Holiday parties. The chocolate, the caramel, the peanuts, the cheese and cranberries, the gossip, and best of all, the sports opinions.

I love holiday parties almost as much as I hate four-way stops. Holiday parties are the creation of people who like to have a good time. Four-way stops must have been invented by rigid types who don’t have any trouble paying enough attention to know just whose turn it is when.

Anyway, after braving the cold and the four-way stops, we made it to our first holiday bash Sunday. After the customary, “They’re going to the Fort Worth Bowl to play Houston, right?” the talk turned to basketball.

We’ll leave names out of it to protect the guilty, but the consensus among Jayhawks faithful seems to be they aren’t quite sure what to make of this team. Some were angered by the loss to Nevada, others puzzled by the lethargic stretches against Western Illinois.

My eggnog mug was half full. I actually feel better about this team’s chances after the unimpressive two games in three nights because one of the keys to this season’s Kansas University season already is rounding into shape.

Micah Downs is playing enough defense to warrant big-time minutes, which can only be a good thing for KU’s too-sluggish offense.

With Downs and Brandon Rush manning the wings, KU has two bona fide perimeter scorers. Sasha Kaun makes three serious scoring threats: a shooter, a slasher and a post-up player. C.J. Giles blocking shots at the other end, throwing down dunks and occasionally getting hot from 15 feet doesn’t hurt. So, they’re all set, right?

Not so fast. We haven’t gotten to the most important position on the floor. And before we do, see if you can answer this question: What is combo guard a euphemism for?

Answer: Shooting guard.

Anytime you hear the term combo guard, pray the team already has a point guard.

At various points during their careers, Jeff Hawkins, Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers have been called combo guards. Uh-oh.

Still, to watch Chalmers in flashes see open players underneath the way great pool players – my favorite is the Striking Viking – see shots the rest of don’t, and to see him go coast-to-coast with a turbo dribble, as he did against Nevada, is to realize that if this team has a point guard, he’s the one.

As poorly as Chalmers has shot so far, he still has shot better than Robinson and Hawkins in the three games, all losses, against legitimate competition.

In those games, Chalmers has an adjusted field-goal percentage (one credit for a two-point field goal; 11â2 credits for a three-pointer) of 50, far better than that of Robinson (33) and Hawkins (25). Put another way, Chalmers generated 17 points from 17 field-goal attempts, Robinson 15 from 23 attempts, Hawkins 10 points from 20 shots.

There’s no need to remind Chalmers the way he went up for a highlight-reel, one-hand slam and changed his mind and missed the layup isn’t going to cut it. Coach Bill Self and Ronnie Chalmers, one of Self’s platoon of well dressed assistants, told him with words and looks that said more than words ever could.

If Mario can tighten up his game quickly, the holiday parties will have all the more cheer.