LJWorld.com

Pittsburg State basketball coach Gene Iba’s farewell tour begins with two of the toughest tests imaginable: exhibition games at Kansas State and No. 1-ranked Kansas.

“The thing we want to accomplish from these games is to execute and have patience. If we can do that against these superior teams, it will be much easier for us to do during the regular season,” the 68-year-old outgoing PSU coach said Sunday after an 89-53 loss to K-State in Bramlage Coliseum.

The Gorillas — who at one point trailed the Wildcats by 43 points — will travel to KU on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

It’s Iba’s final trip to Allen Fieldhouse. He announced in September that this would mark his 15th and final season at Pitt State.

“What that means is Kansas State is good,” KU coach Bill Self said of Sunday’s result.

Jacob Pullen had 17 points and Curtis Kelly 11 points and 10 rebounds for K-State. Quincy Owens, a 6-8 junior from Milwaukee, had 14 and Javon McGee, a 6-5 freshman from Kansas City, seven points and seven rebounds for PSU.

The most recognizable Gorilla, of course, is Iba, who worked as a graduate assistant for his uncle — Hall of Famer Henry Iba — at Self’s alma mater, OSU.

“You talk about guys that can flat-out coach the game. He is one of those guys,” Self said of Iba, who is 252-154 at PSU and 478-357 in 29 years overall on the collegiate level.

“I guarantee you after he retires he’ll be in our gym watching us practice because he’ll certainly tell me what he thinks. He tells me that every time we play them.”

Practice, injury report: Self ran the Jayhawks through two-a-day workouts on Saturday, then awarded the players a day off Sunday.

“We got a lot of stuff in yesterday for sure,” Self said Sunday.

Freshman guard C.J. Henry did not practice Saturday. He’s still listed day-to-day because of a nagging right knee injury.

“He practiced a couple days, but it’s still bothering him,” Self said.

“The swelling keys it. He’s been dealing with quite a bit of swelling,” Self noted. “It’s one of those deals he needs reps more than anybody. But he also can’t help it if he’s not healthy. It’s a catch-22. I am concerned early on, but there is a lot of season left. He is missing the most important practice sessions. He wants to be out there badly.

“He can’t help us at 70 percent or 60 percent. It’s a tough situation for him. Hopefully we’ll get him back out there.”

Self said Brady Morningstar (right ankle sprain) should be back at practice this week. Freshman Jeff Withey (stress fracture, right knee) will “be gradually worked back in this week or next,” Self said. Both Morningstar and Withey cannot play in games until the conclusion of first semester.

Red-shirting update: Self had no news to report on the status of Mario Little, Travis Releford and Conner Teahan, who are considering red-shirting. Decisions will be made sometime before Tuesday’s tipoff. Returning players cannot compete in exhibition games if they wish to red-shirt.

— Pittstategorillas.com contributed to this report