Bill Self and acting coach Norm Roberts are on same page entering Monday’s KU opener

Norm Roberts, who has worked on Bill Self’s men’s basketball coaching staffs at Kansas, Illinois, Tulsa and Oral Roberts, understands just about every aspect of the Hall of Famer’s personality and work philosophy.

“I’ve been with Coach a long time. We end each other’s sentences, things like that,” Roberts, KU’s acting head coach for the first four games of the regular season, said of Self, who is about to serve a four-game suspension in response to the NCAA’s ongoing three-year investigation into KU hoops.

Self, 59, agrees with his 57-year-old long-time friend that the two indeed are on the same wavelength heading into Monday’s 2022-23 regular-season opener between KU and Summit League team Omaha. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse with a livestream on ESPN+.

“Heck we’ve been together since 1995 (at Oral Roberts). Norm probably can complete most of my lame rhetoric,” Self said with a laugh. “Norm will do a great job. It’ll be good for the (KU players) to hear a different voice and this is certainly something that will help us over time.”

Self, KU’s 20th-year head coach, and assistant coach Kurtis Townsend, who also will miss the first four games of the season via suspension, are allowed to coach at practice leading up to each of the four games (Omaha, North Dakota State, Duke, Southern Utah). It’s up to Roberts, with the help of full-time assistant Jeremy Case — plus staff members Joe Dooley and Brady Morningstar — to patrol the bench area during these four contests.

“We have a culture that’s been obviously built here a long time,” Roberts said of KU, where he’s worked the past 10 seasons.

He also was on Self’s original KU staff, leaving after one season to become head coach at St. John’s, where he had an 81-101 record over six campaigns. Roberts also has been a head coach at his alma mater, Queens College in New York, where he went 24-84 over four seasons in the early 1990s.

Roberts returned to KU (replacing Danny Manning who left for Tulsa) after working one year as an assistant at Florida during the 2011-12 season.

“We always talk about a situation where faces change (at KU), expectations don’t,” Roberts said. “Our players know our expectations are our expectations of what KU should do on the court and our coaching staff knows that too.”

Self, as usual, will make out the starting lineup with the help of his staff members. He will instruct Roberts about which perimeter player will be the first perimeter sub off the bench, and which big man will be the first frontcourt sub off the bench.

“Game plans are done,” Self said. “We know what we’ll do, how we want to play. Once the game starts, by feel it will all be on Norm and the staff.”

Self realizes Roberts knows how to run a game.

“He’s been head coach in the Big East,” Self said. “There’s a correlation in us being successful and who our coaches are. We’ve had the best staff. I don’t think anybody can compare with our staff over time. Of course Norm has been a huge part of that. He’ll do well and our players will respond.”

The Jayhawks players, who tuned up for the opener Thursday by erasing an early 15-point deficit en route to a 94-63 exhibition rout over Pittsburg State, said it’s business as usual no matter who is KU’s head coach.

“We’ve been a team that’s been through a lot of adversity even last year with my situation,” said junior forward Jalen Wilson. He was suspended one exhibition game and the first three regular-season games a year ago (all KU victories) after an arrest on suspicion of DUI. He returned to be an effective starter on KU’s NCAA title team.

“We always come together in tough times. We know what we do in the practice gym, how we have to prepare for games. It won’t change, We have a great coaching staff and a great circle so if anything happens we all come together and we prepare and get better. We’ll prepare for these (four) games and take them one game at time.”

Of Roberts, junior point guard Dajuan Harris said: “He is a good coach. He has great energy. He’s going to have us fired up Monday night when we play.”

Roberts — the former combo guard is still Queens College’s third-leading scorer, first in steals and second in assists — showed his fiery energy and spirit in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

“Norm has been a rock for us,” Self said. “Our guys know this: Has anyone ever heard a better pre-game talk than what Norm gave against Nova in the Final Four?’”

Roberts inspired the KU squad with some words of wisdom before KU’s 81-65 Final Four semifinal win over the Wildcats on April 2 in New Orleans. KU went on to win the NCAA title two nights later, 72-69 over North Carolina.

“Norm is one of those guys that gets real excited. The more excited he gets he can’t control himself, gets even more excited then,” Self added with a smile in introducing Roberts to 400 attendees at the recent Ladies Night Out NIL event at Allen Fieldhouse.

“That one (pre-game talk to players) was way up here,” Self added, holding his hands near his head. “There’s none better than this guy. Norm we love you and Pascale (Roberts’ wife) and appreciate everything you do for this program.”

KU’s opening opponent, Omaha, went 5-25 a year ago. The Mavericks are led by first-year coach Chris Crutchfield, a former Oregon and Oklahoma assistant.

“We obviously do not want to play the way we started the game,” Roberts said of the Pitt State game, in which KU trailed 12-0 and 21-6. “We’ve got to run people off the (three-point) line, guard, screen when we play Omaha. That team shoots a lot of threes and is very similar (in style of play to the Gorillas who hit 13 of 32 threes).

“We have to do a better job of rebounding, attacking the glass.”

Self, of course, has stressed some of those things at practice the past few days.

On a lighter note, asked if he enjoys having Self around at practice even if he can’t coach the first four games, Wilson said: “Yeah, I’m real happy. He’s always the sweetest guy on the court, so it’s always cool to keep him (Self) around.”

The Jayhawks will stay busy after Monday’s game. Game 2 of the season, and the Self/Townsend suspensions, will be against North Dakota State at 7 p.m. Thursday at Allen Fieldhouse. Both the Omaha game and North Dakota State game will be aired on ESPN+.

Norm Roberts at a Glance

Long-time Kansas basketball assistant Norm Roberts will serve as KU head coach for the first four games of the 2022-23 season.

He takes over for Bill Self, who has been suspended by KU for the season’s first four games in response to the ongoing NCAA investigation into Jayhawks hoops program.

Here are some facts about Roberts:

Age: 57.

Place of birth: Queens, New York.

Education: 1987 graduate of Queens College with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education.

Playing days: A guard, he is Queens College’s third all-time leading scorer with 1,719 points. He also is the career leader in steals (253) and is second in assists (460). He had his number 15 retired by his alma mater in 1993.

Head coaching career: Queens College 1992-95 (24-84 record). St. John’s: 2005-2010 (81-101 record).

Big wins at St. John’s: In 2004-05 victories over No. 17 North Carolina State and No. 21 Pitt. Also a win over Georgetown. In 2005-06, wins over No. 9 Pitt and No. 17 Louisville. In 2008-09, a win over No. 7 Notre Dame and two wins over Georgetown. The team landed a berth in the NIT in 2009-10.

Assistant coaching career: Archbishop Molloy (New York) High School 1988-91: He coached 1991 first round NBA draft pick Kenny Anderson, who went No. 2 overall in the draft. ... Bill Self staff assistant at Oral Roberts (1995-97), Tulsa 1997-2000, Illinois 2000-03, Kansas 2003-04 and 2012-present as well as Florida during 2011-12 season.

Notable accomplishments at KU: Assistant on 2022 NCAA title team and 2018 Final Four team. Part of eight Big 12 regular-season titles, four Big 12 tourney championships with five appearances in the Elite Eight and six in the Sweet 16.

Personal: He and wife Pascale have two sons. Niko Roberts played four seasons at KU (2011-14) and Justin Roberts played at both Toledo and Niagara. Justin is development specialist at KU; Niko is associate commissioner for men’s and women’s basketball at the Mountain West Conference.