Roy Williams thinks his Kansas University basketball team might be overrated this preseason.

His peers disagree.

“He (Williams) is always surprised by that, you know that,” Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins said of the Big 12 coaches once again picking KU to win the league.

“Every year we do it to him anyway. I’d like to have that problem, so if he doesn’t want it any more, pass it on. He just reloads every year.

“Deep inside he feels pretty good about that, trust me,” Watkins added with a grin.

Veteran Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said KU, which returns five standouts from a Final Four team, is the team to beat in the league.

“When they sent out the ballot, we pegged ’em No. 1,” Sutton said. “This could be the best team Roy’s had in a while. They have excellent talent and great coaching, so their ranking does not surprise me.”

Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson agrees with KU’s Williams that his Sooners are tough and Texas is tough, but …

“I’d pick Kansas,” Sampson said. “They have two first-round draft choices  last year, they had three. If Nick Collison came out he’d have been a first-rounder, same with Kirk Hinrich.

“In all honesty they should be picked to win the conference.”

Missouri coach Quin Snyder took the diplomatic route, saying, “I’ve learned not to comment on other people’s teams. Last year, I tried to talk people out of liking us as much as they did. We let too much external stuff come into our locker room last year. You have to work to shut that out. Maybe that’s what coach Williams is doing.”

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Long drive: Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy, who despises flying, drove to Dallas from Ames, Iowa, in his new motorhome.

“I got me an RV,” he said. “The best part of the RV is it’s in my driveway, saving my marriage. My wife just kicks me out of the house. I go in there and put on the Sopranos.

“Jackson Vroman (junior center) came by the house and said it’s bigger than his dorm room. It’s like having your own condo. You can pretend you are in Hawaii, but you are in frickin’ Ames where it’s snowing. Close your eyes, you can be where you want to be  Margaritaville.”

Eustachy jokingly asked writers to take the ‘frickin’ out of his quote about Ames.

“I’ll get letters over that one,” he said.

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Jeans in style: Texas Tech coach Bob Knight wasn’t crazy about the costume senior standout Andre Emmett chose to wear on Halloween.

“I get him out of the jeans he wore today and that’ll be another step toward maturity,” Knight said of his 6-foot-5, 229-pound junior guard, who wore a Tech sweatshirt and jeans while many players wore coats and ties.

Knight’s comment on Emmett’s attire was just about the only negative thing uttered by the veteran coach, now in his second year at Tech.

The volatile Hall of Fame coach was asked if it’s easier communicating with Emmett and the other returning Red Raiders this season.

“I think it’s helped us with those kids who were here and played last year, but it’s added another phrase to my vocabulary: ‘Where the hell were you last year? Why the hell are you making the same mistakes this year?'” Knight said.

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Gooden’s debut dandy: Williams attended Drew Gooden’s first NBA game on Wednesday night in Memphis. Gooden scored 16 points in Memphis’ 119-108 loss to Dallas. Fellow former Jayhawk Raef LaFrentz had 14 points for Dallas.

“I went to see both Drew and Raef. It was a good game. Drew had 16 points, four rebounds. He really did well,” Williams said.

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Harrison in good shape: Once-puffy Colorado center David Harrison has shaved his head and gotten in shape. He’s now 7-foot, 260 pounds.

“I lost 30 pounds of weight and put on 10 pounds of muscle since the end of last season,” the sophomore said. “I’m at 260, 265. I was 295 last year. I cut some fried foods out of my diet. It’s mainly conditioning. I’ve not started eating earth root or something.”

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Praising KU duo: Williams ended his Media Day podium stint by praising Hinrich and Collison:

“They are special players and special young people. They will graduate in four years. They will both graduate in May, not taking summer school. They played their butts off for four years. They could have taken the money and run (to NBA). Their families would have choked ’em,” he quipped.

“Don’t forget to enjoy these kids when you watch ’em and talk to ’em. Don’t forget to enjoy the student-athletes in this league and I think they are two of the best.”