Lawrence, Kan. – The great Kansas Jacque Vaughn, a former All-American, whose jersey n ° 11 is suspended in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse, returns to Lawrence as an assistant coach for his Alma Mater, coach Bill Self announced today.
Vaughn, who was head coach of the NBA for more than more seasons with the Nets Orlando Magic and Brooklyn, is the very first former NBA head coach to join the KU coaches. He brings back more than 15 years of experience as a coach of the NBA to his Alma Mater and trained the NBA All-Stars Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Deandre Jordan, Victor Oladipo and Ben Simmons and the former Jayhawks Markieff Morris and Jalen Wilson.
“We are very happy to welcome Jacque and (his wife) Laura in the fold,” said self. “I have known Jacque at a distance for several years now and I have always admired how he drove professionally and how he treated people. I think he will be an excellent addition to our program, while serving as a great mentor, coach and representative of Kansas basketball. We lost a great coach in Norm (Roberts) when he withdrew but who felt very good scope. “
Vaughn played four seasons in Kansas from 1993 to 1994 to 1996-1997, leaving his mark as one of the greatest guards in the history of the program. He concluded his career as a leader of all time in Ku and the Big Eight Conference with 804 assists, which is currently ranked third in Ku. The native of Los Angeles, California, won the second team All-American Honours his last year under coach Roy Williams. Vaughn was a selection of first Academic All-American team twice in 1996 and 1997 and was the Academic All-American of the year 1997. Vaughn and Cole Aldrich (2010) are the only two players in the history of the program to be appointed All-American academic of the year.
Vaughn won two All-Big Eight honors and was the 1996 Big Eight year player. He also received the Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholar-Athlete prize in 1996.
In Ku careers, Vaughn ranks third of the assists (804), ninth of the matches began (125), 19th In Interceptions (160), 23RD as a percentage of three -point field goals (38.3%) and 40th In the points scored (1,207). The Ku jersey of Vaughn was officially withdrawn on December 21, 2002. He now returned to Lawrence to perpetuate the Jayhawk tradition as a member of the coaches staff.
“I am really honored and overwhelmed by the excitement of returning to my Alma Mater and joining the person’s coach staff as an assistant coach,” said Vaughn. “The basketball game gave me the incredible privilege for mentor, coach and compete alongside some of the best in the game. I could not transmit the opportunity to bring these experiences back to school, which means so much for me. It is a blessing to be part of the Jayhawk tradition.”
After his brilliant collegial career, Vaughn was drafted in the first round, n ° 27 in total, by Utah Jazz during the 1977 NBA draft. He had a long player career, spending 12 seasons in the NBA – Four with UTAH (1998-2001), two with Atlanta (2002, 2004), One with Orlando (2003), two with the New Jersey (2005-06) and three with San Antonio (2007-09). It was a key reserve for the 2007 San Antonio Spurs team who won an NBA championship. He played 20 minutes with eight points and six assists in the victory that sent his team to the NBA final, where they swept LeBron James and the Cleveland riders.
After his player career, Vaughn was an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs from 2010 to 2012 and was appointed head coach for Orlando Magic in July 2012. After his visit as a Magic chief coach (216 games), he spent the 2015-16 season as scout for Spurs. Vaughn then became a high-level assistant for Brooklyn Nets for the 2016-17 season and was appointed acting head coach in March 2020 and guided the NBA qualifiers franchise. He returned to his assistant role that September under coach Steve Nash.
In November 2022, once again, Vaughn was appointed acting coach of the Nets and shortly after, the temporary title was deleted. He guided the nets towards the playoffs for the second time in 2023 and while with the Nets, he led several stars, including during, Irving, Mikal Bridges, Cam Thomas and Jarrett Allen.
Vaughn will now come back to him to replace Roberts standardwho retired earlier this month. Vaughn will join Kurtis Townsend,, Jeremy case,, Joe Dooley And Chase Buford As assistants on self -based staff.
