It’s no secret that Kansas University’s Jeremy Case loves the gym.

Heck, the 6-foot McAlester, Okla., native said he practically lived on the court during his playing days at McAlester High — where he set the school’s all-time scoring record with more than 2,000 points last year.

The self-proclaimed gym rat’s shooting status nearly has reached legendary proportions with other Jayhawks at practices during his freshman season.

But when it comes to games, Case goes cold.

“That’s a good question,” Case said, asked what the difference is between shooting in practice and in games. “Maybe in practice I’m a little more loose and in the flow. I get to play more in practice, get to make adjustments as to where I can come into the game and hit them.”

Even though Case has yet to hit triples at the pace that he did in high school — he has hit two of 11 threes so far this season — the message from fellow Jayhawks is the same: Keep shooting.

“Just keep shooting. They want me to keep shooting when I get open looks,” Case said.

Point guard Aaron Miles, who also has had his share of struggles shooting from the outside during his KU career, said the key for Case was to have confidence.

“I always tell Case, ‘Man, keep shooting,'” Miles said. “Before the season started, after playing with him in the fall and in the summer, I told him I trust him.

“Even if he misses nine in a row, I always have faith in that 10th one. I trust him, because I know what type of player he is, and he’s a great shooter.”

Kansas coach Bill Self also said Case could fill it up from the outside, but has struggled in adjusting to his new role of coming off the bench.

“I am a fan of Jeremy,” Self said. “He is paying his dues. He keeps plugging. When he gets an opportunity, he’ll make the most of it.”

For Case that opportunity very well could have come in last week’s blowout victory over Fort Hays State.

Case, who had missed his first nine three-pointers to start his KU career, finally got in a rhythm by knocking down two straight threes against the Tigers.

“It helped a lot,” Case said. “Sometimes I’ll be out there nervous. It helped a lot, knowing I can hit shots. I hadn’t been. It has been bothering me some.”

But Case’s inconsistency hadn’t bothered Self.

Self — who played with Case’s dad, Win, at Oklahoma State in the 1980s — told his former teammate that Jeremy’s ability would surpass Win’s.

“Jeremy will be a lot better than his dad,” Self said with a smile. “I told Win, ‘Jeremy is better than you, Win.”’

The younger Case laughed at the comparison, but admitted his dad had helped him through his new conflict on the court.

“He tells me to stay strong and keep my head up,” said Case said of his father, who is the longtime head coach at Oklahoma City University. “He’ll tell me things I need to work on, some of the small things that he’ll notice with my shot — shooting long, shooting short, stuff like that.”

While Case didn’t play in Saturday’s victory over Oregon, the freshman said he had returned to an old habit lately: the gym.

“I’ll come and shoot on my own,” admitted Case, who said he tried to go to Allen Fieldhouse three or four times a week after daily practices to work on his touch.

“I’ll shoot a lot and then sit down for maybe five or 10 minutes,” Case said of his mental strategy to get accustomed to coming off the bench. “Then I’ll come back and try to knock them down.”

Case said his shooting condition should continue to improve as he continued to adjust to differences of the collegiate game.

“In high school, I got to play as many minutes as I could, and I was always in the flow,” said Case, who knocked down 45 percent of his shots from beyond the arc his junior season. “Coming off the bench, not really being loose, not being in the flow, it’s kind of hard to knock down the shots like I should.

“It might take a little longer, but I’m getting there.”

• Guest speakers: Two South Dakota natives who had been stationed in Iraq the past few months spoke to the Jayhawks after practice Wednesday about their experiences serving their country.

“It was cool. You get a different perspective on things,” KU junior Keith Langford said. “A lot of people moan about stuff that is really small. You are talking about guys who’ve got guard duty in 160-degree temperatures, and they’ve got to worry about people shooting ’em, and we’ve got people complaining about outside shooting from the Jayhawks. It’s ridiculous. I really respect them.”

The two soldiers are on leave and soon will return to Iraq.

“Man, they really put everything in perspective,” KU freshman Omar Wilkes said. “Hearing their stories and their daily struggles … when we have a couple of tests or practices and dread it, it makes us seem like babies. I admire them and look up to them.

“They said they were big KU basketball fans and called over the day before we played Syracuse (in 2003 NCAA title game). They were really upset they didn’t get to see that game. They said they wanted to see a KU game in person, but we didn’t have one on the schedule while they were visiting, so they made sure to come to one of our practices.”

• Recruiting: KU coach Self was in Detroit Tuesday attending a high school game of Malik Hairston, a 6-5 senior guard from Renaissance High who is considering Ohio State, Michigan, UCLA and KU. Kansas, which has filled its scholarship allotment, would be able to sign Hairston only if a current player left the program.

Assistant sports editor Gary Bedore contributed information for this story.