Tyrone Appleton wore a big smile on his face as he signed autographs for 100 or so Kansas University basketball fans who were in no hurry to head home after Tuesday’s 79-43 rout of Albany in Allen Fieldhouse.

“I love it here. KU is the best place ever. It’s a pleasure to be here,” Appleton, KU’s 6-foot-2 transfer from Midland (Texas) College said before digging into a latenight snack — a footlong Subway sandwich.

He was feeling chipper after converting a breakaway layup off his own steal — and also hitting another inside shot — while running the point during the final three mopup minutes versus the Great Danes.

“I felt pretty good. I’m starting to get more in the flow of the game,” Appleton said.

He’s been spending a lot of time in the gym since visiting his hometown of Gary, Ind., on the Jayhawks’ three-day Christmas break.

“I’ve been working on my shot a lot,” said Appleton, who also had a six-footer rim in and out versus the Great Danes. “I’ve been shooting a lot, getting more shots up. Hopefully it (shot) will get better soon.”

For the year, he’s made five of eight shots and two of four free throws in limited action. He’s not down in the dumps about failing to break into the rotation his first year at KU.

“I always have a positive attitude. The coaches have commented on that, too,” Appleton said. “I come to practice working hard.”

His New Year’s resolution?

“Hopefully we’ll start to win more games. Hopefully we’ll win the Big 12 championship,” Appleton said of the Jayhawks, who will take a 9-3 record into Saturday’s 1 p.m. home game against 9-2 Tennessee.

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Chism OK: Tennessee junior center Wayne Chism practiced full speed on Wednesday, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

It was a quick recovery for the 6-foot-9, 242-pound Chism, who suffered elbow and spine contusions after a scary fall against Louisiana-Lafayette on Monday. He was carried off the court on a stretcher and hospitalized after banging his head and back on the court after going up for a block.

“He has been dominant,” coach Bruce Pearl said of Chism. “He’s our best rebounder, one of our best defenders and he’s starting to feel comfortable offensively.”

The Jackson, Tenn., native averages 11.8 points and 8.5 rebounds a game.

“I’m not worried about Wayne missing a game,” junior guard J.P. Prince told the News Sentinel. “He bumped his head a little bit, but he’ll fight through it. It scares you more than anything when you fall from that high up. You’re dazed, but he’ll probably be fine. He’ll be back for Kansas. I know he’s not going to miss that.”

“He’s one of our best players,” freshman forward Emmanuel Negedu told the Nashville Tennessean. Negedu, a 6-7 freshman from Nigeria, would likely have logged more than his average of 9.4 minutes a game if Chism would have been unable to go.

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Home dominance: Saturday’s game matches two teams that have been tough to beat at home. Tennessee has a 37-game homecourt win streak. KU has won 31 in a row. BYU has the country’s longest home win streak at 53 games. Notre Dame is second at 43.