“They have three guys that I tried my darndest to recruit, and they don’t even start for them,” KU coach Roy Williams said.

The three, UA freshmen Hassan Adams and Andre Iguodala and sophomore Dennis Latimore, will come off the bench for the No. 1-ranked Wildcats in Saturday’s noon battle between Arizona and Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.

“Arizona’s team has as good a depth as anybody in the U.S. This year they are just unbelievable,” Williams said.

Latimore, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward from Halstead, chose Arizona over KU, UCLA and Stanford. Iguodala, a 6-6 guard/forward from Springfield, Ill., chose UA over Arkansas and KU. Adams, a 6-4 shooting guard from Los Angeles, picked coach Lute Olson’s Wildcats over KU and UCLA.

It’s safe to say Adams was the top priority in recruiting for KU his senior year at Westchester High.

“Coach Williams recruited me heavily and hard,” said Adams, who visited KU in September 2001 and watched UCLA’s 41-17 football victory over the Jayhawks at Memorial Stadium.

“How they recruited me, how they put it out there, saying, ‘We want you here’ — I could tell they did really want me,” Adams said.

“I made my decision on how coach ‘O’ coached his team and how at practice he pushes you like crazy. I felt with the whole atmosphere at Arizona I’d have a great career.”

Adams, slowed by an ankle sprain of late, is Arizona’s second-leading scorer at 12.5 points a game. Iguodala and Latimore average 6.0 and 4.0 points in spelling the ‘Cats talented starting five of Jason Gardner, Salim Stoudamire, Luke Walton, Rick Anderson and Channing Frye.

“Dennis is from Kansas and likes Kansas,” Adams said. “Andre went on a visit there and said the same thing. He said it was a cool place, cool team, that the players were cool.”

A former McDonald’s All-American, Adams said his ego hasn’t taken a hit in coming off the bench his freshman season. There were no guarantees he would have started in his rookie season had he gone to KU, either.

“It doesn’t bother me as long as when I get in the game I am still working hard and contributing,” said Adams, who is averaging 20.1 minutes per game off the bench.

Adams knows Arizona is stacked with talent. The Wildcats are so deep, they haven’t struggled at all since losing 5-11 sophomore point guard Will Bynum, who several weeks ago decided to transfer to Georgia Tech.

“We go pretty deep,” Adams said of the 14-1 Wildcats, who are 7-0 in Pac-10 play for the fourth time in school history. “We play hard, too. The next person who comes in plays that much harder. We are tough when it comes down to it. We don’t give up on anything. We keep playing until the double zero (on clock).”

Adams admits it’ll be fun playing at KU — “in front of all their fans” — just as he had a riot recently playing in his hometown.

He averaged 16.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in helping Arizona sweep Southern California and UCLA on the road for the first time since the 1992-93 season. Adams burned the Trojans for 21 points off 9-of-17 shooting.

“Yes I did get a lot of attention. I just wanted to play my game in front of family and some of my friends,” said Adams, who is hitting 47.3 of his shots but made just four of 25 threes. “You never want to do too much. I want my team to win more than I want to score 1,000 points.”

Adams’ athleticism has caught the eye of his teammates.

“Hassan is very athletic. He battles down low,” senior forward Rick Anderson said.

With a nose for the ball, Adams picks up a lot of points off stickbacks.

“I’m mainly hitting mid-range with a lot of putbacks, getting to the basket,” Adams said. “I am the type person who puts the ball in the basket, I am a slasher. I like to do the dirty work and have fun.”

He’s hopeful for a big game Saturday. In Wednesday’s 71-63 home win over Arizona State, Adams missed all six floor shots in 14 minutes.

“This will be a big game for me. It will be another big game for us as a team and me as a player. I have to let the game come to me,” Adams said. “It’ll be fun playing in their house in front of their crowd.”