They knew about the fan adoration, the opportunity to win accolades and the joy of playing their home games in one of the best venues in all of sports, but KU newcomers Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. never quite expected this.
Yet there they were, last summer, in the earliest days of their time as Jayhawks already hearing from some of the best players to ever play at KU before them.
Paul Pierce. Nick Collison. Thomas Robinson. Mario Chalmers. Marcus and Markieff Morris. And a couple dozen others. All of them came through Lawrence at one point during the past 10 months. Like they always do.
Only, this time, for guys like Council and White — the new guard of Kansas basketball — the interaction with guys like that and seeing them around every day was something new.
Council remembers one of his first such encounters like it was yesterday. He received a text message from KU legend and 2008 national champion Mario Chalmers, and the first thing that went through his mind was simple.
“You know, Mario Chalmers played with LeBron James and won rings with the Miami Heat,” Council recalled thinking during a recent interview with R1S1 Sports. “So, when I got his number I was shocked.”
For his part, Chalmers said it was important to reach out to the new guys early and often because of the impact he knew it could make. This wasn’t an ego thing. Far from it. Instead, it was more of a payback moment for the Jayhawk who, in 2008, hit the biggest shot in Kansas basketball history.
“I actually reached out to him,” Chalmers told R1S1 Sports at the Big 12 tournament last week in Kansas City. “It’s a brotherhood here. That’s one thing about KU. When I was here, I was getting texts from Aaron Miles, Mike Lee and all those guys. So, we still support these guys no matter what’s going on, always trying to give them some love and give them knowledge.”
At left, Melvin Council Jr. celebrates with fans after KU's home win over Houston; at right, senior forward Tre White warms up before a recent Kansas home game at Allen Fieldhouse. [Kansas Athletics photo]
Both Council and White said they expected to be embraced whole-heartedly by the current KU family. Coaches, players, staff members and even returning players who have been on campus.
But for that kind of hug to come from some true KU legends took this to a whole different level. For one, they thought each meeting was way cool. For two, it quickly allowed them to gain a better understanding of why Kansas basketball is what it is and has had the run of success it has had.
People care. Not just the fans and not just the players and coaches. But the alums, whether they spent five or six years in crimson and blue or merely passed through. Once you bring your bags to Lawrence, Kansas and suit up in KU gear, you’re forever a part of it.
“I can’t even count the number of former players we’ve met this year,” White told R1S1 Sports last week, noting that his bond with the twins, T-Rob and Mario Little has been most valuable for him. “It’s just like somebody new coming every week. And that started the first day in the summer.”
White continued: “With some of the schools I’ve been around, the old guys don’t pull up a lot. But for these guys to come practice against us and give us games and advice all the time, it’s definitely a blessing and something different that I haven’t experienced before.”
Chalmers and Council kept their line of communication open throughout the season. A text here, words of advice there.
One of the most memorable stretches, Chalmers said, came right before KU traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on NC State. His messages were short and sweet — “You’re here for a reason,” he recalled telling Council in an attempt to boost his confidence. “Just go play your game.”
A day or two later, Council helped Kansas knock off the Wolfpack by hitting nine 3-pointers and scoring 36 points in a 77-76 overtime victory in mid-December.
There it was again. That Chalmers touch.
“Mel’s a great player,” Chalmers added. “He’s a big piece of the team and I just see little things that he can build on and keep being confident about, things that a coach will always tell you but you might need to hear from a peer to really understand.”
Council said former KU point guard Tyshawn Taylor, to whom many fans and analysts have compared him, also has had a big impact on his time at Kansas, with the twins, Little and T-Rob also showing him plenty of love, as well.
Like White, Council said he had no idea how many former KU players he has met during his year with the Jayhawks. But it easily approaches 30 or more, with some guys, like Wayne Simien, Tyrel Reed and Sherron Collins, being around pretty regularly and others popping in and out.
All of them, even KU and Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce who came through for the first time in more than 15 years to watch KU beat BYU, made it clear to these new guys that they’re now a part of the most historic college basketball experience in history.
“They’ve made me feel like my St. Bonaventure family made me feel and that’s meant a lot,” Council said of his former school, where he spent the 2024-25 season before coming to KU. “They welcomed me with open arms and I can’t thank them enough.”
For Chalmers, who is in the process of finishing his degree at KU so he can call himself a Kansas graduate, the whole season has been a fulfilling full-circle moment.
“You really don’t fully get it until you’re in that position,” Chalmers said. “And then it’s like, ‘Wow, that’s what it means to be a part of KU basketball.’ I understand being in those shoes and hearing from everybody. It’s great.”
White might be ahead of the curve when it comes to that feeling, because he said recently that the mere experience of being around these former KU greats, getting to know them and feeling the love has made it a no-brainer for him to one day follow in their footsteps in that way, as well.
“For sure,” he said. “Even outside of basketball. It’s just some place you can kind of relate to and connect with and call home. Definitely little thoughts like that. I try to stay in the present and take the advice they’re giving me, but you think about coming back one day just because you’re looking at it. And I definitely want to be a part of it.”
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