Kansas University big man Cole Aldrich, right, jockeys for position with Kansas State’s Wally Judge in the Jayhawks’ March 3 victory over the Wildcats.

Darnell Jackson, who definitely knows what it takes to win an NCAA basketball championship, likes the postseason potential of the 2009-10 Kansas Jayhawks.

“They’ve got the talent and they’re focused … just like we were in ’08,” said Jackson, an intense individual who helped the 2007-08 Jayhawks keep their eye on the ultimate prize in tourney victories over Portland State, UNLV, Villanova, Davidson, North Carolina and Memphis.

“Watching games, when the cameras are on them, you can see the focus,” added Jackson, second-year power forward with the Cleveland Cavaliers. “Guys have to know what they want and work hard every day to get it. Like coach (Bill Self) always says, you’ve got to come to work to get better every single day.”

Jackson — who received help in the leadership department from fellow seniors Russell Robinson and Sasha Kaun in ’08, sees a similarly intense fourth-year player steering the KU squad to greatness in the 2010 postseason.

That person is senior guard Sherron Collins, who, like junior Cole Aldrich, put his NBA dreams on hold a year in pursuit of a second NCAA championship in three seasons.

“Sherron … he knows in the back of his mind it’s coming to an end pretty soon,” said Jackson, who visited with the Jayhawks during NBA all-star weekend in February.

“When I see Sherron on the court talking to the guys, talking to Cole, guys react to him. He’s a leader. He wants it.”

Collins completed the regular season as KU’s seventh-leading scorer and seventh-leading assist man of all time. He’s also the winningest player in a four-year span (along with Brady Morningstar who red-shirted in 2007-08) in KU history.

“That’s why I came back, Cole too, to be part of something special,” Collins said of being the only KU players to win a pair of NCAA titles since the inception of postseason tourney play. KU won Helms Foundation crowns in 1922 and ’23.

Collins helps KU effectively respond to one of the big cliches regarding the postseason: that it takes top-notch guard play to win it all. Collins is known as the type of guard who wills his team to victory at the end of close contests — which comes up huge in a one-and-done setting.

“Sherron is the best, the most clutch player as far as shooting the ball of the teams we’ve had. He’s the best guard we’ve had since we’ve been here,” Self said, when asked to rate “go-to guys” in his seven-year KU tenure.

“A couple years ago it was Mario (Chalmers). He could go make plays. Sherron is a guy, moreso than Mario, you don’t have to draw anything up for him. He can go make a play. Mario made exceptional shots for us, a lot after somebody passed to him or a floater in the lane. You combine the ability to put your head down, get to the paint and to the line and on the flipside be a threat off the bounce from the perimeter, he’s the best I’ve ever coached.”

Aldrich, KU’s 6-foot-11 pivot from Bloomington, Minn., provides another experienced player who could prove so valuable in KU’s postseason run, especially on the defensive end.

Self says Aldrich, who set a single-season school record with 110 blocks in the 2009-10 regular season, is the best shot-block artist he’s ever coached.

“The best have a knack to be able to block it to an area where their teammates have a chance to go get it. Cole is well above average, well beyond his years in that area,” Self said, noting Aldrich has dominated oh, so many games on the defensive end.

“He’s altered more shots than he’s blocked,” Self said. “When the time comes and Cole is not here, we’ll miss having a guy to cover up a lot of mistakes made on the perimeter. Guys break down and we get by with it now because he can make up for it behind them.”

Aldrich loves being the last resort on defense. “If the guys get beat, I like to be there to help them out,” Aldrich said.

As strong an inside-out game that Aldrich and Collins provide, the key this postseason, as it was in 2008, could be team balance.

Remember, the ’08 team’s leading scorer was Brandon Rush, who averaged 13.3 points a game. Points in 2008 could come from a plethora of individuals. Rush, Chalmers (12.8 ppg), Darrell Arthur (12.8 ppg) and Jackson (11.2) were double-digit scorers. Collins (9.3), Russell Robinson (7.3) and Sasha Kaun (7.1) were capable of big scoring outings on a given night.

Good news for this year’s team, compared to last year’s Sweet 16 squad, which relied heavily on Collins and Aldrich, is the fact it’s not a two-man scoring load.

Collins (15.3 ppg) and Aldrich (11.3) are steady, yet there’s also Marcus Morris (12.4), Xavier Henry (13.9) and Tyshawn Taylor (7.7) ready to strike.

“Marcus is pretty good,” Self said, simply, pointing out why Collins and/or Aldrich might not put up huge numbers in certain games. “We’ve gone to Marcus more than we did last year.

“Last year, Cole got more touches because last year either Cole or Sherron shot it. The only time anybody else shot it is after those two couldn’t get a shot up. This year, it’s much more evenly balanced. I remember being asked at times, ‘What’s wrong with Rush?’ and ‘Why isn’t Chalmers doing more,’ and ‘Arthur’s in a slump.’ They really weren’t in funks as much as maybe other guys were playing better that particular game or that particular time.

“This is one thing that makes this team have a chance to be really good and hard to guard as we go forward. I don’t think it’s all bad when different players step up. It gives you confidence in certain games,” Self noted.

“Against Michigan State last year, the second half, Cole and Sherron didn’t have anything going,” Self added of a Sweet 16 loss to the Spartans. “Now we’re relying on somebody to step up (against MSU last year) that hadn’t stepped up the whole year in that capacity in that type of setting. This year, it’ll be a little bit different we hope.”

Morris, KU’s sophomore forward who has emerged as a force, admits he’s benefited from opponents focusing on Aldrich. He’s ready, willing and able to step up big-time if needed in the NCAAs.

“We’ve got guys … I don’t know how many guys have led our team in scoring this year,” said Morris, named second-team all-league. Collins and Aldrich were first-teamers.

The answer is seven players.

“Sherron and Cole are always there for us. Cole … he takes a lot of pressure off me. He’s had a lot of pressure on his shoulders being the biggest guy on the team. Teams have doubled him, they’d be stupid to not double him. He’s one of the best players in the country. When they focus on him, sometimes I’m open, sometimes Tyshawn is open. It’s worked pretty well for us this year.”

Aldrich loves the fact he and Collins enter the postseason with total trust in their teammates.

“I think our whole team has that whole feel of anybody can really lead the team in scoring,” Aldrich said. “I’ve led the team several times; others have. It’s tough for other people to have a scouting report on that. Anybody on our team can go for good numbers.”

That includes some nice complementary players who could be needed in an attempt to win six postseason games.

Brady Morningstar, who can stick the open three-pointer, is one of the top defensive players in the country capable of shutting down a high-scoring foe that otherwise might shock a No. 1 seed single-handedly. Tyrel Reed can provide instant offense from three off the bench. Markieff Morris at times can be a rebounding machine. Thomas Robinson, Elijah Johnson and Jeff Withey could have started for many teams in the league.

As far as coaching … it’s the same staff that led KU to the NCAA title in ’08.

The staff is hungry.

Remember the story about assistant Joe Dooley talking about what it’d take to repeat during the victory celebration in the wee hours of the morning in a hotel suite following the exciting ’08 title contest in San Antonio?

The bottom line is the team must roll to six victories without a hiccup, just like in ’08.

“Until we string six together like that team did, I’d have to say the ’08 team was better,” Self said. “This has been an enjoyable team to coach.

“I’m proud of these guys. We won the league by four games in a year we thought it’d be the most difficult of all (in KU’s six-year run) to win it. We had to go on the road to three of the toughest places in the south (Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State). The guys showed our staff a lot of maturity in getting the job done every night for the most part.

“There is something about this team that continues to impress our staff in that we play better when the situations are at their toughest,” Self added. “This team was able to go to win at places that (’08) team was not able to win at, against quality competition. That team was the best we’ve had since we’ve been here, but this team has a chance to get to that point. We’re just not there yet.”

He’s hoping the team plays its best ball in the NCAAs.

“We’ve still not had everybody play well on a given night,” he said. “I really think we’re capable of another gear. Hopefully that will be the case because that’s what it takes this time of year.”