Kansas forward Marcus Morris disputes a foul during the second half of KU's 98-79 exhibition victory over Washburn on Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse. Morris only played seven minutes in the victory, but fouled out in the process. He said he was playing too physical and would work to improve on his discipline on the defensive end of the court.

Bill Self believes some of Kansas University’s newcomers were “humbled a little” during Tuesday’s exhibition basketball victory over Washburn.

“Not because their expectations were so high,” KU coach Self said of the five freshmen and one junior-college transfer who played in the 98-79 victory. “No disrespect to Washburn, but when a big guy can foul you out in seven minutes, that’s not exactly Blake Griffin we’re going against.”

Freshman Marcus Morris had two points and one rebound while fouling out in just seven minutes.

Yes, that classifies as being “humbled,” Morris admitted good-naturedly before Thursday’s practice in Allen Fieldhouse.

“I fouled out in seven minutes. That might be a record for any college basketball player,” Morris said. “I don’t want to watch the tape … but I do want to watch it to see what I did wrong as far as hedging screens and defensively.”

Marcus Morris – a 6-foot-8 small forward who prepped with his 6-9 brother Markieff (five points, five boards, three fouls, 14 minutes) at APEX Academies in New Jersey last season – pinpointed some things he did wrong in his major-college debut.

“I was still thinking I was in high school,” Marcus Morris said. “I was playing a little too physical. I put my hands on them a little too much. You’ve got to play the right way. It’s a lot different from high school.

“You always have to keep your head on the swivel and always have to keep your eyes on the ball,” he added. “In high school they (opponents) are not really as talented or fundamentally sound. You don’t have to focus on the ball every time out. I have to learn at practice. It’s what practice is for.”

Self – he said he “warned the guys” about early foul trouble – said he’d have the newcomers’ attention after the opener.

“I think that’s good for him to be honest with you,” Self said of Marcus Morris. “He’ll know now the importance of doing things the way we tell him to do them as opposed to doing the things he wants to do. That’s just youth.

“Marcus could be a terrific defender,” Self added. “You could look at me at the end of the season and make a case he could be our best defender from a physical standpoint. The other night he looked like he wasn’t near that.”

Self admitted to making an error of his own in the Washburn game.

“I still can’t get them right. I chewed ‘Kieff the other night for not blocking out. He let me chew on him for 30 seconds, then Marcus said, ‘No coach it was me. It wasn’t him.’ I lost my point completely,” Self said after misidentifying the twins who are identical except for the one inch in height.

Marcus gladly stepped in to accept the blame – to take one for his brother and best friend.

“I missed a rebound at the beginning of the game. Coach said, ‘Kieff, you’ve got to box out.’ I looked at him and said, ‘That was me, coach.’ He said, ‘Oh well YOU’VE got to box out.’ I started laughing,” Marcus said.

“In practice he calls me ‘Kieff all the time. I try to wear long shirts so coach can know who I am. It’ll be a long process before he gets it right.”

Self is not the only person who can’t tell the Morris twins apart.

“Back in high school the refs had a problem. They used to give me my brother’s fouls,” Marcus said. “In a playoff game I had four fouls and ‘Kieff fouled. I was all the way backcourt. They called it on me. I had to sit down. After the game I talked to the ref and he said he was wrong. We still won the game.”

Self, who said he’s enjoyed his first few weeks coaching the Morrises, has one wish for coming weeks and months.

“I think they will get to the point where they hold each other accountable,” he said. “I think they are good for each other. They look out for each other. I don’t see them getting on each other a lot. I think it’ll be good for both of them as they get comfortable doing that.

“Since they’ve been playing, everything has been catered to them. It’s not going to be the case now. Even though they can play a huge part of everything, we are not designing everything we do around any individuals. They don’t think that, but still I think it’s how it’s been. It’s a learning process to go through.”

Marcus vows to play better his next game – Tuesday versus Emporia State.

“I will play a lot harder. I know I’ll keep my hands to myself and be disciplined on defense and focus on defense a lot more than I did,” Marcus said.

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Q plays well: Self said Quintrell Thomas (10 points, six boards) impressed him the most of any newcomer versus Washburn. He said Thomas graded out fifth of the five freshmen “in practice up until that point. It looked like he had really taken practice and translated it into the game better than the other guys had.”

Self said his young players “have got ‘A.D.D.’ on the court from time to time, just staying focused. We can have the best intentions and lose focus easy if something bad happens.”

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Fundraising: Self said new staff member Barry Hinson would help with fundraising to pay for renovations to Allen Fieldhouse, the new practice facility and improvements to Horejsi Center. Former players could be contacted for donations.

“Absolutely. We’ve got some former players making pretty good money,” Self said. “You guys can see it’s a demolition area out here and that’s not all paid for yet. We still need to raise quite a bit of funds. (When everything is finished) it’ll be the coolest place in the country I really believe from a facility standpoint.”