When longtime assistant coach Norm Roberts decided it was time for him to retire, Bill Self made a call to a Jayhawk great with a wealth of NBA experience, both as a coach and player. Jacque Vaughn, whose jersey hangs in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse, had to get the go-ahead from his wife before taking the job as an assistant coach.

“I had to get it approved by my boss, who is also a Jayhawk, which she loves being back home also,” Vaughn said at his introductory press conference Tuesday. “This move was really special because I was able to kind of make this for her also and for her to come back home and us to have this time together and be a part of this program again.”

Vaughn spent the 1993-1997 seasons at Kansas under Roy Williams, winning Big Eight Player of the Year in 1996. He then spent 12 years in the NBA as a player before becoming a coach, including most recently a stint as the Brooklyn Nets head coach from 2022-24.

The Kansas legend is cherishing the opportunity to coach at the place where he played college ball.

“I think it's pretty cool the fact that I'll be involved in coaching a group that I played on the same floor that they're playing on,” Vaughn said. “And for me to come back after probably 30 years of being in the NBA and the experiences from those early years, for me and now to be able to talk with guys about it and what my path has been and hopefully guide them and be a mentor coach and someone that is pulling for them more than they're pulling for themselves.”

Self likened Vaughn to a beloved player he coached, Devonte Graham, in terms of combining on-court success with a connection to the fans. He added that Vaughn’s NBA experience can be a driving factor for college players looking to get to the next level.

“I mean, we have a college assistant coach that was a three time NBA head coach that's trained Kevin [Durant] and Kyrie [Irving] and all the different guys that I think brings immediate credibility to guys that want to be pros out there, knowing they're going to get to work with somebody that knows firsthand what it's supposed to look like,” Self said.

Vaughn said his coaching style won’t change with the move from the NBA to college. His message was that it isn’t easy, but getting to the next level can be achieved through hard work.

“I think my biggest message, and I'll continue to harp on this, is there are no shortcuts,” Vaughn said. “And I really believe in putting in the work and the results will come from that work. I like to do simple, better, and so I don't complicate things. And so that message to the guys, I've always said the less amount of keys on my key ring, the better off I'll be. And so we're just going to do simple, better not take shortcuts and work extremely hard.”

Vaughn was enthusiastic about getting started at Kansas, bringing him back to the early days of his college career of early mornings.

“I woke up at like 4:30, you know, the other day in the morning time and I said that's a good sign right there,” Vaughn said. “The enthusiasm, like I was looking forward to being on the court with the guys. Like it brought back all the first of training camps that I had when I woke up early.”