Xavier Henry (23), of Athletes First, drives the lane against Kansas City Pump N Run's Jarod McDaniel. Henry, son of former KU player Carl Henry, played in the Jayhawk Invitational at Allen Fieldhouse in this 2007 file photo.

For former Kansas University men’s basketball player Carl Henry, seeing his son Xavier Henry play in Allen Fieldhouse at the AAU Jayhawk Invitational on Friday wasn’t that big of a deal.

“We played here last year, so basically it’s just the same. But we just wanted to come out here and play hard,” said Carl, who coaches Xavier’s Oklahoma City Athletes First team.

But this year is a little different, as the teams get to play full-court rather than the half-court set-up of previous years.

And for Xavier, that was a big deal.

“It was a new experience. You have to get used to how the goals are set up, but overall it was a fun time,” Xavier said after scoring 36 in a 72-61 loss to reigning champion Kansas City Pump N Run in the opening game of the invitational. “It hit me that a lot of great people have been on that court, and when I stepped on the court I felt a great feeling. It was a nice time to play there.”

Despite a small turnout to watch the game, Xavier said he would enjoy the chance to play in front of a capacity crowd at the fieldhouse.

“That would be a great time to see everybody. I know they’re loud because I’ve been up here. So playing for or against them (KU), it would be a fun time to play up here,” said the 6-foot-6 sophomore from Putnam City High, who had been to a couple of games in Allen Fieldhouse when his brother C.J. Henry was being recruited by KU.

The fans who did show for the game between Athletes First and Pump N Run got a glimpse of why Xavier is being pursued by Kansas, North Carolina, Memphis, Texas, Ohio State and a new candidate he mentioned: Louisville.

After scoring just eight points in the first half, Xavier had 28 after intermission and made four of his nine three-point attempts.

However, Xavier will be looking at a different stat throughout the weekend: free-throw shooting.

Xavier has been working on his free-throw shooting, and in his first attempt it looked as though the struggles would continue. But after bricking his first try, Henry went 4-for-4 from the stripe the rest of the way.

“Lately my free throws haven’t been going for me,” Xavier said. “But I’ve been shooting them every day, so I’m getting better. They are getting easier.”

With the absence of KU prospect Travis Releford – who was expected to miss the tournament in order to head to San Francisco to practice with the Adidas Nation team – Pump N Run got strong play from KU targets Marcus Denmon and Steve Moore.

“I don’t think they were that good of shooters,” said Xavier, who played all but 72 seconds. “It’s just that their shots, at the beginning, were falling tonight, and that’s what got us down early. If we would have contested those just a little bit more, they would have been off, and we would have been in the game.

“They weren’t the stuff, like the reigning champs or nothing. We just came out a little sloppy, and then we never picked it up. We started picking it up way toward the end, and that didn’t get it done.”

Athletes First could have another chance to see Pump N Run with the pool-play set-up. The top two teams from each of seven pools will advance to a single-elimination championship bracket Sunday.

“They are good, and I hope we get back to where we can play them again in the finals,” Carl Henry said.

Pump N Run will begin Pool A play today with a game against Kansas City Heat-Red at 11:45 a.m. in Allen Fieldhouse. Athletes First’s 2:15 p.m. game against KC Heat-Red in the Horejsi Family Athletic Center will be played alongside Pump N Run’s game against Legacy X-Factor. Pool A play will finish with a 4:45 p.m. game between Athletes First and Legacy X-Factor in Horejsi.