Carlton Bragg and Landen Lucas were living proof, and the two Kansas big men confirmed that everyone else on the team survived, as well.

Early Monday, Jayhawks old and young ran through the first day of Bill Self’s annual Boot Camp, a two-week conditioning adventure that tests the mind as much as the body and often is particularly difficult for newcomers.

According to Lucas, a fifth-year senior who has been through several of these, Day 1 was a success on a lot of levels, but the KU forward believes that better days are ahead the rest of the week now that the anticipation is behind them.

“As far as getting through the conditioning, they did a good job,” said Lucas when asked about how the freshmen and other newcomers performed during their first stab at the annual event. “They handled that well. We’ve gotta pick up the drills a little faster. I know it’s early in the morning, but, other than that, I think we’ll be OK, especially tomorrow once everybody gets back out there and isn’t so worried about what’s to come.”

Lucas, who now is considered one of the old men on this team, said he couldn’t help but be amused by the fact that he was on the other side of the coin this year and added that he remembered his first encounters with Boot Camp very well.

“It’s funny seeing it from a different perspective because you were once thinking the same things I’m sure they were thinking,” he said. “But hopefully they understand that this is an important time of the year and this is a step in a bigger picture and just kind of look at it that way. It’ll go by pretty easy if you do that.”