Just a week before Late Night in the Phog, Kansas University men's basketball coach Bill Self chatted with kusports.com readers. Coach Self discussed possible redshirts, recruiting foreign players and his ideal rotation, among other topics.

Moderator: Our chat with coach Self will begin in just a few minutes. Thanks to coach and our readers for their time this morning.

Dirk - Lawrence: Coach, do you think your young big men are going to be good enough to take some of the pressure off Wayne that the other teams are going to put on him?

Coach Self: I do believe our three freshmen are going to be good enough to play next to Wayne and relieve some pressure, but regardless of who we have in there, defenses will be set up to stop Wayne first. What they need to do is be good rebounders, take pressure off him by defending the other team's best player, and other things like that to help Wayne, and I think we'll be just as good last year as our two big men - Wayne and David - were collectively.

Scott - KU Student: Coach, with all the returning talent and the freshman that we have coming in this season how are you going to keep everyone happy with playing time?

Coach Self: I think everybody's happy, I really do. I think our freshmen are really talented guys. They know they're all going to play. There will be situations where foul problems present themselves, and I think they know that. It seems to me that guys are fighting for that fifth perimeter spot if everyone is healthy, and some minutes at the sixth perimeter position. I think everyone knows we have some talented guys returning. I don't see playing time being as much of an issue as on some other teams I've had.

Randy - Kearney, Nebraska: Coach Self, which is more of a challenge - teaching an offense or teaching a defense?

Coach Self: I personally think coaching offense. It usually takes time, timing and really understanding how to play out of it, knowing where your shots come from and understanding your teammates. I've always said recruit guys who can score and we'll teach them how to guard, as opposed to great defensive players who we have to teach to score. But great teams have to do both very, very well.

Dylan - Kansas City: Awesome job recruiting coach! Will you please share some of the keys to your recruiting success?

Coach Self: Recruiting certainly is an inexact science, and so much of it is timing - is luck - but the biggest part of it when you're at the University of Kansas is product. And we're selling a fabulous product that people are interested in. And when you start looking at recruits needs and wants, can we fulfill some of those expectations. So much of it after that, comes to relationships, and do individuals have a comfort level with your staff, your players and your environment. Recruiting is never easy at any location, but it sure is nice having Kansas across your chest when you walk into their home.

David - Lawrence: Do you see Christian Moody as being an important contributor to the team this year?

Coach Self: I think Christian has to be an important contributor. We as a staff really feel Christian can be an excellent player. I see him being a guy who could fight for a starting spot, but I also see him likely as a guy who can replace Wayne and play next to Wayne at various times of the game. He can defend a perimeter 4 and a low-post 5, and I think his versatility can really help us.

George - Kansas City, KS: During recruiting, fans hear a lot of reasons of why guys chose a school over another - many times the facilities. How does Allen Field House effect your recruiting? Would you like to see any changes to AFH?

Coach Self: I'd like to see a lot of changes to the Fieldhouse, but not structurally. I just want the renovations to occur that are going to occur. The Hall of Fame will be a nice addition, and the changes to the concourse will be nice to the eye. Keeping the same look of the windows, but replacing the windows. Just making an old building look new. I also think we need a new scoreboard, which I think will occur. The key changes to Allen Fieldhouse, which is one of the great places to play or watch a game, are ones that are going to happen. But with the ongoing facilities war that's happening across the nation, we don't need to be left behind. And if we don't do some things to Allen and our facilities, people who walk in during the summer when it's empty may go somewhere else and think "Wow, this is great." We need to make Allen a little more visual when recruits are visiting.

Jim - Overland Park, KS: How will you get your players to ignore the hype and just play ball.

Coach Self: I think our players understand that there are 15 schools out there getting a lot of hype right now. I also think that having four veterans will certainly do wonders in keeping guys grounded. These guys have been around hype and played in so many important games, I think they'll be more grounded than individuals who are in this situation for the first time. As coaches it's our job to make sure they can't be caught up in anything that doesn't have to do with winning games and that is the hype that surrounds college basketball season.

Steve - Overland Park: How do you plan to use Russell Robinson this season?

Coach Self: At least on paper, he has a great chance to be our back-up point guard and a guard who's going to be on the court with Aaron sometimes. He's probably the one freshman who's performed best to date. I see him being a guy who impacts each and every game we play.

Mel Williams - Kansas City, Mo.: Will this years team be more physical than the squad you had last year? And will they push the ball on offense?

Coach Self: Of course we'll push it on offense. We have more depth, and I think we can score a little quicker. Sure, I think we'll play fast offensively. Last year we didn't play slow, we just didn't play as fast as the past two years. I hope this team is more physical. Last year our numbers defensively were great and I think we were a decent rebounding team, but I think this team has the potential to be more aggressive and play more physical and carry ourselves with more of a presence.

Dylan - Kansas City: In a perfect scheme (no foul trouble or injuries) how many players do you prefer to play in a game? How does that plan effect the players outside that rotation or how many redshirt players do you envision this year?

Coach Self: I believe that we have two strong possibilities in redshirting - Jeremy Case and Matt Kleinmann. I have talked to others about it, but they wanted to wait and see how things turned out. I don't know, especially if Aaron or Russell were either to go down or have foul trouble. I think the perfect number is nine, with a five-man perimeter rotation and a four-man post rotation, but there will probably be some games we go with 10. The guys who aren't part of that rotation know they have to play well to get in there. I think the competition will be stiff, and I like where we are. The players know it's their job to crack that top nine.

Glenn - Lenexa, KS: You only have one scholarship for next year. What can you do if two super players want to commit? Thank you

Coach Self: On paper, we have one scholarship to give, so we're going to take, hopefully, one more. There's no guarantee we'll get anyone. But certainly we are going to try to sign one more this fall and then continue to recruit guys in case anything unexpected happens like last fall. I hope nothing like that happens, but the percentage play is that something will because of how college athletics are these days. I think you always recruit to expect the unexpected.

Chris - Lawrence: What is your biggest concern heading into the first practice?

Coach Self: I really don't have any concerns. I may have a lot after practice 5 or 10, but heading into the first practice I'm enthused and anxious. I guess if we did have a concern it would be health. After five practices or 10, we may figure out that we have a lot of deficiencies that cause concern. I'm sure that will happen, but I haven't gotten to the point where I can determine that until I'm able to evaluate it.

Michael - Omaha, Nebraska: How did your newcomers respond to boot camp? Did they do better than you had anticipated since they were playing high school basketball just several months ago?

Coach Self: I would say that CJ, Russell and Sasha all did better than I thought they would. I thought Darnell and Alex need to get in better shape. Both are coming off surgeries, and I think both those guys need to get in better shape. Matt Kleinmann did great, also. I think all the guys did well, but those three guys - CJ, Russell and Sasha - stood out.

Jacob - Norman, OK: Coach Self,

I am a transplanted Jayhawk, so don't let my hometown confuse you. My question is about Super Soph JR Giddens, how do you see his role with the team expanding this year and what are your expectations of him?

Coach Self: We expect JR to be one of the best perimeter players around. He had a good freshman season, and I think he has a chance to have a great season. But this team has a lot of balance so I wouldn't expect anyone's numbers to go up dramatically. I think my expectations would be for him to improve his passing, rebounding, defense, mid-range shooting and ball handling. He made improvements in all those areas, and if he continues that he'll be great. What this team needs him to do is make shots, and he does that about as well as anybody.

Richard - Augusta, KS: Do you see it becoming a trend to recruit the foreign basketball player more now than in the years past?

Coach Self: I think that there is certainly a trend, for a lot of reasons. The international game has picked up so much that people are starting to tap into it. But, the NCAA has made it more difficult to go get those guys. There are so many hoops you have to go through to make sure a guy's eligible, which is the right thing to do. International recruiting is at an all-time high, but NBA international recruiting is at an all-time high, as well. It's not that the only path to get to the NBA is through college anymore. Some of these guys now think that best way to get on that path is to play pro over there or stay over there. Many of those guys will not play college ball because they've found other avenues to get to the NBA.

Moderator: That does it for our chat with coach Self today. Thanks again to coach and our readers for their time.