Kansas head coach Bill Self laughs with his players as they shoot the team portrait during Kansas basketball Media Day on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2014.

Kansas University’s basketball players were in no hurry to head home after Friday’s rousing three-hour practice — the first official practice of the 2014-15 season in accordance with NCAA rules.

Junior Evan Manning and freshman Devonté Graham tried a few trick shots in the Jayhawks’ practice facility adjacent to Allen Fieldhouse, while freshman Kelly Oubre Jr. chatted with coach Bill Self, who liked the enthusiasm he witnessed during workout No. 1.

“I thought it was a good first day. I thought our attitudes were great, our effort was good. We’re just so careless, but it’s the first day. They don’t know yet, so you really can’t be upset with stuff they don’t know,” 12th-year KU coach Self said.

“I thought they tried hard. I thought they were together for the most part. I thought they paid attention for the most part. I thought the guys got after it pretty good. And the young kids were coachable,” Self added.

It was the first in-season collegiate practice for freshmen Graham, Oubre, Cliff Alexander and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. The Jayhawks have been allowed to practice two hours a week since the start of first-semester classes and practiced two hours a week during both sessions of summer school in accordance with NCAA rules.

“Cliff had his best day today,” Self said of the 6-foot-8 Chicago native. “Devonté (was) solid. Kelly and Svi I think were pretty good. They weren’t great today, though. They’re going to get better. They’re thinking instead of playing. But it’s the first day of practice. I think after two weeks we’ll have a better feel for how our freshmen are picking things up. Certainly you don’t anticipate them to get everything the first day because we haven’t taught them anything yet.”

Self was asked if he felt the newcomers were especially hyped to get their careers started.

“I thought everybody was pretty hyped today. I thought the old guys were,” Self said of team upperclassmen. “I got after them pretty good the other day, and so I thought they responded well.

“We’re going to go through our ups and downs. I think when they get comfortable, it will be a fun group to coach.”

Self said he’s primed for the start of the season.

“I personally need practice to get going. I need a routine,” he said. “Recruiting is OK, and offseason is OK and all that stuff. Going around speaking and all that stuff … that’s OK, but I would much rather eliminate all that now and just focus on our team.”

Self said the Jayhawks would practice today through Monday and take a day off Tuesday. Then it’s back to practice Wednesday and Thursday, with Late Night in the Phog set for Friday.

“That will get us through Late Night and get us through all our recruiting, and we’ll see how it goes from there,” Self said.

Several of Rivals.com’s top-rated players have said they will attend KU’s Late Night. They are: No. 2-ranked Jaylen Brown, 6-7, Wheeler High, Marietta, Georgia; No. 10 Stephen Zimmerman, 7-foot, Bishop Gorman High, Las Vegas; No. 14 Carlton Bragg, 6-9, Villa Angela St. Joseph High, Cleveland; No. 18 Brandon Ingram, 6-8, Kinston (North Carolina) High; and No. 19 Tyler Dorsey, 6-4, Maranatha High, Pasadena, California.

Late Night for the second straight season is being held after a week of practice in response to the NCAA’s moving up the start of practice from the old date of Oct. 15.

Bragg down to four: Arizona has stopped recruiting Bragg, leaving him with a list of KU, Kentucky, UCLA and Illinois.

“Arizona dropped out,” Michael Graves, Bragg’s mentor, told SNY.tv and zagsblogcom. “They informed us that they love Carlton but they’re going to pursue other people.”

Bragg has scheduled visits to KU, UK (Oct. 17) and UCLA (Oct. 31). No date for a trip to Illinois has been set.

“We’re going to wait until later on in the year or after Carlton’s high school season,” Graves said of the trip to U of I.

Wing has great wingspan: Oubre, a 6-7, 200-pound guard from New Orleans, revealed this week he has a wingspan of 7-foot-2.

“God blessed me with a wingspan that wide. I use that to the best of my ability,” he said.

“It helps me dunk, I’d say,” he added, laughing. “I don’t really have to jump, even though I love to jump. It helps me defend, be a better off-ball defender and a better basketball player. I thank God for the wingspan. I’m going to use it to the best of my ability. I guess I have an advantage. We all use our talents the best way we can.”