Bill Self and Kansas Hire Tony Bland as New Assistant Coach

Kansas basketball added an experienced assistant to its coaching staff following the departure of Chase Buford.

Nov 23, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans associate head coach Tony Bland reacts during a NCAA basketball game against the Cal State Northridge Matadors at Galen Center. USC defeated CSUN 96-61. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In what has been an eventful offseason, the Kansas Jayhawks made another move to their coaching staff on Tuesday.

According to multiple reports from ESPN, head coach Bill Self hired Washington assistant coach Tony Bland to join the KU coaching staff for the upcoming season.

Sources: Kansas is expected to hire veteran college basketball assistant Tony Bland as an assistant coach. Bland spent last year at the University of Washington. He's a veteran West Coast coach who worked earlier in his career as an assistant at San Diego State and USC. pic.twitter.com/UgpiskNwhV

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 19, 2025

Bland is a former college basketball player who competed at Syracuse before finishing his career at San Diego State.

After his playing days, he transitioned into coaching and served as an assistant at his alma mater, SDSU, until 2013. Following that stint, he moved to USC and spent four years with the Trojans before an abrupt end to his tenure.

Bland was dismissed from the program after being connected to the FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball.

He later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and was officially fired by USC in January 2018.

Ironically, Kansas was also included in that same case for several years and received five Level I violations from the NCAA before eventually moving past the scandal.

The decision to bring Bland aboard raised some questions, but the program made sure to be careful in its vetting process, according to ESPN insider Pete Thamel.

"KU extensively vetted Bland's entire background, per ESPN sources," Thamel wrote. "The school went through what sources called as extensive of a background check as they've ever done."

After leaving the NCAA for a few years, Bland rebuilt his career by becoming a high school head coach in Los Angeles.

Bland’s strong ties to the West Coast could be valuable to the program on the recruiting trail.

He returned to the Division I scene last season as an assistant at Washington, where he stayed for one year. Now, he is presumably set to join Self’s staff in Lawrence for the foreseeable future.

His addition comes just days after the official departure of assistant coach Chase Buford. Buford spent one season with KU after previously serving as a head coach in the G League, but he accepted a new assistant job with the Denver Nuggets in the NBA.

Norm Roberts, Self's longtime right-hand man, also left the Jayhawks this offseason after announcing his retirement.

Bland is the second new assistant this offseason, joining former KU star and NBA head coach Jacque Vaughn.

Self’s current staff now features Kurtis Townsend, Jeremy Case, Joe Dooley, Vaughn, and Bland on the sidelines.

After three consecutive early exits in March Madness, it was likely needed for Self to revamp the coaching staff, and he seems to have gotten his guy in Bland.