Daydreaming Kansas University basketball idealists theorize how great it would be if the Jayhawks would have won the national title the year before Roy Williams came here and in the first season after his departure. This has nothing to do with Williams Era, its pros and cons and its tacky aftermath, only a coincidence that would be delicious to the faithful.

And a lot of fun, as well as further enhancement of the ultra-rich Kansas court heritage that began with the inventor of the game and the father of its coaching.

It would mean coach Larry Brown left KU with a championship in 1988, and Bill Self duplicated that feat in his first season, 2003-04. Talk about a tasty sandwich. Roy and Co. would have created delightful filling between the slices and certainly would deserve a lot of credit. A lot of kids he recruited would figure in the celebration.

Could happen that way, too, except there are so many potential pitfalls — starting with Wayne Simien’s shoulder and rookie David Padgett’s knee.

The 6-foot-9, 255-pound Simien has all the tools to wind up as one of the finest frontliners in school history. He has the mobility, the bulk, the strength, the shooting touch, the finesse and the intelligence to have junior and senior seasons as productive as the departing Nick Collison, good as Nick is. But that’s IF Wayne’s twice-operated-on right shoulder is sound, stays that way and he suffers no more drydocking injuries.

The New York guy who did the latest operation on Simien’s wing hinge is the same one who got Sacramento pro Chris Webber back into all-star shape. Webber was knocked out of the recent NBA playoffs with leg trouble, but his repaired shoulder let him, up until then, do everything he once did.

Nobody can ever be sure about shoulders. Take baseball pitchers; some bounce back with gusto, others never regain triumphant form. We’re dealing with a fickle, tricky, capricious part of the body. When you need a trusty right arm as much as Wayne Simien does to perform at his best, and it’s cut up before, there is bound to be concern about another shoe, or ligament or cartilage, dropping.

Along with the potential to spark Kansas to another NCAA Final Four and maybe even a championship, Wayne is looking at the prospect of making millions as a pro if he can maintain excellent health. With two more years of seasoning, Simien could command the kind of first-round bucks (nearly $3 million a year for three years) as Drew Gooden did.

For Self and the Jayhawks to do next year what Roy Williams never quite could, Simien must be hale and hearty all the way.

Then there is the touted 6-11, 235-pound David Padgett out of Reno, Nev. There’s evidence that he’ll give Simien and 6-8 Jeff Graves a battle for playing time and perhaps even a starting role the coming season. But he has been hobbled a bit with a knee problem. So far, no surgery has been needed. He got through the high school season with more big promise. But will that knee stand up to the rigors of big-college ball and the grind that Self will impose on his charges?

For KU to overcome the likes of Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma in the Big 12 and make a major splash in the NCAA pond, Simien as a junior and Padgett as a freshman must be at their best.

Then will Graves as a senior be in peak shape and pick up where he left off so impressively down the stretch the past season? As Nick Collison pointed out at the recent awards session at the Lied Center, it’s all in Jeff’s hands, and word is he has to focus heavily academically as well as physically. He, too, has a shot at an NBA contract if he can continue the double-doubles he offered at the end of the recent Final Four season.

With Simien, Padgett and Graves in prime-time condition, and with the supporting cast that will be on hand, all sorts of wondrous things are possible for the Jayhawks in ’04. But if they are 2.5 or 2.0 on a scale of 3.0 for any significant stretches, KU will have to scuffle to win its league.

One major beauty of the upcoming team is the chemistry that emerged after Williams bolted for North Carolina. Not only did the holdovers heal and rally fast and impressively, but also they busted their tails to make sure Padgett, J.R. Giddens, Jeremy Case and Omar Wilkes remained true to the cause — another run for the Final Four.

That’s why a lot of people are shedding no tears over the likelihood of hot-shot Charlie Villanueva going pro right out of high school, or going somewhere such as Connecticut. There’s every evidence he’ll be a one-year wonder in college. Coach Self might be able to handle such a situation, but I fear a Villanueva presence might add ingredients to a KU jar that currently seems so promising.

Yeah, Carmelo Anthony helped give Syracuse a title-winning season. If I were drafting, I’d pick him ahead of the celebrated LeBron James. But I’m not sure Villanueva would be able to blend in with the likes of Aaron Miles, Keith Langford, Michael Lee and the Big Three as well as Anthony did with the Orangemen.

Add newcomers Wilkes, Case and Giddens to a KU “family” that’s been blending ever since mid-April and you have a bright scene. Throw in a late entry such as Villanueva, who makes it clear he’s a one-and-done “student,” and you can get a little goosey.

On paper, everything looks so good for KU in 2003-04, with its able, personable new coach and all. But there also are red flags waving in the wind and three of them involve the full-time presence of Wayne Simien, David Padgett and Jeff Graves.