Female fans have been known to shriek when Kansas senior Chris Zerbe prepares to enter a basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse.

“My friends tell me, ‘Pay attention when you go in.’ I’ll go to the scorer’s table and later it’s, ‘Aw, I didn’t listen. I forgot to listen,”’ said Zerbe, Kansas University’s 6-foot-5, 235-pound heartthrob from Andover.

“I’m more excited about getting in the game so I don’t hear the screams a whole lot,” added Zerbe, who has one final chance to soak up the fanfare tonight.

Tipoff for KU’s Senior Night battle against Kansas State is 7:05 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.

Last season, campus coeds deemed Zerbe a “Ricky Martin look-alike.”

“Ricky Martin is gone. No way!” said Zerbe. “I hear more, ‘Sugar Ray’ this year. I let my hair get a little bit longer (like “Sugar Ray” band member Mark McGrath). I don’t hear that often either. I think I’m more just me this year.”

Zerbe  he’s played two years at KU since transferring from Hutchinson CC  has resembled a different player his senior campaign.

“Last year I was called ‘Instant Offense’ and stuff like that. I think I am more a rebounder this year,” said Zerbe. He has 15 rebounds and three baskets in 15 games after hitting for 13 baskets in 19 attempts with nine boards his junior season.

“Last year I never rebounded. This year I hardly ever score and get a lot of rebounds. You average those two stats together and that’s two solid years.”

A communications major, Zerbe, who walked on, only to receive a scholarship the past three semesters, will finish school next December. He is unsure of his career path, but is sure he had a great time at KU.

“The benefits of walking on … you get to travel a lot. You get a lot of gear, a lot of shoes, T-shirts. You get to play for a great group of coaches,” said Zerbe, who had scholarship offers at Centenary and Stephen F. Austin after his juco career. “Getting a chance to play with some of the best players in the country is a definite benefit. My advice (to future walk-ons) is bust your butt every day in practice. You never know when coach is going to call on you to go in a game.”

Here’s a quick look at KU’s other five seniors who will give speeches after tonight’s game:

Brett Ballard, 6-1, 180, Hutchinson: Ballard  he hit a crucial driving layup in last Sunday’s 88-87 win at Nebraska  is known for his hustle and intensity.

He went flying into the press table in KU’s win over Missouri on Jan. 28 at Allen Fieldhouse.

“It’s funny listening to the TV announcers. At first they thought it was Wayne (Simien, frosh forward) and said how Wayne shouldn’t be doing that with his (surgically repaired) shoulder. They were worried. They found out it was me and they weren’t as worried,” said Ballard. He was a teammate of Zerbe at Hutchinson CC, arrived as a walk-on and also has been on scholarship three semesters.

“Dicky V. (Vitale) was pretty excited before he saw it was me.”

Junior Kirk Hinrich refers to buddy Ballard as “feisty.” And why not? This is a guy who jawed toe to toe with Drew Gooden during a first-semester pickup game and didn’t back down last year when Iowa State’s Jamaal Tinsley barked at the Jayhawk guard in a game in Ames.

“Drew went in for a layup and thought I fouled him hard. He kinda got in my face. I wasn’t going to back down,” Ballard said. “We didn’t come too close to fighting. I don’t know if I’d want to fight Drew. He’s a little bit bigger than me,” Ballard said with a grin.

“I’m not going to back down to people. I have a little chip on my shoulder. I’m not the biggest guy on the floor. Tinsley got in my face after getting in Kirk’s face and Jeff’s (Boschee) face. It was a time Iowa State was kicking us. I felt we didn’t need to back down any more.”

Ballard  the secondary education major wants to be a coach  will finish school in May of 2003.

Jeff Carey, 6-10, 250, Camdenton, Mo.: A fifth-year senior, Carey is working on his Masters in business administration which will take another school year to complete.

He’ll marry Mollie Hampton next summer.

“I’m probably going to embarrass my fiancee a little bit and thank my parents and that kind of stuff,” Carey said of tonight’s senior speech.

“It’s going to be an amazing night. I don’t think the reality of it has hit me. This year has gone pretty fast and a lot of things have happened. It’s going to be a huge change for me next year to not play basketball anymore, but it’ll be a great deal to know what we’ve accomplished.”

Never a starter, Carey has chipped in when called upon, hitting 57.6 percent of his shots this season.

His career highlight? “This year when we beat Iowa State and Missouri,” he said of home victories. “The Missouri crowd was the best crowd I’ve seen in the fieldhouse. Iowa State (Big 12 tie-clinching victory) was more exciting than my freshman year when we won the conference because I was more involved in achieving the championship this time.

“I want to go out with a bang,” Carey said. “We’ve made the (NCAA) tournament every year. I’d like to go farther in the tournament this year.”

Todd Kappelmann, 6-9, 230, Augusta: Kappelmann walked on at KU two years ago after taking a year off from basketball after playing two years at Butler County CC.

“I came up here and didn’t try out. I think that happened for a reason. If I tried out that first year I wouldn’t be here today. I’d be done,” said Kappelmann, on scholarship this year. “This is a good year to play.”

Kappelmann  he will enter graduate school in accounting next semester  has five baskets in six tries this season in 15 games after hitting two baskets a year ago.

“I’m trying to be more aggressive when I get in this year. Last year I was so nervous every time I got in the game,” Kappelmann said. “I’m relaxing a lot more this year. It’s been a very satisfying year. We are No. 1 in the nation, 20-something and 2 (losses). We’ve got great chemistry. It’s all been fun.”

Of his future, Kappelmann said: “I want to make money. That’s all I know right now.”

Lewis Harrison, 6-0, 180, Kansas City: The former Kansas City Kansas Junior College player was grateful he was able to walk, much less walk on at KU two seasons ago.

He was in a serious head-on car accident after his sophomore year of junior college.

“To be honest I remember going through the intersection (on KC street). The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital. It messed up my back and knees. Something like that helps you put everything in perspective. It makes you think about how fortunate you are.”

The communications studies major will finish school next December with plans to be a coach.

“Most people think I’m quiet, shy. I’m not when I get to know them,” Harrison said. “I’m recognized a lot more this year than last year. The longer you are here, people get to know you. I’m not a Jeff Boschee, but I’m known a little bit.”

Jeff Boschee, 6-1, Valley City, N.D.: The leading three-point shooter in KU history, who was the subject of a lengthy story in Tuesday’s Journal-World, is hoping for a shot at the NBA. He will be invited to the Portsmouth (Va.) camp for NBA hopefuls this spring.

“Not many people knew about me in high school. I came on the scene at the Nike camp. If I can get in one of those draft camps, who knows, it might be the same thing,” said Boschee, a sports management major who ultimately wants to coach.

“If it doesn’t work out where I get a shot to play in NBA I wouldn’t mind going overseas to play a couple years and make some money. If I do not make a team or league where you can make a lot of money, I’ll come back to school, finish and get into coaching. I’d really like to coach and teach younger kids what I’ve learned.”