Kirk Hinrich didnâÂÂt need a doctor to tell him heâÂÂd sustained a serious ankle injury.

He could see for himself.

âÂÂI looked down and the swelling was up higher than the tape,â Hinrich said.

Kansas UniversityâÂÂs 6-foot-3 guard referred to the injury as the scariest, most painful moment of his junior season. He twisted his left ankle right before halftime of the KU-Holy Cross NCAA Tournament first-round game in St. Louis.

âÂÂI thought I broke it,â said Hinrich, relegated to the bench for the final 20 minutes of KUâÂÂs narrow 70-59 victory.

The injury nearly broke the hearts of the Jayhawks, who trailed the Crusaders by two points at the break. They are the same Crusaders who will visit KU for an 8 p.m. Preseason NIT showdown Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse.

âÂÂWhen Kirk went down, I thought, âÂÂ’This is not good. We just lost our best perimeter player and weâÂÂre down,âÂÂâ KU sophomore guard Keith Langford said. âÂÂBut there was nothing we could do about it. We had to pull together.âÂÂ

First the Jayhawks had to get out of a daze caused by an injury to perhaps the teamâÂÂs steadiest player.

âÂÂIt was a lot different, quiet,â red-shirt frosh guard Jeff Hawkins said of the KU locker room at halftime with the Jayhawks trailing, 37-35. âÂÂA lot of people were not saying anything. I was hoping we didnâÂÂt lose. I didnâÂÂt want to go home because I was having so much fun.

âÂÂI honestly didnâÂÂt think Kirk would come back that game, but I knew if we got that win, heâÂÂd play the next game.âÂÂ

KU coach Roy Williams wasnâÂÂt so sure, but he did not focus on HinrichâÂÂs injury with the No. 1-seeded Jayhawks having their hands full against the No. 16 seed.

âÂÂDuring that time period you are concerned with what you are trying to do. We still had a game to play,â Williams said. âÂÂI felt really bad for Kirk, felt bad for our team because heâÂÂs so important to us. I didnâÂÂt get carried away with what-ifs. At that point we were just trying to survive.âÂÂ

KU did survive and advanced to a second-round meeting with Stanford in which Hinrich played and played well. KU clamped down on defense and held the Crusaders to 22 second-half points.

Holy Crossâ season ended at 18-15. The Crusaders have been regrouping since then for TuesdayâÂÂs rematch. Only recently did Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard watch tape of that game, though.

âÂÂIâÂÂve seen it happen over and over again âÂÂ: teams seem to rally when one of their star players goes down,â Willard said. âÂÂObviously, Roy would rather have had Kirk Hinrich in the game, so would his teammates. But sometimes a team gets a sense of urgency when its star player is lost.

âÂÂI know it didnâÂÂt help Kansas when he went down, but we were playing well when he was playing. I donâÂÂt know if that affected the outcome of the game or not.âÂÂ

Drew Gooden ultimately saved the day, scoring 19 points overall and four in KUâÂÂs game-ending 10-2 run.

As far as Hinrich, he miraculously returned to score 15 points versus Stanford.

âÂÂKirk came in and probably was more effective that game than any in the tournament,â Williams marveled.

HowâÂÂd he do it?

âÂÂThe doctors and trainers did a great job getting me ready to go,â Hinrich shrugged.

Now Hinrich gears for KUâÂÂs season-opener against a Holy Cross team that returns four starters from that game in St. Louis.

âÂÂHopefully, IâÂÂll get to finish the game this time,â Hinrich said, with a grin.