are players.”

“The thought of it is, I think, pretty cool,” he said, “the fact that I’ll be involved in coaching a group that I played on the same floor that they’re playing on.”

One specific player Vaughn might be coaching — five-star freshman guard Darryn Peterson — could receive the lion’s share of public attention, though Vaughn took care to note, “I think I pride myself on being able to coach bigs and smalls across the board, so I’m looking forward to working with all the guys. But we do have a special individual in DP.”

As Self said, Vaughn has coached the likes of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, which “I think brings immediate credibility to guys that want to be pros out there, knowing they’re going to get to work with somebody that knows firsthand what it’s supposed to look like.”

Peterson said he needs to try to get to know Vaughn as a coach first, not to mention get through a year of college basketball, before he can truly take advantage of Vaughn’s insights into the NBA.

“He’s done everything I want to do with basketball,” Peterson said, “so I’m blessed to have him around.”

Added transfer guard Jayden Dawson: “Even besides that, he was a legendary player here at Kansas. So just knowing what he brings to the table, just going to him for advice, obviously knowing the connection that he has, being a head coach in the NBA, that will be big for us.”

As for Vaughn’s specific message to professional hopefuls, he said he tries to emphasize that there are no shortcuts.

“I like to do simple better,” he said. “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.”

There may indeed be no shortcuts, but Vaughn himself did, subconsciously, try to get a bit of a head start as summer workouts were just getting underway with his new team.

“I woke up at like 4:30 the other day, (in) the morning time,” he said. “I said, ‘That’s a good sign right there,’ the enthusiasm, like I was looking forward to being on the court with the guys. It brought back all the first (days) of training camps that I had, when I woke up early. So let’s keep waking up early. That was a good sign.”

photo by: AP Photo/Jeff Robbins

Kansas guard Jacque Vaughn gestures in a celebratory manner against Santa Clara during the first half of their second round NCAA West Regional game Sunday, March 17, 1996, in Tempe, Ariz.

photo by: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughn gestures during the first half of the team’s NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, in New York.