Kansas University forward Mario Little, right, rises up for a jumper as assistant coach Joe Dooley looks on during Bill Self’s basketball camp on Monday at Horejsi Center.

Mario Little pulls up for a jumper during Bill Self’s basketball camp on Monday at Horejsi Center.

Mario Little has been seen wearing some new sports attire the past couple weeks: Chicago Blackhawks style.

“I am a bandwagon jumper. I’ve always been a Bulls fan, but I always support any team from Chicago. I bought a hat and a shirt,” said Little, Kansas University’s senior forward from the Windy City.

He’s been caught up in Blackhawk fever with his hometown team one win away from drinking from the NHL’s Stanley Cup.

“Of course, I’m bragging,” he said with a smile, speaking Monday at Bill Self’s basketball camp. “I played hockey before, a long time ago. I had good grades on my report card. My uncle bought me roller blades and a hockey stick.”

Though watching more hockey than usual on TV — Game Six is Wednesday night in Philadelphia — Little has been spending most of his waking hours on basketball.

“Between my last class and now … I went home and was with my family. I worked out Mondays through Thursdays, went down to Attack (Athletics, Chicago training facility) to get a run in and play with some of those guys,” Little said.

Little, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs “between 210 and 215 now,” believes he’s thoroughly improved his game thanks to red-shirting a year — that is practicing, but not playing in games, during the 2009-10 season.

“I’m getting up and down the court faster, just playing,” said Little, who had various nagging injuries taken care of by sitting out a full season. “I have confidence in my jump shot, knocking down a three, getting to the rim, going to my right … making decisions, quicker decisions.”

KU coach Bill Self shortly after last season ended told Little it was time for the senior leader to leave the red-shirt comfort zone.

“I told him he was great at practice and all that last year, but I said, ‘Hey, we’re playing with live bullets now. If you didn’t play well in practice (last season), what’s the punishment? Now we’re playing with live bullets,”’ Self said. “He said, ‘I know, coach.”’

Little remembers the conversation well.

“I was signing balls in a meeting room. Coach said, ‘You’re going to be shooting real bullets this time,'” Little explained.

“I’m not afraid to step into that spot at all. If you really look at it, I am shooting real bullets. Now if I travel, they’re not going to keep playing (like in practice when play sometimes doesn’t stop). They’re gonna call traveling. If I make a bad defensive play, now I’ll come out.

“Coach told me that he’s going to try to put me at a lot of positions where I can be effective, like on the perimeter, which I think I should be playing way more than the last time I played,” noted Little, a transfer from Chipola (Fla.) CC, who averaged 4.7 points (off 51.2 percent shooting) and 3.2 rebounds while playing power forward his junior season.

“If I get a smaller guy on me or a slower guy, maybe I’ll take ’em down to the block maybe, down low.”

He concedes the team figures to need him more, with Xavier Henry leaving KU after one season for the NBA.

“I mean it may help me, but it kind of affects the team. We could have been better with him here, but it helps people like me, Travis (Releford), Brady (Morningstar) who are looking for minutes and the spotlight.”

Releford, a 6-5 sophomore, who also red-shirted last season, believes Little brings much to the table.

“Taking this year off and being on the same team at practice, seeing his improvement on his ballhandling and jump shooting … he’s going to be real good,” Releford said.

His goal for KU? Same as always: Big 12 and national titles. And for the Blackhawks? “They’re gonna win it. Yeah, they’re going to win it,” he said, as he departed for a workout session in front of Self’s 800 or campers.