photo by: AP Photo/John Munson

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn works the sideline during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, in New York.

One of Kansas’ best-ever point guards, who also happens to be a former NBA head coach, is joining Bill Self’s staff.

Jacque Vaughn is coming back to KU as an assistant coach, Self announced on Wednesday, filling the spot left vacant by the recent retirement of Norm Roberts.

“I’ve known Jacque from a distance for several years now and have always admired how he has conducted himself professionally and how he has treated people,” Self said in a press release. “I think he will be an excellent addition to our program, while also serving as a great mentor, coach and representative of Kansas basketball. We lost an awesome coach in Norm (Roberts) when he retired but feel very fortunate to have replaced him with a tremendous Jayhawk that has a unique and impressive resume.”

Vaughn most recently served as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets for two seasons before he was fired in February 2024. He had been an assistant in Brooklyn since 2016 following the conclusion of his first head-coaching tenure with the Orlando Magic.

The native of Altadena, California, first came to KU in 1993 out of Pasadena’s John Muir High School. Over the course of his four-year Jayhawk career, he became KU’s all-time assist leader at the time and in 1996 was the Big Eight player of the year.

Vaughn was a first-round pick by the Utah Jazz the following year and in total played a dozen seasons for five different NBA teams, winning an NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs in 2007. He started his coaching career under longtime Spurs coach Gregg Popovich in 2010, shortly after he stopped playing.

KU retired his No. 11 jersey on Dec. 21, 2002, during Roy Williams’ final season as the Jayhawks’ coach.

“I’m truly honored and overwhelmed with excitement to return to my alma mater and join Coach Self’s staff as an assistant coach,” Vaughn said in a press release. “The game of basketball has provided me the incredible privilege to mentor, coach, and compete alongside some of the best in the game. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring those experiences back to the school that means so much to me. It’s a blessing to once again be part of the Jayhawk tradition.”

The group of assistant coaches alongside Self now includes Vaughn with returning assistants Chase Buford, Jeremy Case, Joe Dooley and Kurtis Townsend. Buford joined the staff last summer, initially as an analyst.