Juniors Drew Gooden, Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich are the heart and soul of coach Roy Williams’ 14th team at Kansas.

And Williams repeated Sunday, after a Midwest Regional championship game victory over Oregon, one of the reasons why he remains so passionate about the game and his place in it.

“This class has been sensational since Day One,” Williams said. “All three have been huge for Kansas basketball since the first time they stepped out there.”

Collison and Hinrich are both sons of high school basketball coaches from Iowa, true Midwest guys who are soft-spoken, polite and completely dedicated to the game. Gooden is a well-documented free spirit who speaks his mind, has a marvelous sense of humor and a game that has sometimes caused Williams great consternation while at the same time equal amounts of admiration. Williams has refined, rather than changed his approach to the game.

Kansas (33-3)

How they got to Atlanta: Defeated No. 16 seed Holy Cross 70-59. Defeated No. 8 seed Stanford 86-63. Won the Midwest Regional by defeating fourth seed Illinois 73-69 and second seed Oregon 104-86.Why they got there: A magnificent junior class with their three best players, a long-distance shooter and handler in senior Jeff Boschee and an invaluable freshman class of guards Keith Langford and Aaron Miles and forward Wayne Simien have so far been an unbeatable combination.

NCAA Tournament history: This is Kansas’ 31st NCAA Tournament appearance. The Jayhawks are 65-30 and are making their 11th Final Four appearance. Kansas has won two national championships (1952, 1988), the last by defeating Oklahoma.

Last Final Four trip: The Jayhawks last reached the Final Four in 1993, losing the semifinal to North Carolina.

Coach: Roy Williams has guided the Jayhawks to 13 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and owns a record of 28-12 in tournament games with three Final Four appearances (1991-93, 2002).

Star player: Drew Gooden. One of the free spirits of the game who moves with equal ease and is a tenacious rebounder with the strength of a bigger man and the elevation of a player of less stature. He can shoot from inside out and drain the occasional three-pointer. There are few things he can’t do, except be a point guard, though he likes to try.

Role player: Keith Langford. The 6-foot-4 freshman gives Williams a versatile guard who can come in for any of his three backcourt starters, since all can handle the ball and Langford can shoot from outside, penetrate and rebound. A 3-in-1 reserve.