Gran-Daddy smokes the meat outside in the parking lot. Inside Gran-Daddy’s BBQ in North Lawrence, where strawberry soda flows freely, the air is filled with constant Kansas University basketball talk, and the walls are decorated with KU hoops newspaper clippings, posters and schedules.

Gran-Daddy used to coach AAU basketball. Now, he talks the game, non-stop. So do his workers and customers.

In the summer, when the NCAA Clearinghouse studied Brandon Rush’s can-of-worms academic record, Gran-Daddy laughed at the notion of not expecting too much too soon from Rush on the court. He knew how ready Rush was for the college game.

The other day, when a handful of us were getting up to leave Gran-Daddy’s, a voice from behind the counter froze us. It was almost a Twilight Zone moment. Did he really say what we thought he said? He did.

“Do you think the women’s team will be ranked in the poll soon?” one of Gran-Daddy’s helpers asked.

At that moment, it became official. The women’s basketball team had entered the conversation. It may only be the end of the conversation, but it’s a start. And so is an 8-0 record against a soft nonconference schedule.

Something about the word “undefeated” draws the attention of sports fans who otherwise wouldn’t be interested.

They come and check it out once, and some come back. Basketball fans tend to like three-point shooters, and in Erica Hallman, Kaylee Brown and Ivana Catic, KU has three in the starting lineup.

The Jayhawks weren’t at their best Sunday afternoon, but they were good enough to defeat Florida International, 73-65, thanks to 20 points and 12 rebounds from Crystal Kemp, and they were entertaining enough to make you want to come back.

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“It’s an exciting brand of basketball,” said KU athletic director Lew Perkins, who was the AD at UConn when it turned into the women’s basketball monster that it is today.

That’s the model, the goal for KU women’s hoops. Is it realistic?

“No question, with the basketball tradition that’s here,” Perkins said.

The first step toward aiming for it came in hiring Bonnie Henrickson. Next came the targeting of fan bases: basketball lovers who had difficulty getting tickets to men’s games; senior citizens; young students.

“Our players are always out speaking,” Perkins said. “At elementary schools, assisted-living homes, boy scouts, girl scouts. It’s great entertainment for families. The girls are great role models for young kids. And you look in the crowd, you’ll see there are a lot of older adults, males in particular, because they can identify with the players.”

In many ways, the women’s game closely resembles the game men played a couple of generations ago.

A look into the crowd Sunday also revealed spectators from the men’s team. Mario Chalmers, C.J. Giles and Darnell Jackson were among the announced crowd of 1,764. So were Chancellor Robert Hemenway and former KU greats Al Kelley and Bill Hougland. Baseball agent Steve Fehr, brother of Players Association boss Donald Fehr, was there with his wife, sitting in front of Mr. and Mrs. Bob Davis. OK, so there wasn’t an Ashley Judd-level celeb, but it’s a nice start.