Wearing a white Kansas University sweatshirt and blue shorts, Bill Self breezed through the northwest tunnel of Allen Fieldhouse at 4:04 p.m. Monday, four minutes after the scheduled start of basketball practice.

For the next seven minutes, the Jayhawks’ personable, energetic, 40-year-old mentor showed why he was known as a players’ coach during stops at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois the past 10 years.

Some good-natured horseplay was the name of the game on this day. For example …

Self first approached Keith Langford and grabbed the high-scoring junior’s left arm, extending it skyward while mimicking perfect form for his follow-through on a shot.

Next, in rapid-fire succession, KU’s coach threatened to leap and poke the basketball out of sophomore Moulaye Niang’s hands, flicked at the hair on the back of freshman Jeremy Case’s head, playfully pushed junior Michael Lee in the chest and made small talk with sophomore Jeff Hawkins.

At 4:11 p.m. Self shouted, “All right, let’s go.”

It was off to center court, where Self vigorously shook hands with freshman J.R. Giddens, then huddled with all 16 of KU’s players, three full-time assistant coaches and several support-staff members and managers, all hands extending toward Self’s in a sign of solidarity at 4:12 p.m.

Welcome to hoops practice at Kansas University, Bill Self-style.

‘Fun’ in the fieldhouse

First-year Kansas University coach Bill Self, right, watches junior guard Keith Langford shoot during a recent basketball practice. Self has made a point to mix fun with intense work during preseason drills at Allen Fieldhouse.

“We have fun. Life is too short to not have fun,” Self said of his philosophy toward practice and life in general. “The way I look at it, you spend as much time with each other as we will, you might as well enjoy each other’s company.

“I do not think college basketball is ‘win at all costs.’ I think you work hard, play hard, have a good time, enjoy each other, enjoy the relationships, enjoy the practice environment.”

Those fortunate enough to witness a Self practice — only coaches and media members are allowed to watch — can find themselves overwhelmed by the fast-paced environment.

Players are on the go for 2-3 hours, racing through drill upon drill, stopping only for a water break or two.

“I don’t like taking many breaks,” Self explained. “We’ve got so many guys out here this year, guys are probably getting more rest than it appears. We’ve got 16 guys.”

At 4:13 p.m. during this particular practice, the 16 Jayhawks broke the huddle and, using four basketballs at a time, wove in a Harlem Globetrotter-like layup drill.

Nobody looked confused.

None of the basketballs went careening off players’ legs or out of bounds in the synchronized activity.

At 4:16 p.m., a fullcourt fastbreak drill had six players charging up and down the court with one player dunking, then five players switching from the fastbreak into Self’s halfcourt high/low offense.

Lowdown on high-low

The high-low offense involves two big men and three perimeter players on the court at a time — one big man flashing to the free-throw line, then either shooting after receiving the ball or passing to another big man down low for a layup.

Kansas assistant coach Tim Jankovich works with players at a recent practice at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks seem to be buying into what first-year coach Bill Self and his aides are preaching.

The high-low halfcourt game is an offense Self believes in and will use extensively at KU.

“It is an offense where the post players are interchangeable,” KU freshman forward David Padgett said. “One guy is always posted on the block; one is always high. If the guy on top can shoot, then the man guarding him has to respect that, and the other guy will be isolated by himself down low. I think with the big guys we have, it fits our personnel well.”

KU’s big men have been working tirelessly in practice on high-low passes inside, which either require a soft touch or bullet-like precision.

“Mr. (Henry) Iba said a perfect offense is one that can be run against a man or zone. This high-low is close,” assistant Norm Roberts said.

Added fellow assistant Tim Jankovich: “It’s an offense that always threatens the goal. It puts pressure on big guys and gives guards freedom.”

It is an offense that involves everybody.

“With our big guys spread out, it will give us more room to work,” junior forward Wayne Simien said. “It definitely gives Keith opportunity to do what he does best — get to the basket — and gives Aaron (Miles) and Mike (Lee) opportunities to score as well.”

Don’t forget defense

After working on the offense, KU’s players paired off at 4:23 p.m. for fullcourt, one-on-one dribbling/defense drills. Three minutes later, the Jayhawks broke into four-on-four, halfcourt defense drills, commonly known as “shells.”

The drill seemed to energize Self, who screamed things like: “Stop, stop, stop,” “Wake up,” “Play it right,” and “What is going on?” during the furious 22-minute activity.

Players with good footwork appeared to thrive.

“Basketball is a game of attack,” Self explained. “Every time you catch (the ball), you should be in an aggressive position. We like to say, ‘Score before you catch it.’ What I mean by that is, if they can position themselves to make a lot of easy baskets, they’ll have a chance to be successful. One thing that can get you in aggressive positions is footwork.”

Self probably stresses footwork more than any coach in the nation.

“I can’t emphasize it enough,” Self said. “It’s something very few NBA people, college players, high school players … very few have good footwork.

“It’s a lot easier to teach somebody footwork than to run a 4.7 (second) 40 (-yard dash). We work on it every single day. The whole idea in footwork is you’ve got to get quick guys some jets, you’ve got to get average guys quick and have got to slow guys average.”

Focus on form

At 4:47 p.m., the Jayhawks hastily split into two groups of five and a group of six at three goals, each player shooting 12-foot jumpers, racing in for his own rebound and passing to teammates.

“This is a full-speed drill!” Self screamed, stopping play briefly, instructing players to concentrate on shooting form and not just to jack up shots. “Anybody who doesn’t go full-speed is going to run!”

At 4:54 p.m., the players remained at the three goals. This time, big men accepted entry passes from coaches and flipped in four-foot jumpers. Guards and small forwards accepted passes from coaches and managers, taking one dribble and hoisting 12- to 15-footers.

More work on the high-low began at 5:04 p.m., with big men on one end and guards and forwards playing three-on-three on the other end.

At 5:13 p.m., members of the scout team — Nick Bahe, Christian Moody, Stephen Vinson, and Brett Olson, plus staff member and former player Brett Ballard — played zone defense while KU’s big men tried to penetrate in the high-low game. The guards and forwards on the other end continued their intense three-on-three play.

Self made his way to both ends of the court, doing a lot of teaching — and talking — along the way. He appears to be an effective communicator on this day.

“There is the science side of coaching you see at clinics,” Jankovich said. “Science is important, but not nearly as important as the art side, getting guys to buy in. If you are good at that and good at the science side, you become coach at Kansas. Coach Self does both equally well.”

The Jayhawks’ next drill started at 5:26 p.m., when guards dribbled inside the paint and kicked out to big men for 15-foot jump shots for four minutes, followed by a short break for water at 5:30 p.m.

The remainder of practice — Monday’s session ended at 7 p.m. — pretty much took the form of halfcourt scrimmaging, in which the scout team — the Red Team — went against various combinations of players.

Effort was intense. Hawkins at one point took an elbow to the jaw, and Langford impressed players and coaches by giving up his body in a head-first dive for a loose ball.

“No team will be tougher, play harder,” Roberts said. “No team will be more disciplined.”

Rugged style of basketball

Toughness is a trademark of all of Self’s teams. There’s a reason for that.

“If there’s one word coach says to his guards more than any, it’s attack, attack, attack,” Jankovich said.

Self also likes to talk to his players about “thinking one pass ahead” and getting his players to work on passing angles.

Players are welcome to ask questions or ask for clarification at any time. One thing they cannot do, though, is give less than maximum effort.

“I think you are cheating the players if you don’t push them,” Self said. “Coaching is done in practice, so kids can play in the games, can have free minds in the games.

“You tell kids what they can do, not what they can’t do. I will never tell a kid he’s a bad shooter, but I may tell him he is the best offensive rebounder in America. A sports psychologist once told me it’s amazing how negative you can be without being negative. I won’t say it’s a bad shot, but I will say, ‘Time, score and momentum … considering all that, was it a good shot?'”

The players seem to relate to what Self and his assistants are preaching.

“It’s real fun, a little more relaxed approach at times this year with coach Self,” Lee said. “But you really have to come out ready mentally each and every day. I like the coaches a lot. I definitely think they communicate well.”

That’s by design.

“I have had great relationships with players. Whether that happens at Kansas remains to be seen,” Self said. “We will not sacrifice who we are to get along with people. This is how we do things. This is who we are. Accept that, and let’s enjoy each other. Players want discipline. They want to be challenged.

“At the end of the day they’ll like you a lot more when you win. When you don’t win, nobody is happy.”

On this day, everybody left happy; KU’s practices don’t end with sprints. Instead, the team huddles in the middle of the court in a final show of solidarity.

“Practice is hard, but it is fun too,” said Lee, one of the team’s leaders. “You work hard every day, and hopefully we’ll get the rewards during the season.”