Self downplays early season ESPN No. 1 ranking

Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self isn’t feeling any pressure after his Jayhawks were tapped No. 1 in the country for the 2004-05 season by ESPN analyst Andy Katz.

“If I’m not mistaken, Andy’s item was based on a bunch of hypothetical things,” Self said of the ESPN.com report that had Kansas at No. 1, followed by Duke, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, Illinois, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Maryland, Syracuse and defending national champ UConn.

Katz’s early rankings could change after the NBA Draft and after the late signing period.

“We do have a chance to be a very good team,” Self said. “CNN has us rated 12 and Andy has us No. 1 … that tells there will be a lot of differing opinions about the top teams in the country.”

  • Award time: Self’s first men’s basketball awards ceremony will be at 7 tonight at Horejsi Center.
  • Tourney slated: The 4th annual Jayhawk Invitational for AAU teams will be May 7-9 at Allen Fieldhouse and Horejsi Center.
  • New recruit: Self was in Newark, N.J., Wednesday recruiting 6-foot-7 high school senior Alex Galindo, who has been released from his UTEP letter of intent.