Dallas ? It likely will take some time for Kansas University’s men’s basketball team to establish its own identity this season.

How much time is anybody’s guess.

The Jayhawks today complete Week Two of the 2003-04 preseason.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we become a team in January,” first-year KU coach Bill Self said Thursday at Big 12 Conference Media Day at the Renaissance Hotel on the outskirts of downtown Dallas.

“I don’t think Kansas became a team last year until it went 3-3 (in December). We will have to go through some things all teams go through — to buy in, to trust. As a coach, I have to adjust, and they have to adjust.”

Self, the former University of Illinois coach who replaced Roy Williams in April, has been busy implementing his system the first two weeks of practice.

“I really like our guys. I like our guys a lot,” Self said. “We have not practiced great yet. Practices have been OK. They have not been stellar, but I don’t see how they can be stellar with guys thinking instead of reacting.”

KU has four practices remaining before the team’s first dress rehearsal, Tuesday’s exhibition opener against the EA Sports All Stars. That game tips off at 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.

Suffice it to say the Jayhawks will continue to work out long — between two and three hours a day — and hard as the players try to make an impression on their new coach.

Kansas University coach Bill Self answers a question during Big 12 Conference Media Day. The Jayhawks' first-year coach and three of his players attended the media gathering Thursday in Dallas.

“Every team has something to hang its hat on. I don’t know what we can hang our hat on. I don’t know if we will be a great rebounding team, a great halfcourt offensive team, halfcourt defensive team, transition team,” Self said. “But that is not unusual this time of year. A lot of coaches probably think that this time of year.”

Three starters set

He said juniors Wayne Simien, Keith Langford and Aaron Miles — who also attended Media Day — likely will start Tuesday’s exhibition contest. The other two slots are up for grabs.

“No telling, the way we’ve been practicing,” Simien said of his predictions of the lineup.

What has been the main problem?

“I don’t think they’ve been that bad,” Simien quickly added, “we’ve just set a lot of expectations for us. It’s an adjustment for us all, learning a new system, and an adjustment for coach, too. In the past he’s had his own guys. Coming in, working with all different guys, trying to get adjusted … we’ll be fine as long as we get better every day.”

Texas coach Rick Barnes prepares to sign basketballs during Big 12 Conference Media Day.

Self said many Jayhawks had their moments at practice, which eventually will make it difficult to form a nine- or 10-man playing rotation.

“I think all four newcomers have a chance to be in the top nine or 10. I don’t know that they will,” Self said of freshmen David Padgett, Jeremy Case, J.R. Giddens and Omar Wilkes.

“David Padgett is probably ahead of the other three,” he said of the 6-foot-11 forward/center. “J.R. is extremely gifted and talented. Jeremy is probably the best shooter we have on the team. Omar is kind of a jack of all trades. All those guys will make us better.”

As will others.

“I see a big role for (senior forward) Bryant Nash. I see a big role for (junior guard) Mike Lee, obviously a big role for (senior center) Jeff Graves,” Self said. “Jeff Hawkins has a chance to be a contributor this year, maybe back up Aaron (at the point). You can’t play 12 guys.”

Another Final Four?

Self said he was looking forward to putting the pieces of the puzzle together as KU vies for a third straight Final Four berth and league title.

The Big 12 coaches are skeptical, ranking KU third in the preseason poll behind Missouri and Texas.

“If you finish in the top three in this league, you are going to have a good season,” Self said. “People who understand athletics know it’s not a given to make the Final Four. A lot of things — health, bouncing balls out of bounds, free throws … a lot of things, some outside your control, determine whether you go to the Final Four or not.

“I think my biggest challenge right now will be to get guys to buy into who we are, what we are trying to do and truly believe that it works. It’s easy to get guys to buy in when the program hasn’t won huge. You take over a program that has won huge, players might think, ‘Coach, what you say may be important, but we haven’t done that in the past (when it has worked).'”

The Jayhawks say they are buying into Self’s desire to play rugged defense, to create turnovers that will lead to easy baskets and also run the high/low offense to perfection.

“It’s coming along well,” Langford said. “It’ll take some time. We are buying into it fine, but when things you’ve done the past two years are thrown out the window, you don’t want to rush anything. Otherwise, you will really get frustrated.”

Langford is not frustrated by the coaches’ picking KU third in the league. The media poll will be released next week.

“This is not the team that went to the Final Four. This is a different team. This team has to prove a lot to itself,” Langford said. “Preseason polls have a lot to do with politics, predictions, things like that. Players are the ones who have a chance to change that with their play during the season. We’ll try to do that.”