There is a strong possibility Moulaye Niang has played his last basketball game at Kansas University.

Niang, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound sophomore center from Senegal, Africa, who has been the subject of transfer rumors, reportedly has spoken with KU coach Bill Self about moving on.

Niang likely would make the move to another school in the hope of securing more playing time during his junior and senior years of college.

Self and Niang are slated to meet for the second time in a week today, with an announcement on Niang’s future forthcoming if the player elects to transfer.

Self on Sunday would “neither confirm or deny” rumors that Niang had asked for his release from his letter of intent.

“We talked before we went to the Final Four, and we will visit again Monday,” said Self, who returned Sunday night from San Antonio.

“He threw some different scenarios out there. He was going to think about some things, and we were to visit again Monday.”

Niang, who logged just 128 minutes while playing in 27 of KU’s 33 games, said during the NCAA Tournament he had had some internal struggles over the lack of playing time.

“It’s been tough,” Niang told the Journal-World, “but it’s coach’s decision. He puts in whoever he thinks can help the team the most. I can’t be mad at him. I have to prove he can trust me.”

Niang made five of 22 shots this season.

Asked if he would be playing at a school besides KU next year, Niang said: “I’m not thinking about that at all. After the season, whatever happens, happens.”

Niang’s high school coach declined comment on the situation but acknowledged that he and Niang had spoken since the season ended.

Bio: Moulaye Niang

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Hairston update: If Niang departed, KU’s scholarship total would drop to 12, one under the limit of 13.

The Jayhawks are a finalist for Malik Hairston, a 6-6 high school senior guard/forward from Detroit, who scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in the USA’s 99-79 victory over a World Select team at the Hoops Summit on Sunday in San Antonio.

After the game, Hairston told theinsiders.com analyst Dave Telep he had sliced his list to three but wouldn’t reveal the three. Hairston has had KU, UCLA, Ohio State and Michigan on his list the past several months.

“It’s one school one day, a different school the next,” Hairston said.

Jordan Farmar, a UCLA signee from Woodland Hills, Calif., and a friend of Hairston’s, told rivals.com he has been working hard at convincing Hairston to go to college in L.A.

“He is probably my best friend on the circuit,” Farmar said. “I have been telling him that I want to play with him. UCLA is a good situation with lots of talent coming in, a great coach, in a great place, with good academics, and lots of networking possibilities being in L.A.”

The month-long late signing period starts April 14.

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Surgeries successful: Keith Langford had surgery to repair cartilage damage in his right knee last week, and J.R. Giddens had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. Both procedures were deemed successful.

The two Jayhawks are facing 12-week rehab, putting them back on the court in June.

Langford had a large piece of cartilage chipped off his knee during the KU-Oklahoma game. The surgery cleaned up the knee and repaired the damage. Giddens had the same surgery as he had last summer, inserting a screw in his fifth metatarsal.

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Georgia Tech dandy: Self, who attended meetings and did some TV work for CBS, didn’t stick around in San Antonio for tonight’s Connecticut-Georgia Tech final.

He watched his alma mater, Oklahoma State, drop a narrow, 67-65, decision to Georgia Tech in the national semifinals Saturday. KU fell to Georgia Tech, 79-71, in overtime in the Elite Eight.

“I do,” Self said, asked if he felt bad for OSU and veteran coach Eddie Sutton, one of his mentors. “I also think Georgia Tech is really good.

“The games totally mirrored each other. Each (KU and OSU) were behind 2-6 (points) the whole game, would make a play, and Tech had an answer. They came back and tied it at 65. We tied it at 66, if I’m not mistaken (in regulation).

“It was a very interesting game, just like ours.”

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Self on CBS: Self reflected on getting some national exposure during the Final Four pregame show on CBS.

“(Wake Forest coach) Skip Prosser and I broke down a play,” Self explained, noting he wasn’t sure if the exposure would help recruiting.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t hurt,” the coach said.

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Lobby talk: The lobby of the coaches’ hotel — the Hyatt Regency — at the Final Four usually is full of autograph seekers, who rarely get a chance to view the country’s high-profile mentors in one spot.

“With the recruiting rules, this is the only time guys get to see each other,” Wyoming coach Dave McClain told Keith Whitmire of the Dallas Morning News. “You get to hang out.”

KU’s Self spent a lot of time in the lobby shaking hands.

“This lobby, maybe because of the size, doesn’t seem quite as intense as in other years,” Self told the Morning News. “Some years you have people wall-to-wall.”