The assignment I gave myself was easy, or so I thought: Attend a Kansas University basketball practice and walk away with a good idea of who will lead the Jayhawks in scoring.

At various points during Monday’s practice at Allen Fieldhouse, I settled on four different players.

First, a quick impression of my first KU basketball practice. Mindful of the team’s depth, the surprisingly well-conditioned players seemed extremely eager to please coach Bill Self, who was on every mistake and kept the practice moving at a snappy pace. The play was extremely physical, and no signs of laziness were evident.

As for Self, he has nice rotation on his three-point shot, but he could never play for me. Why? He wears a watch to practice. I spent eight years yelling at kids not to wear their watches to practice, and here he was wearing his watch to practice. Based on that fact alone, Jesse Newell would have an easier time making my team.

OK, back to the search for a scoring leader.

The first to earn the projected scoring title was Micah Downs.

As the players ran early in practice, Downs looked as if he jogged while teammates sprinted, yet he led the pack. Effortless runner. He shoots in such a way as to create the illusion he’s shooting a 12-footer and up go the referee’s arms, signifying a three-pointer. Effortless shooter.

Yet, during a half-court, no-dribble drill wherein the offensive players pass and cut and each defensive player tries to keep his man from catching the ball, Downs wasn’t keeping walk-on Matt Kleinmann from catching it, raising the question as to whether he’ll play enough to contend for the team scoring title.

As Rod Stewart applied scary defense pressure on Downs on the perimeter in a late-practice scrimmage, you could see the freshman’s confidence momentarily melt. Better find another candidate, just in case.

C.J. Giles hit a pair of 15-footers, a new wrinkle to his game that complements his explosive work around the basket, to join the race.

Then Brandon Rush, who consistently drew iron during shooting drills, threw down a tomahawk dunk and showcased a nifty crossover, once following it with a layup, another time with a swished baseline jumper. The kid has a knack for scoring, even without having a reliable jumpshot.

Yet, unless either Rush or Downs, or both, quickly can learn how to play defense in a way that doesn’t give the opposition an easy release from Self’s pressure defense, they won’t be playing together. Look for the two freshmen to split the 40 small-forward minutes. It’s tough to lead a team in scoring while playing half the time.

Guard Mario Chalmers should lead the freshmen in playing time, though he seems the fourth-most-likely candidate to lead the team in scoring. As it stands now, the safest guess as to how time at the guard spots will be distributed is that Chalmers, Russell Robinson and Jeff Hawkins will share the 80 minutes.

“Tough question,” Downs said when asked to name the player who would lead the Jayhawks in scoring. “We’ll be balanced.”

Self and Julian Wright guessed it might be Giles. By tourney time, it could be Downs or Rush.