Like most Kansas University men’s basketball fans, Julian Wright was overcome with emotion after the buzzer sounded in the Jayhawks’ 64-63 first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Bucknell late Friday night in Oklahoma City.

“First I was shocked, then disappointed and sad for the players and coaches,” said Wright, a 6-foot-8 KU signee, who watched parts of the game on TV in his hometown of Flossmoor, Ill.

“(But) you’ve got to move on. You can’t dwell on the past,” added Wright, who averaged 14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds a game this past season for 27-4 Homewood-Flossmoor High.

“I’m not discouraged at all. KU basketball is not down or anything,” said Wright, recently named first-team all-state by the Chicago Tribune. “The future is bright. I know we are going to be young next year, but I know we’ll be competitive. We have to work hard and be on the same page.”

Wright, plus fellow McDonald’s All-Americans Micah Downs (6-7, Kirkland, Wash.) and Mario Chalmers (6-1, Anchorage, Alaska), will join USC transfer Rodrick Stewart (6-4) as newcomers on next year’s team. The Jayhawks will be without current seniors Keith Langford, Michael Lee, Aaron Miles and Wayne Simien.

“Just because you are young doesn’t mean you can’t be good,” Wright said. “A good example is Syracuse two years back.”

That’s when Carmelo Anthony, Hakim Warrick, Gerry McNamara and Craig Forth led the Orange to the national title.

“We can be a similar team, keep improving and start rolling right at the end of the season,” Wright said.

The Jayhawks likely will not be picked to win the Big 12 Conference, much less the national title, in the preseason polls.

6Sports video: Self still recruiting without scholarships KU basketball signee also ‘shocked’ by loss Self, Jayhawks taking shots from media Woodling: Stats show KU squad same as last year’s Bio: Julian Wright Other Future ‘Hawks

“There won’t be expectations early but there probably will be a lot of anticipation to see what kind of team we have,” Wright said. “It’ll be a work in progress next year, and in two years I think we’ll really have something great.”

Wright, who is known as a player who will do whatever it takes to win — he played almost every position on his court during his career — said he plans on being a leader at KU.

“I don’t have any motives, nothing but making sure everybody is comfortable,” said Wright, who had a season-high 24 points versus Rich South, 23 against Bloom and 19 in four other games. “I am vocal all the time. It’s a big thing I bring, making sure everybody is comfortable, making sure we are a team.”

Wright said he’s in no position to judge this year’s squad, but said watching on TV from afar, it sure looks like the Jayhawks were missing some fire versus Bucknell.

“I didn’t sense the intensity was all-out,” said Wright. “I don’t want to make it sound like they didn’t give it all, I have not been to practices or anything. It just seemed they weren’t as intense through the whole course of the game, not the same level.

“The longer it stayed close, it gave Bucknell confidence. You can’t give a team like that confidence.”

Wright will have a busy postseason, playing in the McDonald’s game March 30 in South Bend, Ind., the Jordan Classic on April 16 in New York and for the U.S. team in the Nike Hoop Summit on April 9 in Memphis, Tenn.

¢

Newcomers stats: Downs averaged 24.8 points and 12.2 rebounds a game this past season for 12-9 Juanita High in Kirkland, Wash. The 6-7 guard, who will play in the McDonald’s game and Jordan Classic, scored 41 points against Skyline High with 30 or more points in six of 21 games. … Chalmers, whose season is not yet over, has averaged 26 points a game for 16-10 Bartlett High. He had a high of 44 points and nine steals against Wasilla.

¢

More honors for Simien: KU senior Wayne Simien, who is one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy, is one of 23 finalists for the Wooden Award, which will be presented April 9 in Los Angeles.

Balloting for the award concludes March 28. Simien, who was named a first-team All-American by the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches, today is expected to be named first-team All-American by the Associated Press. He was on the AP’s preseason All-America team.