Kansas University’s men’s basketball rotation stands at 10 players right now.

“It may get to nine, hopefully, by the time we get to conference play,” KU coach Bill Self reported at his weekly meeting with media members Wednesday.

He’s committed to continuing to open games with perimeter players J.R. Giddens, Keith Langford and Aaron Miles, plus big men Wayne Simien and Christian Moody.

Russell Robinson and Michael Lee are the two perimeter players off the bench, with freshmen C.J. Giles, Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun battling it out each week in practice to see who gets to play next to Simien when Moody leaves the game.

“Christian will play,” said Self, whose Jayhawks (3-0) will next tangle with Pacific (2-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. “The reality of it is, of the three big freshmen, only those guys who are playing well will get major minutes each night. It’s hard to rotate three in there with Christian and ‘Dub’ (Simien) playing.”

Kaun was the first freshman big man to come off the bench Monday in KU’s 85-52 win over Nevada. Both Jackson and Giles also have been first off the bench in KU’s other four games, counting exhibitions.

Kaun played 14 minutes against Nevada, Giles 10 and Jackson six.

“From the get-go, they know there’s 40 minutes there, and the guys that play the best will get it, and we’re going to split it,” Self said of the three freshmen. “Forty could become 30 easily if they don’t

beat Christian out. That is basically where we are now.”

Kansas freshman C.J. Giles is met by coach Bill Self while exiting the game against Nevada. Giles, who had five points and eight rebounds in 10 minutes Monday at Allen Fieldhouse, is competing for playing time with fellow newcomers Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun and incumbent starter Christian Moody.

The three freshmen big men are vying for minutes daily/weekly at practice.

“I’m not really worried about minutes. It depends on who goes the hardest at practice — who screens and downscreens,” Jackson said.

Kaun said he was a bit surprised he was the first summoned off the pine Monday.

“I didn’t expect it, but coach was saying I had pretty good days of practice,” Kaun said.

Self wants the freshmen big men to go all out when in the game.

“I tell them, ‘You’re probably going to be out there three to four minutes and don’t waste a possession. Play with unbelievable passion and energy the time you are other there,'” Self said.

“The other thing is, if they don’t do it and the other two do, they may not get back in.”

Self would prefer the veterans play closer to 30 minutes than 40.

“If you look at the only guys who are sensitive about their minutes it would be J.R., Wayne, Keith and Aaron. They are going to play their minutes. Mike (Lee) is going to get his time. Russell (Robinson) is going to get his. The perimeter players are locked in, and Dub’s locked in.

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“Will Keith play 34? No. He’ll play 30, but that still can make him a better basketball player and Aaron the same.”

Of his minutes, Langford said: “It all depends on the circumstance. I don’t think it’s necessary if we’re up 30 or 40 to be in the game. It’s all relative to the schedule we’re playing. I don’t think there’s a set amount of minutes.”

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Back ache: Jackson hasn’t been feeling 100 percent healthy lately.

“I’m coming off some back problems from high school,” said Jackson, who fell on his back in a game during high school and has had pain off and on since. “I’ve not really been pushing myself because of my back. I’m not worried at all,” he added. “I just have to learn how to play through the pain and push myself. I’ll continue to get treatment every day.”

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N.D. firing: Self was appalled by the firing of football coach Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame after just three seasons. Willingham, Irish officials admitted, was canned for his 21-15 record, nothing else.

“I think it’s a sad state, not just for football, but a sad state for college athletics in general when high-profile institutions, especially institutions that supposedly stand for the best things college athletics have to offer, make a decision to terminate based on one thing — wins and losses which lead to revenue,” Self said.

“If he red-shirts his (first full) recruiting class, his own recruits have only made it through their freshman year. I think it’s very unfair and I think there’d be 100 percent of the coaches in America who feel the exact same way,” added Self, who does not know Willingham personally.

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This, that: The KU-Pacific game was set up at a national meeting of coaches last summer. Self and Pacific coach Bob Thomason were two coaches who needed games to fill the schedules and decided to set up a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament game. … KU freshman Matt Kleinmann made a campus visit to Pacific last year and decided to walk on at KU rather than accept a scholarship offer to the Big West school. “My heart and head told me to go here,” Kleinmann said. … Interviews for an upcoming ESPN Sports Century documentary on former KU coach Larry Brown will be taped next week in Lawrence. Journal-World sports editor Chuck Woodling will be interviewed, as will Self, plus former players Jeff Gueldner, Danny Manning and others.