LINCOLN, NEB. ? Just when a freshman thinks all is going well, just when he thinks he’s got college basketball figured out, bam, he runs into what is known as. …

“THE WALL.”

Most freshmen hit the wall at some point as they adjust to the rigors of college basketball. Freshmen, from left, Aaron Miles, Wayne Simien and Keith Langford have had their share of ups and downs while helping top-ranked Kansas dominate the Big 12 Conference.

“I definitely know about the wall. Everybody hits the freshman wall,” KU freshman forward Wayne Simien said. “The (older) guys always tease us in the locker room about when each of us would hit the freshman wall. They tell stories about it.”

The wall is not visible to the human eye. It is figurative a way of referring to the moment a freshman, who is used to playing at a lesser level of intensity in high school, simply becomes fatigued for a game or two … or four.

Let Simien, who averages 9.2 points and 5.4 rebounds heading into today’s 3:05 p.m. game at Nebraska, describe the condition.

“I hit the wall at the time of the Oklahoma game,” the 6-foot-9, 250-pound Leavenworth native said of a 1-of-4 shooting, two-point outing versus OU on Jan. 19 at Allen Fieldhouse. That performance followed some big games, including six double-figure scoring outings in his first seven games. “It’s a situation where you might not have your legs underneath you. You just are not playing as well.”

Glued to the wall, Simien scored a total of 27 points in his next four games.

“Putting points on the board is what everybody looks at. My scoring kind of got me down,” Simien said. “I felt down in the dumps a little bit, especially when I came out so well and was so productive early in the season. Then three or four games I was back in the background and didn’t produce. It hurts a little bit. You never want to be in that situation.”

Simien gained a second wind, scaling the wall with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting on Feb. 4 at Kansas State.

“You just have to fight through it,” said a rejuvenated Simien.

He scored 17 points versus Texas on Feb. 11 in Austin, Texas, and 15 points in last Monday’s home victory over Iowa State. “I talked to some of the assistant coaches about it. I talked to Nick (Collison) and Drew (Gooden). They talked me through it as well. After talking to the guys, I knew I’d snap out of it sooner or later.”

KU freshman point guard Aaron Miles thinks he the wall about the same time as Simien. The 6-1 Portland, Ore., native, who had nine points, six assists and no turnovers on Jan. 15 at Oklahoma State, followed that game with an 0-for-5 shooting, five-turnover, two-assist effort versus OU. He scored five points with one assist the next game versus Iowa State, but since flipping over the wall has registered 71 assists the last eight games.

	When: 3:05 p.m. today.Where: Lincoln, Neb.TV: Channels 5 and 13.Records: Kansas 24-2, 13-0 BIg 12; Nebraska 12-12, 5-8.Streaks: KU has won six in a row against Nebraska, eight straight conference road games and 18 straight conference games.Series: KU leads 150-70.Last meeting: KU won, 96-57, Jan. 9 at Allen Fieldhouse.

“It’s mainly the legs that go,” said Miles, who averages 6.7 points and 6.6 assists per game. He needs 10 assists to become the all-time freshman single-season assists leader, passing Jacque Vaughn, who had 181 in 1994. “I now know what I have to work on in the offseason, the legs. It’s been a bumpy ride for me at times, ups and downs, but I’ve got great team leaders who helped me through it. If not for our team leaders I might have hit the wall and just stuck to it.”

Ditto Keith Langford.

“I probably hit the wall a few games ago the Texas A&M game,” the 6-4 Fort Worth, Texas, guard said of a four-point effort on 1-of-6 shooting on Jan. 26 in College Station, Texas. That was just two games after the OU game cited by Simien and Miles. He followed that with 22 points in his next five games.

“I had to fight through it. I did a lot of extra stuff with coach (Roy Williams). I’m starting to say now I’m peeking over the wall,” added Langford, who scored in double figures in six of his first 10 games. He had eight points last Monday versus Iowa State after a nine-point outing versus Baylor.

One thing that has helped the rookies’ stamina is Williams has had short practices since Christmas.

“My freshman year practices were 2 to 2 1/2 hours. This year 45 minutes, an hour, hour and a half max,” junior forward Collison said. “When we are out there, the entire time, we go hard.”

Why the shorter practices?

“I want them to leave it on the court, not leave it on the court the day before the game,” Williams said. “We cut back some, and I think it’s good for us.”

Definitely good for the weary freshmen.

“I know what they are going through,” Collison said. “My freshman year I felt my legs were never there. Some games you are really tired. Our freshmen have done a good job of staying sharp.”

Gooden agreed.

“Freshmen are most vulnerable to hit the wall,” he said. “Sometimes it can be a myth. Sometimes it really happens. It can happen to you. I know I had times my freshman year I was not used to the pace, the hard work it takes. It’s something you have to get used to.”

The freshmen, major contributors in a 24-2 season, realize if healthy and in shape, they will be important down the stretch.

“I think we know our capabilities, know we are capable of performing to that level. It’s what the team needs,” Miles said. “The team needs us to step up and get quality time. Like at Texas, Drew had to sit out with foul trouble and Wayne stepped up and played big. We need that from us every night, and I think we can give it.”

Especially since, like in Berlin, the wall appears to have been torn down.