Kansas University was well represented in the National Basketball Assn. this past season. In fact, the Jayhawks had nine players in the league. Kentucky led all colleges with 13 NBA players; Duke 10, while KU and Connecticut had nine.

All but one former Jayhawks in the NBA — Drew Gooden — made the roster of a playoff team.

KU coach Bill Self is not surprised at the number of Jayhawks succeeding in the pros.

“You look at teams that traditionally do the best year in and out. Those teams are the ones with the best players,” Self said. “Kansas over the last 15-plus years has had arguably with the exception of one or two programs, the best players in America. I think and hope it’ll continue. Kansas takes a back seat to no one in terms of NBA caliber players.”

Here’s a look at how KU’s NBAers fared this season:

Kirk Hinrich, Chicago: The second-year point guard averaged 15.7 points and 6.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds a game. He started in and played in 77 games. Hinrich canned 39.2 percent of his shots, 37.2 percent from three-point land. In six playoff games, he exploded for 21.2 ppg and 5.8 apg.

Nick Collison, Seattle: The second-year reserve forward, who didn’t play two years ago because of a pair of shoulder surgeries, averaged 5.6 points and 4.6 boards in 82 games, including four starts. He hit 53.7 percent of his shots. In 11 playoff games, he averaged 8.4 points and 5.0 boards.

Drew Gooden, Cleveland: The third-year forward averaged 14.4 points and 9.2 boards for the Cavs, who barely missed the playoffs, getting eliminated on the last day of the season. He hit 46.6 percent of his shots while starting 80 of 82 games.

Raef LaFrentz, Boston: The seventh-year forward averaged 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in starting all 80 games. He made 47.3 percent of his shots and 36.3 from three-point land. In seven playoff games, he averaged 6.9 points and 4.9 boards.

‘Hawks in the NBA

Greg Ostertag, Sacramento: The 10th-year center averaged 4.8 points and 5.6 boards in 56 games. He made three starts. Ostertag hit 44 percent of his shots, just 34.2 percent of his charities. In two playoff games, he averaged 3.0 points and 4.5 boards.

Paul Pierce, Boston: The seventh-year forward averaged 21.6 points and 6.5 rebounds. Starting all 82 games, he hit 45.5 percent of his shots and 37 percent of his threes. In seven playoff games, he averaged 22.9 points and 7.7 boards.

Scot Pollard, Indianapolis: The eighth-year forward averaged 3.9 points and 4.2 boards while playing in 49 games, starting 17. He made 47.3 percent of his shots. In nine playoff games, Pollard averaged 1.4 points and 1.2 boards.

Jacque Vaughn, New Jersey: The eighth-year guard averaged 5.3 points and 1.9 assists while playing in 71 games, starting 34. He made 44.9 percent of his shots and 33.3 percent of his threes. He was injured and didn’t participate in the playoffs.

Billy Thomas, New Jersey: The 29-year-old rookie averaged 3.7 points and 1.4 boards in 25 games. He hit 17 of 56 threes for 30.4 percent. He missed one shot in two playoff games.

LaFrentz, who is signed through 2008-09, made $9,714,500 last season; Pierce, signed through 06-07, made $12,584,700; Pollard, signed through next season, made $5,792,250; Gooden, signed through next season, made $3,214,000; Hinrich, signed through 06-07, made $2,349,840; Ostertag, signed through next season, made $4 million; Collison, signed through 06-07, made $1,969,680; Thomas made an NBA minimum in a pro-rated contract for number of games; Vaughn, signed through 05-06, made $932,546.