Bill Self stayed up until 4 a.m. Wednesday, channel surfing while checking out early morning election coverage on all the major television networks.

“I thought it was compelling,” Self, Kansas University’s basketball coach, said of the battle between incumbent President George Bush and challenger John Kerry.

Just as compelling in the local sports world is the battle for the fifth spot in KU’s starting lineup — currently a toss-up between walk-on Christian Moody and freshmen Sasha Kaun, Darnell Jackson and C.J. Giles.

The only vote that counts in that competition, of course, belongs to Self — who said he was far from declaring a winner.

“They have all showed flashes of doing great,” Self said. “They are all talented in their own way. Nobody has consistently outplayed anybody. Whether that’s good or not, I don’t know. I anticipate all playing some now. If we get hung up on who’s starting … I can’t tell you who that is now.”

That includes the regular season and Sunday’s 7 p.m. exhibition opener against Emporia State.

“That’ll be based on performance to date,” Self said of Sunday’s lineup. “What we think our starters will be in games may be different than Sunday. Don’t read into it too much (Sunday). Some guys haven’t practiced as much, being injured or whatever. I don’t think you start a guy if he hasn’t practiced much. We’ll see how it plays out health-wise this week.”

Of the big guys, Giles was slowed last week by shin splints, while Jackson is bouncing back nicely from his recent bout with walking pneumonia. The team’s fifth big man, Moulaye Niang, has missed several practices because of a right ankle sprain.

“Christian is our best perimeter defender. He understands what we’re doing better than the other three,” Self said. “Unfortunately, he’s the smallest, which forces Wayne (Simien) to defend the five (center).

“Sasha is the best rebounder in traffic. Darnell is our best passer. Without question, C.J. is our best shot-maker/shot-blocker. Sasha has been the most consistent of the three freshmen big guys, but he’s also been the healthiest too.”

The big man battle has been a healthy one.

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“We’re all working hard. We’ll compete until the last practice,” Giles said.

Kaun has been a “sponge” at practice, soaking in all the information.

“For me, it’s to help the team any way I can, whether starting or not,” Kaun said. “We’re all going as hard as we can. We are so different from each other, but we have the same goal to help the team win.”

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Bahe to play this season: Sophomore Nick Bahe will not red-shirt this season.

“I talked to coach Self and my parents. I am going to play for sure,” said Bahe, a 6-3 guard from Lincoln, Neb.

“We all feel it’s a better situation to play this year. With the makeup of the team, I feel it’s got ‘special year’ written all over it. I’d love to be part of it in any way I can. I definitely want to be part of it.”

Bahe was asked if it was a tough decision. “Yes and no,” he said. “When you are dealing with your college basketball career, anything is a big deal. From a standpoint of it being a special year, playing with four seniors like that, it’s really exciting to be part of it.”

Self has praised Bahe’s effort.

“I’d say he’s certainly been one of our better performers in practice so far. I have confidence in him,” Self said.

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Galindo makes debut: Freshman guard Alex Galindo, who has been out all preseason because of a groin pull, practiced Wednesday. He even ran sprints after KU’s two-hour workout.

“It’s not 100 percent, but it feels a lot better,” Galindo said, noting the key to recovery had been “stretching and treatment.”

He has tried to study practices closely as to not fall too far behind. “I’ve seen tapes of practice. I know the offense. I’ve just got to be in it so I can learn it more,” said Galindo.

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Robinson’s digits sore: Freshman Russell Robinson has practiced with a sprained right index finger and jammed left thumb.

“It hasn’t changed my shot at all, just made it more painful when I catch the ball in a certain way,” said Robinson, a right-handed shooter. “I’m just trying to work through it and play through it. It’s pretty painful especially sometimes when I catch a pass or the ball comes off the dribble wrong, but I’ve experienced it before, and all I can do is play through it.”

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Niang limping: Niang spent time on the stationary bike again Wednesday at practice.

“I rolled it. I’ve been trying to work through it,” Niang said of his ankle. “I keep re-injuring it. It’s frustrating. I want to be out there improving and helping the team.”

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Election night: Moody, KU’s junior forward from Asheville, N.C., voted Tuesday, but didn’t stay up too late to watch the results come in.

“I went to bed about midnight,” he said. “My friends said they were going to stay up all night. I figured they’d come up with the conclusion in the morning.”

Niang, a junior from Senegal not allowed to vote in the U.S. elections, watched the coverage until 11:30 p.m.

“I thought it was really interesting,” he said.

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ESU’s slate: Emporia State will receive guarantee money of $20,000 for playing KU. The Hornets play Gonzaga on Friday and Wichita State on Tuesday.

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Practices not half bad: Taskmaster Self says the preseason has gone pretty well. “I’d say if I had to grade practices, I’d give us a B. We’ve had some A practices, also had borderline failing practices, too,” he said.