When one of Kansas University’s men’s basketball practices starts to lose its luster, out comes KU’s scout team — better known as the “Red Team” — to save the day.

“Sometimes practice drags on a bit,” said administrative assistant and former Jayhawk guard Brett Ballard, an honorary Red Team member with fellow staff members Danny Manning and Sean Harrington, plus walk-ons Nick Bahe, Christian Moody, Brett Olson and Stephen Vinson.

“You’d be surprised how the Red Team getting out there and talking a little trash with the Blue Team can make practice more competitive, more exciting.”

KU’s scout team, which has been known as the Red Team since the Larry Brown era, is the hard-working, prideful third unit that runs opponents’ plays in scrimmages against the Blue Team — KU’s starters and second teamers. Sometimes the Red Team does more than hold its own against the likes of Wayne Simien, Aaron Miles, Keith Langford, Michael Lee, J.R. Giddens, et al., who usually wear blue jerseys at practice.

“One thing about our Red Team,” KU coach Bill Self said, “a lot of days they are every bit as good as guys who aren’t on the Red Team.

“They’ve gotten the coach pretty upset with the other guys several days just because they’ve played so well. Some of these guys may end up playing before it’s all said and done. I would put our Red Team against anybody else’s so-called scout team in America.”

Accomplished players

So would Lee, a KU junior guard who played on the Red Team his freshman year and part of his sophomore season at KU.

“The Red Team beats the Blue team a lot,” Lee said. “The Red Team is a good team.”

KU staff member danny manning, top left, chats as walk-ons, from left, Nick Bahe, Stephen Vinson, Brett Olson and Christian Moody put on their red jerseys. Manning is KU's director of student-athlete development. The Red Team, or scout team, runs the offense and defense of upcoming opponents during scrimmages against KU's Blue Team -- starters and second-team players -- to prepare the Jayhawk regulars for their next game.

A great team, according to some of its members.

“The Red Team has been dominant this year,” Ballard boasted. “Obviously having Danny helps. Sean (former Illinois guard Harrington) and I can still shoot it a bit. Plus, we’ve got Brett, Stephen, Nick and Christian, who can all play, and Omar Wilkes, who is an honorary member of the Red Team, who we expect to move up in the world soon.”

Funny thing about the Red Team: It nearly became the White Team this season when KU’s practice jerseys arrived in the mail. The reversible jerseys, which the past 20 or so years have been red on one side and blue on the other to allow players to switch quickly, were blue and white.

Quick-thinking Manning

Intent on saving the Red Team’s tradition, Manning, KU’s director of student-athlete development, ordered practice jerseys that said, “Red Team” on the front, and “Yeah Red” on the back.

“The first couple of practices, when I saw those blue and white jerseys, I thought there’d be no more Red Team,” Lee said. “But we’ve got these new red jerseys now. I’m glad we’ve got ’em. I remember playing on the Red Team the last couple of years. Some of the guys joke and say I’m a traitor now moving to the Blues, but I know where I came from.”

Kansas University basketball walk-ons Christian Moody, left, and Stephen Vinson prepare to put on their traditional red jerseys prior to practice. The two were suiting up for drills Monday at Allen Fieldhouse.

KU’s walk-on players were glad to keep their colors.

“We are the Red Team. We don’t want to be the White Team. I think it’s why we have our special little jerseys over there,” sophomore guard Vinson said. “Hopefully we’ll stick with the red.”

The Red Team tradition is so popular at KU, former Jayhawk guard C.B. McGrath, now an administrative aide at North Carolina, called KU’s hoops office to see if it was true the Jayhawks no longer had red practice jerseys.

Red Team will survive

Manning, who is big on tradition, said the Red Team does itself proud daily and is in no danger of extinction.

“They’ve had their good days at practice,” said Manning, who is just one year removed from the NBA. “They’ve had bad days, too. The important thing is to understand that they are very valuable to our program and historically been a big part of the program.

“The type of support these players have received in the past has been overwhelming. They’ve received an outpouring of love, so to speak.”

“Hopefully the fans realize the Red Team in a way symbolizes KU basketball,” Ballard added. “These are hard-working players who do not receive a lot of attention, but go out every day to make the team better.”

• Bumps, bruises: KU senior Jeff Graves iced his right knee the second half of practice Monday after falling hard after jumping over a player while chasing after the basketball. He appeared to survive the fall in one piece, removing the icepack the final 15 minutes of the practice. Junior guard Keith Langford missed some of the practice because of his sore right knee. Both will be able to rest today when the Jayhawks take the day off before working out Wednesday and Thursday in preparation for Friday’s season opener against UT Chattanooga, which will tip off at 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.