Earlier this week, Kansas basketball assistant coach Jeremy Case was promoted to associate head coach for the upcoming season, marking the first time anyone has ever held that position under Bill Self at KU.
The former Jayhawk and 2008 national champion has earned plenty of praise from Self over the years as one of the best young assistants in the industry and a particularly excellent recruiter.
When asked about the move, Self downplayed any major change in his everyday duties, saying the title doesn’t come with much extra responsibility but that it still carries meaning.
“It doesn’t really change anything, except he’ll probably be more in charge of running meetings with the assistant coaches and the organization and stuff like that,” Self said. “That’ll be good for him to grow.”
Case has been a staple around the program for quite some time. After his playing days in Lawrence, he started as a graduate assistant for the 2008-09 campaign before making coaching stops at Southeast Missouri State and Houston Baptist.
He returned to KU in 2016 as a video assistant and was elevated to a full-time assistant role in 2021.
With Self’s coaching career nearing its later stages, there has been speculation about who might eventually succeed him at the university, and a comment he made during the press conference will definitely raise some eyebrows.
“What it does do, I think, is show that we have a lot of confidence in him, and he’s closer to being ready to be a head coach, which I think he’ll be a tremendous one,” Self continued. “I think he’s a star in the profession, and our other staff members think the same.”
Case is just 40 years old, relatively young for a coach, so Self even indirectly suggesting that he is close to being ready for a head coaching role is noteworthy.
Additionally, his promotion was not the only coaching staff change to occur this offseason. Longtime assistant Norm Roberts announced his retirement, Chase Buford and Fred Quartlebaum departed elsewhere, and Self brought on Jacque Vaughn and Tony Bland as new sideline aides.
Whether that opportunity comes at Kansas or another school remains to be seen, but there is no doubt Case’s name will be near the top of the short list when Self calls it quits if he is still with the program.
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