Jayhawks arrive in San Diego with 'big time' feel & mindset

San Diego — The Kansas men's basketball team, seeded 4th in the East region in this year's NCAA Tournament, went about as far west as they could on Wednesday to begin their final preparations for this week's start of the Big Dance.

The Jayhawks (23-10) lifted and practiced back home in Lawrence on Wednesday morning and then made the trip to Southern California, where they hope to stay for the rest of the week.

Kansas will take on 13th-seeded Cal-Baptist at 8:45 p.m. (central) on Friday night, with the winner advancing to Sunday's second round, where they'll meet the winner of the 5-12 matchup between St. John's and Northern Iowa.

San Diego is a little more distant than most of the Jayhawks' early-round destinations in recent years, but KU coach Bill Self said the extra travel came with its own set of perks.

For starters, Self said that coming to a place like San Diego in and of itself just feels "big time."

The police escort. The fan fare at the hotel upon arrival. The special "little things" that make all the difference, like a welcome meal on a rooftop overlooking a swimming pool a few hundred yards from San Diego Bay.

While that's the norm for Kansas basketball, for most of these guys — certainly KU's core — it was a brand new experience.

"Guys had never seen that," Self said at the team hotel about an hour after the Jayhawks' arrival. "It gives the appearance of big time. ... It just feels different. So, I think the guys will be excited."

Some of it — that, oh-wow-we're-really-here feeling — Self said, is about the extra stuff around the tournament. But he hopes that the vibe will correlate to how they play on the floor when the games get going.

"We do it as adults, too," he said. "We think we know and we have no clue."

He gave the example of watching The Masters golf tournament on television for years and thinking that it can't be much more hilly or crazy or cool when you're actually walking the grounds. And then you do it and it blows your mind and far exceeds your expectations.

"I think the NCAA Tournament's like that," he said.

There's still a lot of work to be done before Friday's opener. And the Jayhawks' work began in earnest during the load-in to the team hotel. In addition to bags and equipment, managers and staff members carried a few massive boxes that housed huge televisions for scouting and film-watching purposes.

On Thursday, they'll head to Viejas Arena on the campus of San Diego State University to get their first look at the gym and have an open practice on the floor while also doing their media obligations ahead of the Round 1 battle with the Lancers.

From there, it's on to Friday's wait for one of the last games of the opening round. No matter when they tip or how long they have to wait, Self said all of the build up — both on Wednesday and Thursday and throughout the season — was absolutely worth it.

"If it wasn't for this, this would still be fun," he said of coaching and leading a college basketball program. "But this (the NCAA Tournament) is the little kid Christmas morning. It's great."

— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com