Kansas forward Perry Ellis (34) maneuvers away from UC Irvine center Mamadou Ndiaye (34) for a shot during the second half, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

In late November, on a small patch of grass in the middle of paradise, Kansas University basketball legend and current Wake Forest coach Danny Manning entertained questions about the possibility of coaching against his alma mater in the 2015 Maui Invitational.

It never happened, of course, as Manning’s Wake Forest squad — which, by the way, is off to a 9-3 start — fell to Vanderbilt in the Maui semis, and KU went on to knock off Vandy in the title game.

That didn’t stop Manning from sizing up the 2015-16 Jayhawks, the fourth team fielded by Bill Self since Manning left Kansas as an assistant coach following the run to the 2012 national title game.

Manning offered insight on everything from Kansas’ fast pace and individual talent to the Jayhawks’ guard play and the joy it brings to see his son, Evan, play at his alma mater as a senior reserve.

The former No. 1 overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft heaped praise on junior point guard Frank Mason III, sophomore Devonté Graham and junior wing Wayne Selden Jr., but saved his kindest comments for a player with whom he has more than a little in common.

“I think Perry is very underrated,” Manning said of KU senior Perry Ellis. “He can leave Kansas as one of the top-five leading rebounders and scorers in school history. That is real good.”

While Ellis could reach such heights by the end of the 2015-16 season, it would take a monster year to get there, and top 10 seems more reachable.

He entered the season ranked 24th with 612 career rebounds and 38th with 1,157 points. That left him 322 boards shy of passing Eric Chenowith for fifth place and 732 points from passing Sherron Collins for fifth on the scoring list.

During KU’s 11-1 start, Ellis has scored 181 points and grabbed 74 rebounds. Projecting those numbers out over the final two-thirds of the season gives Ellis 222 rebounds and 543 points during his final season as a Jayhawk.

He’d need to top those totals by 11 boards and 54 points — in the final 21-27 games — to crack the top 10 in both categories.

Whether Ellis lands in the top five, top 10 or top 20, Manning’s feelings about the Wichita native won’t change. Although he never coached Ellis at Kansas, Manning was in on the initial stages of recruiting him and said he could tell early that Ellis had a bright future as a Jayhawk.

“I think his mindset is one thing that gives him a chance to have a lot of success, because he’s so even-keeled,” Manning said. “Whenever somebody gets to their senior year, you see how they’ve evolved, not only on the court but as a young man. And what he’s done is pretty cool.”

Asked to elaborate on the aspects of Ellis’ game he liked the most, Manning had trouble limiting the list.

“He’s a smart young man. He’s very calculated at understanding what he needs to do out there on the court,” Manning said. “And, like a lot of talented guys that come in their freshman year, you want to fit in, and I think he’s starting to do a really good job of starting to assert himself, especially down the stretch last year.”

So far this season, Ellis’ play has resembled his past three years. Spurts of brilliance followed by moments of disappearance have urged Self to call for Ellis to be more aggressive. Lately, the plea appears to be working.

In KU’s three most recent games, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound senior has averaged 17 points and seven rebounds in wins over Montana, San Diego State and UC Irvine. What’s more, Ellis in recent weeks has emphasized getting to the free-throw line, where he has missed just once (21-for-22) in the past four games.

“He’s always been very athletic,” said Manning, noting Ellis’ leaner look in 2015. “But I think he’s a little bit more sure of himself in contact now. He’s seeking out contact more. … He gives coach Self a chance to do some things with his versatility, because he’s quick enough to slide against guards, and he handles it well enough that you can put him on the perimeter and do some different things that coach hasn’t been able to do the last couple years.”

Regardless of where Ellis ends up in the KU record book, Manning said the senior forward was worthy of owning a place in the storied history of Kansas basketball.

“Absolutely,” Manning said. “No question. I’m happy for him and hopefully he goes out with a bang this year.”