Fans, columnists and talk-show hosts often opine on which Kansas University basketball players should start and how many minutes should be allocated up and down the roster.

Players do, too.

“We actually spent an hour as a team today. I said, ‘OK, you are the coach,’ where they actually gave their opinion on who should be in the game, this and that,” KU coach Bill Self said Tuesday about personnel – the most volatile topic to date in this 5-4 season.

“It’s amazing. We got 20 different answers in our locker room,” Self said.

The third-year KU coach – who listens to input from his players and assistants but always has the final say – has used the same starting lineup in all nine games: sophomores C.J. Giles, Sasha Kaun and Russell Robinson, senior Jeff Hawkins, and freshman Brandon Rush.

Self has been criticized for not starting, and/or playing, three more freshmen. Rush averages 28.4 minutes, while fellow rookies Mario Chalmers, Julian Wright and Micah Downs average 18.6, 16.0 and 15.6 minutes.

Downs and Wright played seven minutes apiece – all the first half – in Monday’s victory over Pepperdine. Wright was hooked for good after committing his third wild turnover. Downs was 0-for-2 the first half shooting while not impressing in the intangible department.

“The thing the young players need to understand is, possessions are important. Possessions matter,” Self said. “Julian would be the first to admit this today.

“It’s OK for the first one (turnover). It’s OK for the second one, but not to value the third one? If you don’t punish them or sit them, how do they learn? Julian would be the first to tell you, ‘Good gosh coach, I wouldn’t have played me in the second half, either.’ There reaches a point in time we have got to win and got to play the guys who give us the best chance to win.

“The other thing our offense wasn’t very good last night at all,” Self said. “If the offense isn’t very good, I think you are better off playing your best defensive team the majority of time. That also could factor into the equation why those guys didn’t get in the second half.”

On an animated Hawk Talk radio show Tuesday, Self said Wright spoke up during the discussion about minutes and starters before Tuesday’s practice.

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“Julian asked that today to the team. Julian said, ‘What’s the big deal? Who cares if you start or not?’ He said, ‘I could care less if I start or not. Isn’t it more important to play at the end?’ That’s a pretty bright guy,” Self said.

“My honest opinion: I would love all our guys to play their best, and then talent would play the majority of the minutes. Right now, intangibles are playing the majority of the minutes, and talent is sitting too much because the talent isn’t quite ready yet.”

So, coach, what’ll be your lineup for Thursday’s 7 p.m. game against Northern Colorado and games to come?

“It’s kind of a fine line,” Self said, “but we made the decision we’ll change lineups when guys beat guys out. Until that happens, it doesn’t look like we’re going to change that much.”

Self said the newcomers had to earn their spot in KU hoops lore.

“It’s one of those things there’s got to be something when you play at Kansas that means more than winning the next game,” Self said. “There’s got to be something that means something to the Steve Woodberrys, B.J. Williamses, Bret Olsons, Brett Ballards (Kansans), the great players but also the role players that have paid their dues, won at Kansas and been a Kansas-like representative for the course of their time here.

“They weren’t given anything. They earned it. You see young kids that are talented, they don’t deserve to be given anything. They have to earn what they get. When they earn it they will understand what Kansas basketball is about.

“Kansas basketball is not about coming in and catering to a freshman. It’s not about coming in and saying, ‘He’s a savior, we’ll cater to him.’ They didn’t cater to Danny (Manning) when he was a freshman. They didn’t cater to Kirk (Hinrich), who averaged five points as a freshmen. These are pretty good players.

“What you do … these guys work their tail off, understand what it means to be a Kansas player, give the effort, the focus and concentration they should, then the other things fall into place.”

Until then … “The young guys … they have been playing ample minutes in my opinion,” Self said.

¢ Visit great: Alex Tyus, a 6-8 forward from Harmony Community School in Cincinnati, said he had a great time Monday on his unofficial visit to KU. Tyus, the No. 36-rated player in the Class of 2007, told rivals.com he planned to return for an official visit.

“Kansas is pretty much a lock to be in my top three schools,” said Tyus, who also is considering Arizona, Illinois, Texas, Missouri, Syracuse, North Carolina and others.