Kurtis Townsend has heard from dozens of well-wishers since being named assistant men’s basketball coach at Kansas University on Monday.

“So many people are excited for me, congratulating me. When you think of college basketball you think of Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky,” the 46-year-old former Miami, USC, Michigan, Cal and Eastern Kentucky assistant said Friday from his new office at Parrott Athletic Center.

“Kansas has a great name. I just hope I can fit in and do my part here.”

One person in Townsend’s corner is Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, a pupil of the former Cal assistant during the Bears’ 1997 run to the Sweet 16.

“Tony is a guy I talk to two or three times a month. I probably left him tickets three or four times when he came to Los Angeles during the years I was at USC (01-03).

“He said I better leave him some tickets in the future. I heard they’re a little harder to come by here,” Townsend added with a laugh.

Townsend made the rounds on several radio shows Friday. He again was asked about a guest column written by a sports radio personality in Wednesday’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer — one that questioned Townsend’s success in recruiting four players from Seattle’s Rainier Beach High, including future Jayhawk C.J. Giles.

The column didn’t list any specific allegations against Townsend, who never has run afoul of the NCAA, but implied the coach had been involved in wrongdoing.

“He did have some facts right. All those kids (from Rainier) … I have recruited, signed those kids. It all started with Jamal (Crawford, Michigan signee). With the success Jamal had and the fact I recruited him, kids at that school saw me the most.

“I guess those kids thought I was the main ingredient and so they wanted to follow in his footsteps.

6Sports video: Giles will be able to play next season

“When I was recruiting Jamal, the Stewart twins (Lodrick, Rodrick) were in the eighth grade,” Townsend continued of the twins who signed with USC. “They were up at that school. They had practiced there. They had seen me five years before they committed to us.

“They didn’t have that kind of relationship with any coach. This business is all about relationships,” Townsend added.

Townsend showed the Journal-World a letter written in 1998 on his behalf from Cal AD John Kasser. The letter said Townsend had nothing to do with NCAA violations committed by former Cal coach Todd Bozeman.

“I never was investigated at Cal. I was a restricted-earnings coach and couldn’t recruit,” Townsend said.

• Galindo sidelined: On campus for summer school, freshman Alex Galindo won’t be playing in any pick-up games for four to six weeks. The 6-foot-7 Galindo suffered a broken left (non-shooting) wrist playing hoops last month back at St. Benedict’s High in New Jersey. The repaired wrist is in a cast.
• Giles cleared to play: The national letter of intent steering committee this week ruled C.J. Giles fully eligible to play at KU this season.

Giles, who received a release from the University of Miami, had to go through the formalities of appealing to the steering committee to erase a one-year penalty for breaking the letter of intent.

“He’s very happy. Now he gets the opportunity to go to school and do his thing,” C.J.’s dad, Chester Giles, said Friday.

Alex Galindo, who signed with UTEP but was released from his letter after coach Billy Gillispie left for Texas A&M, filed his paperwork later than Giles. He also will be cleared to play in coming days or weeks.

• UNC visit on tap: Tyler Hansbrough, a 6-9 senior-to-be from Poplar Bluff, Mo., who is considering KU, North Carolina and Kentucky, told the Raleigh (N.C.) News Observer he would not have a problem attending the same school as David Padgett, who many believe is headed to UNC.

“It doesn’t make a difference,” Hansbrough said before flying to North Carolina for an unofficial visit this weekend. “I trust coach (Roy) Williams and what he’s doing.”

• Jersey numbers: Some of KU’s newcomers have been assigned jersey numbers for next season. They are: Galindo (No. 2), Russell Robinson (3), Sasha Kaun (24), Darnell Jackson (32) and Matt Kleinmann (No. 44).