Kansas guard Russell Robinson, right, swings a pass around defender Jiri Hubalek during a game last season against Iowa State. The Jayhawks will entertain the Cyclones at 6 tonight in Allen Fieldhouse.

One of these days, when Russell Robinson returns to his old haunts in The Bronx, he won’t be surprised if a former nemesis approaches him with basketball in hand.

“I’ve not seen him in a couple years. I heard he was asking about me when I went back to New York. He never found me,” Robinson, Kansas University’s senior point guard, said of ex-Iowa State standout Curtis Stinson.

Stinson and Robinson had an ongoing battle during the 2005-06 season – first in Ames, Iowa when the two guards from the Big Apple trash-talked during a 95-85 KU victory over the Cyclones, and again in the handshake line after KU’s 88-75 win in Lawrence.

After the game at Allen, sore loser Stinson challenged Robinson to a 1-on-1 game on the hardcourts of the big city.

“We wouldn’t have fought,” Robinson said. “It would have all been laughs and jokes. We’re just two guys on the court being competitive.”

For Robinson, the KU-ISU rivalry calmed down a bit after his sophomore season.

That’s because Stinson, who was a year ahead of Robinson in school, left after his junior year for the NBA Draft. Stinson played in Croatia last year and is competing in Greece this season.

“That was more between me and Curtis than me and Iowa State,” Robinson said of bad blood. “He’s not there, so I don’t think it matters anymore. I just want to beat them now because it is what we need to reach our goal. That is to win the Big 12.”

Iowa State enters today’s 6 p.m. game at KU with a 12-6 overall record, 2-1 in the league. KU enters 18-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference.

The Cyclones have changed a great deal since the days of Stinson and his backcourt partner, Will Blalock, who now plays for Anaheim in the NBA Developmental League.

The current ISU backcourt consists of 6-1 junior Bryan Petersen and 6-7 sophomore Wesley Johnson. They play alongside 6-6 senior Rahshon Clark, 6-10 freshman Craig Brackins and 6-11 senior Jiri Hubalek.

“It seems they have more sound guys defensively and have a better team chemistry,” Robinson said of ISU under second-year coach Greg McDermott. “We’ve got to handle our business.”

It’s business as usual tonight for Robinson, who has emerged as one of the Jayhawks’ steadiest, if not spectacular, players.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder enters the game seventh on the team in scoring at 6.9 points a game. He’s KU’s leading assist-man with 84 against 40 turnovers. Also, he’s second on the squad in steals with 42, just eight behind league leader Mario Chalmers.

“I’m trying to get the ball where it needs to get,” Robinson said of his role. “We’ve got guys who can score. My job is to get the ball to them. I’m doing a good job of that this season.”

KU coach Bill Self would second that notion.

“I was talking to a guy recently about how to grade guards. I said the only way you grade Russell is if we win or not. He can impact a game in so many ways that don’t show up on the stat sheet,” Self said.

“Some guys can’t do what he does. They have to produce (points) in order to play well. He does not have to do that.

“Him being active, getting everybody involved, taking the other team’s best player out of the game (defensively) is the way I rate him. I do not care if he makes shots. I don’t care if he has seven assists. I care if our team is a lot better when he is in the game.”

Self said Robinson may not be the loudest on-court leader, but his demeanor on the court is a definite plus.

“The thing about Russell … your performance is a direct reflection of your attitude,” Self said. “You can see him having fun out there, smiling and that kind of stuff. It’s usually when he performs the best. He knows this is his last go-round and wants to make the most of it.”

Maybe the best thing about Robinson is he is not satisfied – even when his coach gushes lavish praise on him.

“I’ve been doing a solid job. There’s another step I can take,” Robinson said. “I need to get some more assists, get Brandon (Rush) started early, get ‘Shady’ (Darrell Arthur) started early, do a better job of controlling a game, controlling pressure games.”

He will have fun in the process.

“This is the type of season you dream about when you decide to come to the University of Kansas,” Robinson said. “We’re 18-0 right now. The job is only halfway done. We’ve got to finish it right, take the steps to get there.”

The quest continues with a pair of home games this week – tonight versus Iowa State and Saturday against Nebraska.

“They (Cyclones) are good. They seem to have improved since the Big 12 started,” Robinson said. “All we can control is going out and playing every day. We’ve got a tough schedule ahead of us. Maybe it sounds boring but it’s ‘one game at a time.”’