Kansas freshman Josh Jackson, left, and sophomore Lagerald Vick share a laugh prior to Saturday's game against Texas Tech at Allen Fieldhouse.

You can’t really learn much about an athlete by listening to him answer questions fired at him from all directions, especially in a group session in which the next query generally has little to do with the previous response.

It’s no way to learn anything about Lagerald Vick, a long, lean, quiet, 6-foot-5 sophomore from Memphis, so I requested and was granted a one-on-one interview with him. What follows is a sampling of what he revealed about himself during our half-hour conversation.

His father, also named Lagerald Vick, was the first one to take him to the Mount Moriah outdoor basketball courts in Memphis.

Vick said he was probably 10 then and started on the pee-wee court. In time, he was introduced to more competitive games that he played alongside his father. Eventually, the younger Lagerald Vick worked his way to the green court, “where the serious games start at about 10 at night.”

Vick was the first to take his younger brother, Bo, to the Mount Moriah courts. He said he’s not exactly sure of Bo’s age.

“I have too many brothers and sisters (to keep track of their ages),” he said.

How many?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know, don’t know the number. About 18 probably, something like that, maybe more. My mom has three kids, my dad the rest.”

Bo Vick is a two-sport star, too, his older brother said, meaning football and basketball.

Lagerald attended Douglass High, came off the bench as a freshman for the basketball team and developed into a star after that. He also played quarterback and a little receiver for two seasons before concentrating on basketball. He said he ran cross country in the fall and during his freshman season ran the hurdles for the track team, but gave that up because it conflicted with AAU basketball practice times.

Vick said football coaches from mid-major colleges sent him recruiting letters and talked to him.

“I don’t know what it was that made me choose basketball,” he said. “The (college) football coaches I talked to told me I had talent, so I couldn’t go wrong either way.”

I also learned Vick has a deep appreciation for teammates whose games are more developed than his.

Vick on Josh Jackson: “He’s not a selfish player. High IQ. Just a good teammate, on and off the court.”

Vick on Frank Mason: “He’s just a dog, for real. Just a good dude on and off the court. Looks after everybody. He’s always calling, checking on me. Like for instance, if I told him I’m going to the mall or something he calls and sees if I’m there, if I made it. I respect him a lot. He’s definitely like a big brother.”

Vick on Devonte Graham: “He’s kind of the same way, just a big brother, too.”

Vick on Landen Lucas: “He’s a leader, on and off the court, especially on the court. He’s always talking to me, telling me to do the little things and the game will fall in my hands.”

As for what it’s like playing for Bill Self, Vick said, “Love it. Learned a lot since I’ve been here. Great guy. Definitely a great guy. I respect everything he’s done for me. I sat out a whole year last year. Last year was a learning year for me, just getting in those couple of minutes at the end of the game. I could still see that he wanted me to be a good player, even though there were just 30 seconds on the clock. Definitely means a lot to me.”

Vick played just 91 minutes last season, but said he, “learned a lot, still learning.”

To get out of Ames, Iowa with a victory, Kansas needed everybody to be solid because nobody was spectacular in Monday night’s 76-72 victory. Vick was rock solid, pitching in with two of the team’s three dunks, eight points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and a steal.

He said his mother and “probably a couple of my brothers,” might come in for Saturday’s game against a struggling Texas team that hasn’t figured out how to translate its impressive quickness and leaping ability into winning basketball. Vick has plenty of both qualities, plus a jumper soft enough that he’s shooting .408 from 3-point range.

As is Texas, Vick still is figuring out how to put it all together and with each performance such as Monday’s against Iowa State, he makes it a little easier to remain bullish on his future.