Former Kansas basketball guard Chase Buford, who spent the 2024-25 season as a KU assistant coach, has accepted an assistant coaching post with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, coach Bill Self said Friday at Self’s back-to-school news conference in Allen Fieldhouse.
“It’s a great gig for him. I’m happy for him. He did a really good job here,” Self said of Buford, 36, who earned an NCAA championship ring as a guard on the Jayhawks’ 2007-08 national title team.
Buford will work as a full-time assistant for Nuggets coach David Adelman.
Buford has head coaching experience with the Sydney Kings of the NBL in Australia, where he directed the team to two league titles, and also the Wisconsin Herd, the G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Nuggets have also added Houston Rockets assistant Mike Moser as an assistant coach, Hoops Hype reported Friday.
Buford has worked as a scout and in the video department for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, as well as in the role of coordinator of player development for the Chicago Bulls.
Buford is the son of San Antonio Spurs CEO R.C. Buford.
R.C. Buford was an assistant coach at Kansas for five seasons under head coach Larry Brown (1983-84 to 1987-88). Buford was part of KU’s NCAA title coaching staff in 1988.
Self said he will indeed hire an assistant coach to replace Buford.
“I’m in the process of looking into some different things, but I haven’t done anything yet,” Self said. “I feel like I’ve got the scope kind of narrowed down of what I think would be good for us, but I haven’t done anything yet.”
On May 5, KU assistant coach Norm Roberts announced his retirement following 14 seasons at KU and 37 years overall in the basketball coaching ranks. Former KU guard and NBA head coach Jacque Vaughn was hired on May 21 to fill Roberts’ spot on the coaching staff.
Fred Quartlebaum on May 29 announced plans to leave his post as director of basketball operations after 12 seasons with Self’s program. He was replaced by Lexi Price, the office manager for KU basketball since December 2021.
On June 2, KJ Adams was added as KU video assistant. He will have access to rehab equipment and medical care as he recovers from a torn Achilles he suffered in his final college game on March 20.
The staff now consists of head coach Self plus assistant coaches Kurtis Townsend, Jeremy Case, Vaughn and Joe Dooley; senior advisor Doc Sadler, director of scouting Brennan Bechard and director of basketball operations Price. Ramsey Nijem is director/sports performance and Bill Cowgill associate director/ sports medicine.