Standing next to a concession stand in the northwest corner of Allen Fieldhouse, Cole Aldrich reverently eyed the tunnel that leads to James Naismith Court.

“I had goosebumps going through it at Late Night. I’ve got goosebumps on my arm right now even talking about it … See?” Aldrich, Kansas University’s 6-foot-11 freshman from Bloomington, Minn., said, pointing to an arm that indeed was covered with small marks.

“It will be a blast,” he added of jogging through the tunnel for today’s 7 p.m. exhibition against Pittsburg State. “There’s only one thing you can do … enjoy the moment. I’ve got to enjoy every moment going through the tunnel.”

You better believe Aldrich is jazzed about tonight’s contest, even if it doesn’t count on KU’s won/lost ledger. Equally enthused is KU’s other scholarship freshman, 6-3 Burlington native Tyrel Reed.

“There will be butterflies more than anything. They (veterans) told me I’m going to be shaking and nervous. But they say it’s the greatest experience of all,” Reed said.

“It will be a learning experience. It’s a learning experience every day at practice. These (veterans) have established themselves playing at the college level. They are good, smart. I learn something every day. Whether they beat me up, it’s a learning experience.”

Senior Rodrick Stewart said he’ll try to calm the nerves of KU’s rookies tonight.

“I’ve been talking to Tyrel a lot because he’s got the butterflies already,” Stewart said. “I just tell him, ‘Listen man, you’re a freshman. All year you’re going to go up and down. You might have a great game one game and then the next game you might just be terrible.’ You just have to go out there and have fun. Give it all you’ve got and hope for the best, really.”

The Gorillas, who advanced to the NCAA Div. II postseason tournament a year ago, won’t have guards the caliber of the ones Reed has been going against daily.

“Mario (Chalmers), Sherron (Collins), Russell (Robinson) … you can’t pick one over the others. They’re all tough defenders. And Rod (Stewart) doesn’t get the mention he deserves.”

KU coach Bill Self, who admits his teams for some reason normally start the season a bit shaky, hopes for a good dress rehearsal tonight.

“Our guys will be excited to play. It should be fun,” Self said. “I just want to see where we are when the lights are on.”

Pitt State returns three starters (6-3 Carlos Taylor, 6-7 Cory Abercrombie and 6-5 Michael Hutchingson) off last year’s 18-13 team.

“I would assume coach (Gene) Iba won’t try too many trick defenses this early in the season,” Self said. “I like to see us play somebody else, see if we can guard motion, see if we can defend the post.”