KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas coach Bill Self hired Jerrance Howard to be an assistant coach on Friday, plucking one of the top recruiters from Larry Brown's coaching staff at SMU.
Self was looking for someone with deep connections on the recruiting front to replace Joe Dooley, who was instrumental in landing some of the Jayhawks' top talent. Dooley left in April after 10 seasons to become head coach at Florida Gulf Coast.
Self and Brown have a close relationship that dates to the 1980s, when Self was an assistant under Brown at Kansas.
Howard earned a reputation as an up-and-coming assistant coach in five seasons at his alma mater, Illinois. He's also coached at Texas A&M and Kentucky.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.