Rodrick Stewart will sit for nearly a year, but the transfer will give the Kansas University men’s basketball squad a strong contributor at practice, a versatile athlete and an extra body for the short-handed Jayhawks to push around.

Stewart arrived this week in Lawrence and joined KU’s team with no major problems. He’s the 18th player on the Jayhawks’ roster.

“Rodrick Stewart is here, and has been admitted and enrolled, and he will be a part of our basketball team,” said KU coach Bill Self, who declined further comment.

Stewart said the transition to Lawrence couldn’t have gone more smoothly, but he wasn’t allowed to comment further Tuesday before KU departed for Ames, Iowa, for a game at 7 tonight against Iowa State. Stewart, a 6-foot-4 guard, will be a practice player until December, in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. He played last season as a freshman at Southern California with his twin brother, Lodrick, but did not play last semester because of academic reasons.

KU senior Aaron Miles has seen Stewart play before and is confident KU will get better this year because of Stewart –even if Stewart won’t play until midseason next year.

“He’s athletic, a strong wing guard that can defend a little bit,” Miles said. “He can get out in transition and do some things.”

In his lone season at USC, Stewart averaged 4.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 27 games — including 17 starts. His athleticism and versatility made him a highly touted prep out of Seattle, but Stewart has said he wanted to go to a school with a better basketball atmosphere than football-crazy USC.

His connections to KU freshman C.J. Giles and Jayhawk signee Micah Downs from his days in Washington didn’t hurt his decision to transfer, either.

For most of 2005, Rodrick Stewart will be a bit of a mystery to Jayhawk fans, but if inside-outside players like Keith Langford and J.R. Giddens improve drastically this season, Stewart could be a behind-the-scenes reason why.

“When he begins practicing with us, he’s going to help us out,” Miles said. “Especially pushing our other wings, like Keith and J.R. and helping them get better.”

6Sports video: Starting lineup in air 6Sports video: Injuries no help to ‘Hawks Hear Bill: Jan. 11 press conference KU at Iowa State Notes Giddens trying to avoid NBA distraction Injury situation not so bleak Self confirms Stewart’s arrival to KU Notebook Sign up for cell phone updates Sign up for e-mail updates