Kansas guard Tristan Enaruna (13) turns for a bucket over the Texas Tech defense during the first half, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Although his playing time and numbers have remained low, Kansas freshman Tristan Enaruna continues to hold himself to a high standard each time he steps on the court.

“For me, it’s (been) pretty good,” Enaruna said after playing 15 minutes in a recent win at Oklahoma State, while teammates David McCormack and Silvio De Sousa served suspensions. “I mean, however many minutes I get, I just try to come out and give the guys something. Whether that’s giving the guys a break or getting points or rebounds or steals, I’m just out there trying to do whatever I can to make my minutes worth it.”

Early on, it looked like the 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward from the Netherlands might have a much bigger role on this year’s team.

During the first 11 games of the season, Enaruna averaged 16.8 minutes per outing and topped 20 minutes in a game on three different occasions.

In the 11 games since then, the reserve wing has played just 7.6 minutes per game as the Jayhawks’ competition has intensified and teammate Christian Braun has logged more minutes.

Despite that, Enaruna said he is always searching for any way, big or small, that he can help his team win.

“No matter what the situation is, the most important thing is not to make any excuses,” Enaruna said. “We just have to keep doing what we always do, no matter who’s on the court or who we’ve got or who we don’t have.”

Called “casual” by KU coach Bill Self and a few teammates throughout the early portion of the season, Enaruna’s biggest challenge thus far has been finding a way to match his intensity to what’s required in a given game.

Enaruna has had a front-row seat to watch fellow freshman Braun as he has surged into a starting role. Braun pushed his minutes per game average from 10.8 during the first 11 games of the season to 24.8 during the past 11 — including a string of three consecutive games of 31 minutes or more.

“I’m not surprised,” Enaruna said of Braun’s mindset. “It’s just aggressiveness and he’s getting comfortable with it. … We know he plays like that, and I know he can do that. He showed us that a lot of times in practice.”

Enaruna flashes the same aggressiveness at times, particularly on the offensive end while driving to the rim. But he’s still getting comfortable both with his role and the college game.

He said he’s thrilled to have the continued encouragement of Self and the coaching staff when he is called into action.

“Coach just tells us whenever we’re open we’ve got to shoot it,” Enaruna said. “He teaches us not to hesitate if we get shots.”

Through the first 22 games of his Kansas career, Enaruna is averaging 3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game, while shooting 36% from the floor and 28% from 3-point range. His 10 blocks rank third on the team and his 18 assists rank fifth.

Enaruna and the Jayhawks will return to action at 11 a.m. Saturday at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.