Kansas University basketball teams are inclined to have more NCAA Final Four success when they sneak up on people. The more highly the Jayhawks are ranked (like this year’s faulty preseason expectations), the more they seem to falter.

No matter how you slice it — injuries, egos, selfish mindsets, court and bench leadership, Roy’s interference, the whole schmeer — this latest edition fell short of league eminence and NCAA achievement because it (leading with the senior class) was overrated. It just wasn’t as good as several casual-cool “stars” figured. These 2005 seniors were babysat their first season by Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich and Drew Gooden, then spearheaded by the superb Hinrich and Collison to a second straight Final Four in 2003. When the alleged Fab Four had to shoulder the load on their own in 2003-04, they didn’t measure up. Coach Bill Self for whatever reasons couldn’t plant burrs under older saddles and bring younger people along as well as he’d hoped. He got stuck in a rut with “veterans” who weren’t good enough and newcomers who may have been over-hyped.

Injuries were a terrific hindrance, but depth was supposed to be one of the major strengths. Why wasn’t that developed when some “mainstays” kept mucking it up and should have been benched?

Sure the Jayhawks made the NCAA Elite Eight in ’04. But the schedule helped get them to the Georgia Tech loss in the fourth game. Illinois-Chicago, Pacific and UAB were not exactly powerhouses. This year produced the Bucknell Bummer after things began to unravel with that humiliation at Villanova. The loss to Bucknell was the most embarrassing KU tourney game I ever witnessed (first time in Kansas City at age 15 in 1940).

KU’s 1952 national and Olympic title team, despite the dominating Clyde Lovellette, was never rated above No. 3 before the tournament. KU was No. 8 on some lists. The Jayhawks had lost to Kansas State and Oklahoma State. In one late-season vote, Kansas was rated behind Kentucky, Illinois, Kansas State, Duquesne, St. Louis, Washington and Iowa. KU needed Colorado to upset K-State in Boulder to get a clearcut Big Seven title and the league’s lone tournament berth.

Stay-at-home Kansas State might have been the second-best team in the country, and pollsters figured KU could not measure up to Illinois and Kentucky. But after Kansas ripped Kansas State here, student manager Wayne Louderback, who charted college teams closely, said, “Bill, we’re gonna win the national championship. You’ll never find a group more dedicated. They smell it. People have no idea just how good this team is.”

The Jayhawks made their beloved “Igor” look brilliant by roaring through Kansas City, Seattle, New York and Helsinki to NCAA glory and Olympic gold. Phog Allen, assistant Dick Harp, Louderback and, most importantly, the players knew what they had. They lived in deep fear of defeat; they refused to accept it and ruled the college and Olympic world. Where was such passion and drive on this waltzing 2005 team?

Turn to Danny (Manning) and the Miracles in 1988. No way could a Kansas team with 11 losses defeat Xavier, Murray State, Vanderbilt, Kansas State, Duke and Oklahoma for the college title. KU entered the six-game grind nowhere near a top 10 rating in any poll. Manning, Chris Piper, Archie Marshall and Marvin Mattox were the seniors.

There were no polls in 1940 but Kansas wasn’t given much of a chance to beat Rice and touted Southern Cal to reach the finals against Indiana. But it did. Another sneak-up.

Came 1953 and at one time Kansas was rated as high as No. 3 (but usually No. 5). Indiana, Washington, LaSalle and Seton Hall were supposed to be stronger than Phog Allen’s scrappers with only one starter, 6-foot-9 B.H. Born, taller than 6-2. Kansas whipped Oklahoma City, Oklahoma State and Washington before falling to Indiana by a single point. KU wasn’t even supposed to be there because Washington had hook-shot artist Bob Houbregs to vanquish Indiana. Again, pretty sneaky.

No surprise in ’57. Unbeaten North Carolina was rated No. 1 all season. Kansas with Wilt Chamberlain steadily ran No. 2. UNC won by a point in triple-overtime. KU’s Final Four guys of ’71 entered tourney play having been rated as high as No. 4, and the ’74 crew had been pegged at No. 6. Larry Brown’s 1986 club made the Final Four rated No. 2 in a lot of polls and fell to Duke. Repeat, the ’88ers weren’t even near a top 10.

Roy Williams’ best coaching job might have been in 1991 when he took a club that had a season-ending rating of No. 12 and annexed New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Arkansas and North Carolina (how’s that for a trifecta?). Then Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and the Dukesters struck midnight.

In 1993 KU once had a No. 4 ranking; in 2002, KU was a No. 2 and was supposed to contend; in 2003 the ratings ranged from No. 2 to 6. But more often than not, KU has fared better when it was not rated so highly, a la early 2005.

Some put this year’s senior group on a par with the 1952 heroes. Don’t be sacrilegious. You’d put Wayne Simien, Aaron Miles, Keith Langford and Mike Lee ahead of Clyde Lovellette, Bill Lienhard, Bill Hougland and Bob Kenney — with junior Dean Kelley the fifth starter? Get off the sauce. To even mention the incomparable Dean Kelley in the same breath with No. 5 starter J.R. Giddens is obscene. All-American Wayne Simien covered a multitude of sins and merits great honor. He could get humongous NBA bucks. But even Wayne couldn’t do it alone.

As for other notable KU Final Four senior classes, how about the 1940 group of Co-Capts. Don Ebling and Dick Harp, Bill Hogben, Bruce Reid, Jack Sands and Bruce Voran? For 1953, Ken Buller, Dean Kelley, Gil Reich and Dean Smith. Jump to 1957: Eddie Dater, Gene Elstun, Lee Green, Blaine Hollinger, Harry Jett, Lew Johnson, Ron Johnston, Maurice King and John Parker. Wilt didn’t get to the dance alone.

In 1971: Roger Brown, Greg Douglas, Dave Robisch and Pierre Russell. For ’74: Tom Kivisto and Dave Taynor. In 1986: Greg Dreiling, Ron Kellogg, Calvin Thompson. For 1991: Terry Brown, Mike Maddox, Mark Randall and Kirk Wagner. For ’93: Adonis Jordan, Rex Walters, Eric Pauley. Go to 2002, Brett Ballard, Jeff Boschee, Jeff Carey, Lewis Harrison, Todd Kappelmann and Chris Zerbe. Then for 2003, the irreplacable Hinrich and Collison, who left this year’s seniors a two-year legacy of achievement the heirs-apparent never quite equaled.

Roy Williams inherited much better talent at North Carolina than he left Bill Self here. Self left Bruce Weber at Illinois far better people than he got from Roy. The odds are massively in favor of Williams, with overwhelming personnel, winning his first national title. Too bad it’s two years too late for Kansas.