LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Longtime college basketball coach Norm Roberts, who spent six seasons leading St. John’s but is perhaps better known for his long tenure as an assistant at Kansas, announced his retirement Monday after nearly four decades in coaching.
During his time on Bill Self’s bench, the Jayhawks won seven regular-season Big 12 Conference titles and three Big 12 Tournament titles, reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament four times and won the 2022 national championship.
“I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never worked a day in my life. Being able to coach at Kansas and be part of this program has been unbelievable,” Roberts said in a statement issued by the school. “After 37 years as a coach, it is time for me to move on, enjoy my family, spend more time with my wife and sons.”
Roberts was born in New York and played there for Queens College, a Division II school, before spending four seasons as its coach. He was hired by Self as an assistant at Oral Roberts in 1995 and followed him through stops at Tulsa and Illinois before arriving at Kansas, where Roberts came on the radar of St. John’s.
He wound up going 81–101 with the Red Storm, twice making the postseason but never the NCAA Tournament.
Roberts spent a quick stint at Florida before returning to Kansas in 2012, serving as one of Self’s closest confidants. He was the Jayhawks’ acting coach in recent years when Self dealt with some health issues and served a four-game suspension.
“This is a bittersweet moment for me because Norm and I have been together since 1995,” Self said. “Norm has played a key role to our success at all of the stops we’ve had together, especially here at Kansas. From recruiting to developing players to scouting and his knowledge of the game, both on and off the court, Norm has been instrumental in what we have achieved.
“We’ve had some unbelievable memories that will last our lifetimes.”
The 59-year-old Roberts was responsible for helping to recruit and coach seven NBA lottery picks, including Josh Jackson, Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins. In all, he has helped 35 players from Kansas alone go on to have professional basketball careers.
Roberts also coached his son, Niko, during his four-year career at Kansas. His other son, Justin, played at Toledo and Niagara.
“The thing I’m going to remember most are the players,” Roberts said, “and watching them grow, watching them succeed, and watching them fight through adversity and come back from that.”
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
