The Kansas Jayhawks have seen a lot of turnover over the last couple of years. Since winning the NCAA National Championship in 2022, the Jayhawks haven't been able to move out of the second round of the NCAA Tournament, while also falling to Houston over the last couple years in Big 12 dominance.
As of last week, Kansas lost assistant coach Chase Buford who was hired by the Denver Nuggets, opening up space on the Kansas bench, already filled with experienced assistants in Joe Dooley, Jeremy Case, Kurtis Townsend and the recently hired former NBA coach Jacque Vaughn.
Just minutes ago, it was announced via ESPN's Pete Thamel that the Jayhawks are set to add another coach to their roster in Tony Bland.
Thamel reports, "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. USC dismissed Bland in 2018 for his role in the federal investigation into college basketball. He pled guilty to one count of conspiracy. He re-entered the sport at the college level when Danny Sprinkle hired him at UW."
Bland is someone who has worked in the game for a number of years. Bland was an assistant coach last season at the University of Washington, when the Huskies took on the Big 10 and finished with a 13-18 record. Before the Huskies, Bland was an assistant at USC under Andy Enfield, where the Trojans turned around their program. With Bland, USC turned into a squad with 20+ wins twice before Bland was fired in 2018.
Prior to USC, Bland spent time at San Diego State as an assistant, where the Aztecs marked two NCAA Tournament appearances with Bland on the staff.
As a player, Bland played at both Syracuse and San Diego State. In Bland's sophomore season, Bland was one of three Syracuse players to start every game for a team that advanced to the Sweet 16. Bland then transferred to San Diego State, the Aztecs finished Bland's junior season with a 21-12 record and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1985. Bland averaged 15.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists, becoming the first player in the history of the Mountain West Conference to rank among the league’s top 10 players in scoring and assists and top 20 in rebounding.