Cole Aldrich stood in the southwest tunnel of Allen Fieldhouse, a smile creasing his face as he watched his Minnesota Magic Elite teammates file onto the same court that in a year he’ll be calling his own.

“Home, sweet home, that’s all I’ve got to say,” Aldrich, a 6-foot-11, 260-pound junior from Bloomington (Minn.) Jefferson High, said.

The future Kansas University center’s AAU team is in town for this weekend’s Jayhawk Invitational.

“It’s a great honor to have people come here to see me play,” Aldrich said, impressed that a crowd of about 1,000 fans turned out for the Magic’s 58-51 loss Friday to Kansas City Pump N Run. “On Friday night, people like to eat or go to the movies. They came here and said, ‘I get to see what I expect to see in a few years.’ I love the support. I can’t thank them enough to take time out of their lives to watch some ball.”

Playing with what Aldrich before the game explained was a right foot injury, the big man scored just four points off 2-of-7 shooting with six rebounds and four fouls.

He grimaced both on the court and on the bench, obviously in discomfort.

“My foot hurts. I don’t know what exactly I did to it,” said Aldrich, who last month played in the Albert Schweitzer Games in Germany, in which his U.S. youth team placed seventh of 16 teams, winning three of six games.

“The push-off is kind of sore,” noted Aldrich, who was bothered by a stress fracture in his fibula the second half of last prep season.

KC Pump and Run's Lamont Austin, left, battles Minnesota Magic Elite's Alex Rubin's for a loose ball during second half action. Both teams competed in during the first day of the Jayhawk Invitational Basketball Tournament at Allen Fieldhouse.

Aldrich averaged 16.5 points, 13 rebounds and 3.0 blocks a game at 18-8 Jefferson High.

He said he was pleased to be playing AAU ball in Lawrence for a second straight year.

“It’s definitely exciting,” he said. “Some of the kids on our team will never play on a large-venue court like this. There’s great excitement for them and myself. For the kids who won’t go play someplace, then can say when they are 50-years-old, ‘I played at Allen Fieldhouse.”’

Aldrich, who orally committed to KU over North Carolina and Minnesota back on Nov. 2, said he was happy he made his decision so early in his junior school year.

“I love being free, just playing ball and have everything loose,” Aldrich said. “I don’t have to worry about what I like about this school or that school. I narrowed everything down to the three schools I really liked. The other ones I didn’t feel were my place. This felt like home. It’s like the school I dreamed of as a kid. It fits all of my dreams in a school.”

Aldrich was pleased to hear this week that 6-9 Dallas senior prep Darrell Arthur signed with KU.

“I talked to him at Midnight Madness,” Aldrich said. “I saw inside information on the Internet saying he was not going to KU. I still had a little hope. Coach Dooley (Joe, KU assistant) ‘texted’ me after noon, (saying) ‘He’s coming.’ I said, ‘Wow.’ It’s great. Coach (Bill) Self is getting All-American kids who want the title.”

Aldrich, whose Magic team plays at 10:20 a.m. today at Robinson Center and 1:50 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse, plans to return to Lawrence at least one more time – to enjoy his official visit – his senior year.

“I’ll be back for my 50th time,” he quipped. “Like I said the last time I came here, it always gets better each time. This is my sixth or seventh trip here. I’ve lost count. I can’t count on one hand any more. I’ve got to go to my toes next year.”

Minnesota Elite Magic player Cole Aldrich is swarmed by three KC Pump and Run defenders during the second half. Aldrich and many other top recruits played during the first day of the Jayhawk Invitational Basketball Tournament.

The winning Pump N Run team featured three players who are considering KU.

Conner Teahan, a 6-5 junior football and basketball standout from Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst, hit five threes and scored 23 points. Tyrel Reed, a 6-3 junior from Burlington, hit four threes and scored 16 points. Travis Releford, a 6-5 sophomore from Roeland Park Miege who has missed a month or more of basketball because of a dislocated ankle, scored two points – a high flying dunk – in limited duty.

Teahan, who said he would play just one yet-to-be-determined sport in college, recently met with Self on an in-school visit.

“It was a huge surprise,” said Teahan, Missouri’s Gatorade player of the year. “I heard KU would come by, but I didn’t know it’d be coach Self. Everybody in the school was excited. KU is looking at me, (but) I don’t know the interest. I would definitely play at KU.”

A quarterback in football, Teahan has received heavy interest from Arizona State.

“I’ll play the sport in which the biggest schools offer and gives me the best chance to pursue opportunities after college,” Teahan said.

Unlike Releford and Aldrich, Teahan was playing at 100 percent on Friday.

“It looked like he was hurt, his facial expressions,” Teahan said of Aldrich. “I can see why KU recruited him. He has pure size and moves well.”

Pump N Run will play today at 10:20 a.m. at Robinson and 1:50 p.m. in Allen. Brackets are available at sport2sport.com.