A quizzical look crossed Aaron Miles’ face when a West Coast reporter asked Miles, Kansas University’s point guard, if he’d noticed anything different about All-America candidate Nick Collison the past four games.

“Different? This is my second year and he’s doing what I’ve always seen him do. He’s always been a great player. It’s nothing new for me,” Miles said of Collison, who is averaging a team-leading 18.8 points a game off 56.9-percent shooting.

Collison, a 6-foot-9, 255-pound forward, has been especially effective since scoring seven points off 3-of-9 shooting in KU’s 84-78 loss to Oregon on Dec. 7 in Portland.

Collison in his last four games has averaged 19.8 points off 63.8-percent shooting. He has also grabbed 8.5 rebounds a game in wins over Cal, UCLA, Emporia State and Tulsa. He’s averaging 8.7 boards.

For the year, Collison has scored in double figures in all but the Oregon game, continuing to live up to his nickname, “Mr. Consistency.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m more confident,” Collison said, “but I’m letting the game come to me. We’re all being patient. It’s night and day the difference offensively from how we’re playing now compared to the beginning of the year.”

Sophomore power forward Wayne Simien also has been extremely productive during KU’s four-game winning streak. Simien, who averages 16.8 points a game off 62.0-percent shooting, has averaged 19.5 points while making 31 of his last 45 shots (68.9 percent).

Senior guard Kirk Hinrich, who averages 16.2 ppg off 50.5 percent shooting, has hit for 21.3 points per game his last three games, making 12 of his last 20 threes.

Point guard Aaron Miles, meanwhile, has an amazing 41 assists to 10 turnovers his last four games. Miles, a 38.4 percent shooter, has made 15 of his last 24 shots for 62.5 percent. He has averaged 11.2 points over the last four games, ahead of his seasonal average of 9.0 ppg.

Keith Langford, who played with a broken nose in Saturday’s 80-67 win at Cal, was praised by his teammates for his toughness.

“Man, that shows the ‘dog’ in him,” Miles said of Langford, who scored 12 points off 5-of-10 shooting and averages 16.4 points a game off 55.1-percent shooting. “A little broken nose will not stop him. It shows the kind of heart he has.”

KU coach Roy Williams said on Monday’s Hawk Talk radio show that Langford, who did not wear a protective mask in the game, may or may not wear a mask in upcoming games.

KU will meet UNC Asheville at 7 p.m. Thursday at Allen Fieldhouse.

¢

Giddens pleads not guilty: KU signee J.R. Giddens, 6-5 from Oklahoma City’s John Marshall High, on Monday pleaded not guilty to four counts on Monday at his arraignment in Oklahoma juvenile court.

The counts are conspiracy to commit felony theft, grand larceny from a retailer, concealing stolen property and obtaining property by false pretenses at a Wal-Mart store.

Giddens’ pretrial court date before a juvenile court judge will be 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 8. At that time it will be decided if the matter goes to court or if there will be a plea agreement.

Williams says he will not comment on the Giddens matter. Williams was asked on his radio show if he had a policy regarding honoring a scholarship offer if a prospective KU player was found guilty of a crime.

“I don’t have a set rule,” Williams said. “I’d look into a lot of the situations. I think you’ve got to look at past history, how severe it is, what it is. I’ve suspended players before.

“I think it depends on the individual thing. I am not one of those guys who thinks you have to treat everybody the same. In fact I think it’s a weak guy, a weak leader who says you’ve got to treat everybody the same. I think every situation is different. We’ve had a couple of mistakes with our club over 15 years, never any I felt really developed into a habit. Then they are no longer mistakes. They are big problems.

“I look at every individual situation as an individual situation,” he continued. “I do not have a blanket rule I can hide behind because I think some coaches try to hide behind a rule. I’ve never been one to do that. I can’t give you a picture of what I’d do in a certain scenario because I don’t think you can do that.

“If I do something wrong and it’s the first time I ever done anything wrong, that’s a scenario. If I’ve done something wrong and have been in the coach’s doghouse for five weeks, that’s another scenario.”

Giddens has no prior arrests; this is his first brush with the law.

¢

Schedule: Williams says KU will play TCU next season in Fort Worth, Texas. That game has been set up as a home game for Fort Worth native Langford and also designed to get a national TV game for TCU coach Neil Dougherty, a longtime Williams assistant.

Michigan State will visit Allen Fieldhouse next season as part of a home-and-home agreement. Oregon will play KU in Kemper Arena. Also, the Jayhawks will play in the Wooden Classic, likely against Stanford, in Los Angeles. A trip to Reno, Nev., for incoming forward David Padgett also is in the works, with KU likely to visit Reno next season.

¢

Weight loss: Junior forward Jeff Graves, who arrived on campus at 293 pounds, now weighs 269, Williams said.