Here is the Cliff’s Notes version of Kansas basketball coach Bill Self’s comments from KU men’s basketball media day on Thursday.

Full audio has been posted.

• Self is surprised that KU was picked to win the conference. He joked that often he says that coaches are smarter than the media, but that might not be the case this year. Self goes into this year with tempered expectations, which he believes should be accurate. He thinks being picked to win the league is fine, and he won’t shy away from that.

• This year’s team will be different. KU won’t score a lot of points, even if it plays fast. The Jayhawks will have to be very good defensively this year. Self believes this team has the potential to be good on defense.

• Self believes Tyshawn Taylor and Travis Releford have the potential to be the top defensive players in the Big 12 at their respective positions.

• Self thinks the Big 12 is tougher because it’s round-robin. The league is going to be good. Self picked Baylor to finish first in the league and Texas A&M second in his preseason poll. If a team goes 14-4 in the conference, it will have had a great year. Self thinks 18 conference games is too many. Any coach who says differently is lying. The 18-game conference schedule makes for a harder season and limits a coach’s flexibility with scheduling in non-conference.

• Thomas Robinson is a good player. Self loves his attitude and energy. His “try” level is off the charts. He’s never carried the water before. If he didn’t play well earlier in his career, Self could put the starters back in. Robinson is going to be the first guy interviewed after every game, whether he plays well or not. That’s a different pressure.

• Self thinks Tyshawn Taylor is ready for the leadership role. Self thinks he’s going to have a great year. Tyshawn is ultra-competitive. He had a lot of success early, then labored a little later when he had expectations. Self thinks he’s matured and grown up. All indications from the coaching staff are that he’s ready to lead this year. Taylor is coaching guys as opposed to telling them what to do. He’s doing a lot of things that natural leaders do.

• Kevin Young has the potential to be a starter. He’s a hybrid player in that he can play inside and outside. He’s a little like Julian Wright in that sense. He’s a high-energy guy. He’s a great kid. He just has to get comfortable playing for KU.

• Thomas Robinson has to get into great shape. Fouling and negatives like that come from being tired. He needs to be one of the most well-conditioned players in the league. He should play between 32 and 35 minutes.

• Last year, KU didn’t protect the rim very well. Self thinks Jeff Withey has the potential to lead the Big 12 in blocked shots, if he gets enough minutes. Self never took Cole Aldrich for granted because he corrected bad defense. Withey has gained some muscle in the offseason.

• KU is still waiting for clarification from the NCAA to see if Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor can play at Late Night. They can’t practice right now, but Self just wants the two to be with their teammates. KU should find out Friday if those two can participate in Late Night. Self thinks their final status will be decided soon.

• Self thinks Releford is a perimeter guy that might allow KU to do different things. For example, there may be times when Releford can post up on a possession to allow Robinson to play on the perimeter to draw the defense away from the basket.

• Self said it’d be nice to get 20 minutes per game from Withey, because he’s going to foul. A lot of his minutes will be dependent on how well he defends. In a perfect world, he’s a 20-minute-per-game guy. The staff thinks he’s gotten a lot better. When he’s playing well, he can cause a lot of problems for the opposition.

• Elijah Johnson has a chance to blow up this year. He’s been impressive to the coaches so far. He was a kid, even in high school, who never quite put it all together. This could be the year for him to put it all together. KU expects a lot out of Johnson this year.

• Naadir Tharpe is going to play. Self says he’s going to get minutes and hopefully be very productive. Tharpe reminds Self, personality-wise and how he plays, of Aaron Miles.

• Merv Lindsay played well in some AAU events to impress KU’s coaches. Some ACC schools were on him as well. He’s a talented kid. He can shoot. Physically, he hasn’t gotten strong enough yet. He’s working hard. He’s gained a lot of good weight.

• Kevin Young is a smart kid. He wants to please. He’s like a sponge. Self wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a coach someday.