The retirees from Mission, Kan., arrived at Kemper Arena shortly before 2:30 p.m. Friday, a full 3 1/2 hours before the scheduled start of the team’s public practice.

They staked out spots in Section 104, Row U, seats 31 and 32, just in time to be the 85th and 86th fans to watch the Memphis Tigers conduct their public practice.

“We had to come over to Roeland Park to get our hair cut, and we figured we were halfway there,” said Bob Arnold, who ended up among 2,500 Jayhawk faithful by 6 p.m. “We figured we’d see what’s going on.”

The Arnolds have tickets for today’s games, but they’ll be a little higher up: Section 219, or “Blue Heaven,” as Liz Arnold likes to call it. The name comes either because of the blue seats up there, or the likelihood of blue-clad KU fans joining them to support the team.

Either way, the Arnolds intend to share their seats today with family. A son driving in from Colorado will get a shot at early games, while another — Bobby Arnold, recreation director for the city of Eudora — will join dad for the nightcap.

One more note on Bobby’s dad: He still has a basketball signed by former KU coach Roy Williams, one he bought at a charity auction a few years ago for $200.

“We’re trying to get rid of it,” he said, now fully sold on new KU coach Bill Self. “Look for it on eBay.”

• Kemper crunch: Another sign that aging Kemper Arena might be losing its luster: An Oklahoma State player’s dunk during the team’s afternoon practice dislodged a 35-second clock atop one of the baskets, nearly sending it crashing to the floor below.

Area workers quickly put up a new clock. No word yet on whether they’ll be able to build a new arena in time to secure future NCAA Tournament dates.

• Thanks, dad: Andre Douthit didn’t mind providing a little bulletin-board material for the Jayhawks, provided they can get past Illinois-Chicago and into a possible second-round clash with Providence.

6Sports video: KU fans descend on Kemper Arena KU NCAA practice gallery NCAA Tourney

Douthit’s son, Marcus Douthit, plays center for the Friars, and dad, who lives in Kansas City, Kan., said Providence would win.

Andre Douthit figures he’s got the karma going, too. Back when he lived in Syracuse, N.Y., he used to cut Donovan McNabb’s hair while the future NFL quarterback was playing at Syracuse University.

And Syracuse, of course, beat KU in the national championship game a year ago.

“I know KU is good, but I’m a father,” he said. “And I can’t go against my kid.”

• Lesson learned? Evan Harris isn’t worried about KU being distracted this weekend at Kemper, no matter how many fans show up expecting them to defend their home-away-from-home turf.

“They’ve had a good season so far,” said Harris, a third-grader from Leavenworth, who carried a basketball signed by Self into the stands for practice. “They must’ve gotten a little distracted last year by Syracuse. They’ve learned their lesson.”

• Hi, coach: KU fans Chelsea Jones and Amy Pettit can honestly say they had the best seats in the house for Friday’s practice, at least among KU fans.

Coach Self joined them in the stands for the end of the Providence Friars’ practice, sitting between the local girls who couldn’t stop smiling.

“I said ‘hi,’ but he was in a hurry,” said Pettit, a 20-year-old too mesmerized by the experience to remember much else.

Jones, 11, figures it’s an indication of good things to come. Who else can go to school today with that kind of story?

“It’s good luck, obviously,” said Chelsea, whose uncle, Tony Fields, used to play Lawrence rec-league basketball with Self back in the mid-1980s. “They’re a great team. Yeah, they’ll win.”