That was not Kenny Gregory flying through the air putting back a vicious one-hand slam dunk off a missed shot on Tuesday night.

It was not Paul Pierce.

Nor was it Danny Manning.

Those athletic Jayhawks long ago used up their years of eligibility.

But in an athletic act perhaps not seen since the days of Gregory, junior reserve swingman Bryant Nash soared to rip home a slam dunk off a Kirk Hinrich miss in the first half of KUâÂÂs 81-57 victory over Holy Cross at Allen Fieldhouse.

âÂÂThey call me âÂÂ’The Prowler,âÂÂâ the 6-foot-6, 205-pound Nash said with a grin. âÂÂMy friends I used to play with on the Texas Blue Chips (AAU team) called me that. I start creeping around and go for the ball. Nobody sees me and I go in and dunk it.âÂÂ

Nash, who played 16 minutes, also had a vicious conventional dunk off a feed from Hinrich in the second half.

âÂÂIt,â Nash said, âÂÂwas a lot of fun. I feel a whole lot more confident this year and hope to contribute a lot to this team.âÂÂ

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Rejection: Wayne Simien had a violent block of a Tim Szatko shot in the second half. The crowd of 16,300 fans went wild after the block, which led to a KU fast break.

âÂÂItâÂÂs part of the game. He laid it up, brought it up and I got it. I was trying to smash it as hard as I could,â Simien said. âÂÂIt was definitely a momentum-builder. Something like that gets the crowd into it.âÂÂ

Sophomore power forward Simien scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 32 minutes. Not bad for a guy who was out with tendinitis in his right ankle in the last exhibition. He said his foot had been feeling great of late and he could have played in the Washburn game but was held out as a precaution.

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NIT sellout: Allen Fieldhouse filled up nicely Tuesday despite the fact just 1,017 student tickets had been sold by 5 p.m.

Normally, more than 7,000 students attend games at the fieldhouse.

Tickets for the Preseason NIT were included on the public season-ticket package, but not included on the studentsâ combination football/basketball ticket package, which is $100 for six football and 16 basketball games.

The public season-ticket holders were charged for two extra games, while the studentsâ combo package was not adjusted.

âÂÂThis is separate event. The ticket revenue from this event goes to the NIT,â KU senior associate athletic director Richard Konzem said. âÂÂWe have to establish a separate ticket price, which is $5 per game.

âÂÂOur students buy a combo ticket that includes football and basketball for $100. If we have two games in the NIT, that means $10 of the $100 ticket would go to the NIT. Rather than raise the student ticket price to $110 we left it the same.

âÂÂIf we have six football games and 16 basketball and thatâÂÂs 22 games, our tickets come out to about $4 apiece. We couldnâÂÂt sacrifice $10 from every (combo) ticket.âÂÂ

Just 638 student tickets have been sold so far for FridayâÂÂs game.

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Giddens in fold: J.R. Giddens, a 6-5 guard from Oklahoma CityâÂÂs John Marshall High, officially signed with KU on Tuesday at a ceremony at the Marshall High school library. It was a joint ceremony, as Adam Liberty, a 6-3 guard, signed with Wichita State.

Giddens averaged 25.0 points and 7.2 boards a game his junior season. He had orally committed to KU in April.

âÂÂJ.R. was elated to finally sign. He was so happy to finally be a Jayhawk,â Giddensâ mom, Dianna, said, noting several relatives and friends attended, plus the entire Marshall hoops team and some media members.

Mike Sullivan of rivalshoops.com ranks KUâÂÂs class of Giddens, Jeremy Case, David Padgett and Omar Wilkes the No. 11 class in the U.S. behind Oklahoma, Arkansas, Maryland, Duke, Pitt, Michigan State, Arizona, LSU, Syracuse and DePaul. Giddens is SullivanâÂÂs No. 37-rated player.

âÂÂJ.R. is an athletic youngster with great enthusiasm,â KU coach Roy Williams said. âÂÂHe talks more than anybody IâÂÂve seen. He has a big-time flair for the game, runner, jumper with great athleticism.âÂÂ

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Fingleton eligible in December: A former McDonaldâÂÂs All American will join Holy Crossâ team on Dec. 23.

HeâÂÂs Neil Fingleton, a 7-foot-6, 300-pound sophomore from Durham, England, who played in just one game in his one season at the University of North Carolina.