photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas Director of Scouting Brennan Bechard hits a half-court shot during Late Night in the Phog at Allen Fieldhouse Friday, Oct. 18, 2024 in Lawrence.

Kansas coach Bill Self may not have in fact, as he jokingly suggested he had on Wednesday, “laid awake sleepless many nights worrying” about the artists KU does or does not select for Late Night in the Phog.

But now that KU has decided not to bring in a featured performer for Friday’s edition of Late Night, the 41st annual, Self actually expressed his support for the “dueling DJs” that will instead cap off the event as part of the so-called Late Night After Party.

“No matter what genre you like or what is a hip thing to play, you’re actually going to get that,” Self said on Wednesday. “I think it’ll be a fun night.”

As usual, Late Night, which begins at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, could indeed provide a fun night for anyone looking to get a preview of the KU men’s and women’s basketball teams, which will each take part in short scrimmages and a variety of dances and sketches over the course of the night.

It will also create an excellent opportunity for the new Jayhawks — of which there are quite a few on the men’s side this season — to experience a packed Allen Fieldhouse.

For senior transfer Tre White, who initially committed to KU entering his sophomore year of high school, only to decommit and embark on a long and winding path through college basketball that included three other power-conference programs, it will be a “surreal” moment many years in the making.

“As a sophomore when I committed, I was supposed to come to Late Night for my first time, but I had a high school camp or something like that so I kind of missed it,” White said. “But for me, full-circle moment. Coming back to it, I kind of still feel like the same little kid. You know, hearing the sold-out arena, hearing everybody cheering, the packed-out crowd, all the vets coming up to watch the game, stuff like that, I got that same feeling of excitement.”

Granted, some of the Jayhawks have been to Allen Fieldhouse as spectators for games or even Late Nights in the past.

“I told them that will be different when they will be the one playing,” said sophomore Flory Bidunga, one of precious few returning Jayhawks on this year’s roster. “So I can’t wait for them to experience it.”

Graduate student guard Nginyu Ngala, a college-basketball veteran who joins KU after playing at the university level in Canada, said he “can’t wait.”

“I know it’s going to be an experience, and I can’t wait to get the ball going, and tip off, and see the fans and just the excitement to be honest,” Ngala said.

As much as the current players are looking forward to Friday, Self reiterated for the second straight year that Late Night is not as much of a recruiting tool as it once was. He said KU has one official visit scheduled. (Luke Barnett, a shooting guard from Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California, is expected to visit for Late Night, according to multiple reports.)

“It seemed like in the past we had one recruiting weekend to really bring guys in and showcase our players,” Self said, “and now (with) the energy at the football stadium and all that other stuff going on, now I feel like it’s not so important to have it all that one weekend.”

As Self noted (without referencing players by name), KU already has four commitments. Indeed, it recently locked down guard Taylen Kinney, wing Trent Perry and center Davion Adkins for 2026, and wing Javon Bardwell, a 2027 commitment, is a reclassification candidate.