Bill Self hospitalized, has stents inserted, full recovery expected

For the second time in just over two years, a health scare landed Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self in the hospital on Thursday.

According to a statement from the KU athletic department, Self was admitted to LMH Health in Lawrence after feeling “unwell” and experiencing “some concerning symptoms.”

The statement indicates that Self, 63, was quickly transported to LMH Health, where he had two stents inserted.

This, after Self had two stents inserted to help treat blocked arteries during what then was called “a standard heart catheterization” in March of 2023.

Self missed the Big 12 tournament and KU’s two games in the NCAA Tournament that season and spent five days in the hospital following the scare.

Thursday’s statement from KU indicated that the KU coach was in “good spirits” and “expects to be released from the hospital soon.” In addition, the statement said Thursday’s procedure went “very well” and that Self was expected to make a full recovery.

That’s certainly the good news, even if inserting stents is deemed in most medical circles to be a minimally invasive procedure.

The bad news, at least some of it, is that Self’s latest health issue came just a few days after the KU coach talked at the outset of the final week of summer workouts about being ready to really get back after it in the weeks and months ahead now that the 2025-26 roster is basically complete.

“To me, it's probably been as stressful of an offseason, putting a team together that Kansas deserves,” Self told reporters on Monday. “But it's also been kind of rejuvenating and fun in its own way.”

Self continued: “Usually people that that work in a pressure profession actually enjoy the pressure a little bit. … When you go through problems, you never like it when you're going through it, but there's nothing better than getting through it when you get to the other side.”

While being hospitalized is never something that’s considered good timing, Self might have caught a pretty big break here. The layout of the calendar has the Jayhawks heading home for the next couple weeks until reporting for the start of the fall semester. And that, along with the 2025-26 season still being months away, should give Self plenty of room and time to recover from Thursday’s incident.