LAWRENCE, Kan. _ Kansas basketball coach Bill Self and his three assistant coaches do not do all the talking at a typical practice. The floor is open to the Jayhawk players, who are encouraged to speak their minds.
"It makes it easier. I don't have to do all the yelling," said Self, whose Jayhawks have been practicing regularly since Oct. 1 with the first of two exhibition games set for Tuesday against Washburn.
"We've got more personality this year," Self added of his players.
KU's 14th-year coach said some of the Jayhawks have been more outspoken than others.
"We have four leaders the way I see it," Self said. "Landen (Lucas, senior) is a great leader because he coaches the other big guys. He is unbelievable with Udoka (Azubuike, freshman). Landen is six years older than Udoka, so it's a lot easier for him to be a leader. It's like he (Azubuike) is his baby brother.
"Frank (Mason, senior guard) is the tough pit bull. He doesn't talk much, but has presence about him. He's a good leader, a little bit stubborn. That can be an attractive quality as well. You can't tell him what he can't do. Two that will emerge personality-wise as vocal leaders are Devonte (Graham, junior guard) _ he's the most popular kid on campus _ and Josh (Jackson, freshman guard). He is way beyond his years from that standpoint," Self added.
Self said the personality of his teams change year to year.
"This is the best talking team we've had, in a while," Self said. "I'm not going to lie. Would we want everybody to be talkative? Yes, but are we ever not going to recruit a kid if he's quiet? No. I knew Perry (Ellis) would probably be quiet the first time we recruited him (and he turned out to be KU's No. 8 scorer of all time)."
Self said the Jayhawks appear to have a roster full of players who get along.
"I think the guys really like each other," Self said. "Josh, Udoka and Mitch (Lightfoot, freshman forward) are fitting in nicely from a teammate standpoint. Frank, Devonte and Landen have taken a lot of ownership in what's going on, and Josh is an alpha dog in that he adds to the leadership mix. I think the chemistry is good, but we haven't played a game. Your chemistry is tested when things start going south. Right now everything is good."
Actually it only took fifth-year senior Lucas a practice or two to get a feel for the "identity" of this team.
"I wouldn't say it's too early (to tell) because of the core we have coming back," Lucas said. He, Mason and Graham are returning starters from a 33-5 Elite Eight squad and are expected to be joined in the starting lineup by former reserve Carlton Bragg and freshman Jackson.
"We should have a very defensive mindset going into every game," Lucas said, well aware Self emphasizes defense. "If the other team can't score, we've got a good chance to win. We need to bring along every person that comes into the game. Defense comes first. We'll build off of that. That's how we'll win games, especially early in the year. That's the most important thing because our offense isn't going to be very good in those first couple of weeks of the season. But we know we can always guard."
Returnees who also understand what Self wants, especially on defense, are Svi Mykhailiuk (junior guard) and Lagerald Vick (sophomore guard). Dwight Coleby watched from the sidelines as an injured junior transfer last season.
Freshmen Azubuike, Lightfoot and Jackson are faced with the task of learning what Self wants on defense as quickly as possible.
"It's definitely hard because a lot of the things we do, and terminology that we use on defense, you never use it in high school," Graham said. "The places you're supposed to be on the court ... then if somebody drives baseline you've got to help, and it's just different stuff like that which can be hard to pick up on, but overall they're doing a good job."
Things will start getting hectic in a hurry. The Jayhawks play Tuesday and again versus Emporia State on Nov. 6 before heading to Honolulu on Nov. 8 in advance of the Nov. 11 season opener against Indiana in the Armed Forces Classic.
