Mario Little, who made official basketball recruiting trips to Kansas University and Kansas State the past two weekends, met with KU coach Bill Self on Tuesday at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College.

“It was great to see him. We talked about a lot of stuff,” Little, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound sophomore, said Tuesday night.

Little, who averaged 10 points and six rebounds as sixth man for last year’s national juco runner-up team, had in previous weeks entertained coaches from his other finalists – KSU’s Frank Martin and Illinois’ Bruce Weber.

As of now, he’s still planning to make an official visit to Illinois – either this weekend or Sept. 28-29.

“When I come back from Illinois, it shouldn’t take more than a week to decide,” Little said.

The former Chicago Washington High standout said the recruiting process had started to wear on him a bit.

“I mean, I appreciate the love I’m getting, (but) all the love gets frustrating,” he said. “It’s not been fun at all. I’m getting too many phone calls, early in the morning, all day. I do appreciate the interest, but sometimes I have to take a deep breath.”

Little said last weekend’s visit to KSU was enjoyable, just like his time spent at KU.

“Both were real good visits. I liked the players at both schools,” he said. “I can’t really say,” he added, asked which Sunflower State school was his favorite.

¢ Thomas to visit Maryland next: Quintrell Thomas, a 6-8 senior forward from St. Anthony High in Jersey City, N.J., visited Rutgers last weekend. He’ll visit Maryland this weekend, Kansas on Sept. 28-29 and UNLV for Midnight Madness on Oct. 12. He may not visit his other finalist, Houston.

“Once he is done with his visit to UNLV, Quintrell will probably return home, sit down and try to make a decision,” Thomas’ AAU coach, Derrick Bobbitt, told Rivals.com. “I can say that Kansas is very high up on Quintrell’s list.”

¢ Rush progressing: KU junior guard Brandon Rush continues to make steady progress from his right ACL surgery on June 1. Rush was cleared to begin jogging Aug. 22 and started sprinting the first week of September.

“He’s actually getting up to that now,” KU coach Bill Self said of Rush making cuts on the court. “He is doing more than running straight ahead. He looks good.”

Rush says there’s no definite timetable for his return, set for “Dec. 1 or a month either way.”

¢ Coaches Vs. Cancer meeting set: Self and KU women’s coach Bonnie Henrickson will tip off this year’s season of the American Cancer Society’s Coaches vs. Cancer program from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, at Maceli’s, 1031 New Hampshire St.

The Coaches vs. Cancer Reception will include a silent auction and remarks by both coaches. The auction will include a piece of the Allen Fieldhouse floor, signed basketballs and autographed photos. Each attendee also will receive a commemorative gift.

Tickets to the event are $50 per person to benefit the American Cancer Society. Reservations must be made by Sept. 28 by calling the American Cancer Society at 800-359-1025 or by emailing stacie.schroeder@cancer.org.

Both KU teams will take part in the three-point attack in which individuals, businesses and organizations can pledge a certain amount for each three-point basket made this season.

For more information about Coaches vs. Cancer, call the American Cancer Society’s help line at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.