Welcome to Kansas University basketball, David Padgett.

Here is your official greeting: First, you guard Drew Gooden and Nick Collison in your initial two public summer pick-up games. Then you can try to muscle up with Wayne Simien and Jeff Graves once season practice starts.

Also take your time becoming aquatinted with former NBA veteran turned KU basketball staffer Danny Manning.

“I don’t think I’m going to get any breaks,” Padgett said, laughing. “This is the Big 12 — and personally, I think the best conference in the country — every year they get two teams in the Final Four. It’s a war every night, so you don’t get nights off.”

That kind of competition, in part, is why the freshman from Reno, Nev., not only chose to come to KU under former coach Roy Williams, but decided to stay after Kansas hired Bill Self to replace him.

“I think everyone is glad that things have kind of started to settle down,” Padgett said of the coaching carousel that saw Williams flip from Kansas to North Carolina, while Self flopped from Illinois to KU. “Everyone knows coach Self is here to stay, and that he’s here to win. It’s been a good transition.”

Self believes Padgett’s transition to the collegiate level will be just as smooth.

“The one thing that David can do is play tough,” Self said of the 6-foot-11, 230-pound Padgett. “Even if he’s not as strong as he needs to be in his lower body or whatever, he can play tough. He will play hard and he’ll do the intangible things that give you a chance to look good.”

If the Jayhawks are going to look good on the court this year, Padgett and fellow frosh, J.R. Giddens will have to play large roles.

“I think they’re going to have to help for us to be good,” Self said. “I don’t think that we’re going into it thinking that they have to average 15 points or 10 rebounds for us to be good. But I do think our depth situation, going through individual workouts and what not, that Padgett and Giddens need to have big years for us.”

After recovering from arthroscopic surgery in April to repair a strained patella tendon in his right knee, Padgett vows he is ready for a big year.

“Yes I am 100 percent,” he said. “Hopefully, I can stay there. My knee has been fine. It feels good. No pain or no setbacks or anything. It’s been doing very well.”

Doing well would be an understatement for the success Padgett experienced at Reno High last season until the knee injury brought his career to an early close.

Still, the McDonald’s All-American averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game.

And while Padgett also missed the final 12 games of his junior year due to a dislocated kneecap, he still scored 22.4 points and snatched 14.3 rebounds.

“I think the biggest adjustment is the strength factor,” said Padgett, who was rated the 15th-best high schooler last year by ESPN.com. “Just getting used to playing against big, strong players every night is obviously different from high school. I think I’ve adjusted pretty well so far, it’s just going to take time to get used to it.”