The Kansas basketball team has a “big” problem, and until a lot of the perplexing questions about it are answered, KU will not be a Final Four-caliber outfit.

The Jayhawk guard corps is carrying enough of the load and will be even more potent once Sherron Collins overcomes his foot injury. Brandon Rush will continue to have fits and starts, but his surgerized knee keeps improving. He needs to grow up and help a lot more. So far Rodrick Stewart has been a pleasant surprise after a long period of could-be-but-ain’t-yet. Freshmen Tyrel Reed and Conner Teahan will contribute.

It’s KU’s four-man big guy crew that must get a lot better. Darnell Jackson, for all his desire, intensity and thrust, can’t compensate all the time for the other three in the paint crew. They must start earning their dinners, or the team will continue to drift, Wednesday night excepted. Somebody has to step up and give this team a definitive personality. Too much “depth” can water down a team’s production.

KU can be maddening as it brings the ball downcourt and doesn’t even get off a shot before committing some bungle. Too often the feeds are OK but big guys muff them as if they have the hands of a careless two-fingered butcher.

Then there are all those blown crippies, failures to finish. Kansas may hold the national patent for this flaw.

Senior Sasha Kaun should be helping out more and should be chained to the free-throw line every day until he can at least hit 65 percent. Still too rote with his shooting touch and a flimsy finisher. He does important things on defense; he has to sharpen his offensive skills.

Darrell Arthur sometimes seems in a trance, takes too many questionable shots and right now may not be a pro lottery pick. Something’s amiss; time for Darnell, Darrell and Sasha to step up collectively.

The other biggie, Cole Aldrich, has a lot of ground to cover but owns the size, the skills and court intellect to close those gaps. Cole will keep improving and contributing, a great fourth rim-rattler.

Pardon a snicker for the talk about how this collegiate newcomer or that will revolutionize the game. Remember the day KU announced the signing of Darrell Arthur? As all the hype unfurled, you figured KU students would be gathering to watch the Texas dandy walk to class across Potter Lake, then proliferate a couple loaves and fish to feed the crowd. At this point, Arthur better get some waders and call a caterer.

Bill Walker and Michael Beasley are the super-touts at Kansas State; if they died, the athletic department would have to rent a tomb for only three days? Oh, the number three? It’s the games KSU has lost with those two in harness.

Remember how Ohio State’s Greg Oden and Texas’s Kevin Durant were super human? Along came O.J. Mayo at Southern Cal, Derrick Rose at Memphis and Kevin Love at UCLA. Plenty to offer but no match for opponents who also have stars and satellites of quality. Maybe Kansas isn’t so late-blooming after all.

But one ace KU has in its books is a guy who did forever alter the face of basketball – 52 points and 31 rebounds in his sophomore debut. Wilt Chamberlain also scored 100 points once. Danny Manning was no sausage as a difference-maker, huh? KSU’s Beasley is off to a good start against weak teams, but let’s not forget that KU “revolutionized” the game first, and a long time ago.