There is so much more to being a walk-on than basketball.

Over time, the position has evolved to include many more roles — encourager, towel-waver and high-fiver.

I’m looking for any edge I can get here, and I know my competition hasn’t studied most of these vital functions.

I turn to Kansas walk-on Matt Kleinmann for help in becoming the most prepared walk-on candidate ever.

I ask him what he feels is the best way to impress coaches on tryout day.

“Run very, very hard,” Kleinmann says. “People get tired — they think they can take a shortcut. Never take a shortcut. Run hard all the time, and good things will happen.”

I start to feel a little better about my chances. Running hard is something I can do with everybody.

“Usually you want to have the ball in your hands and score at the same time when you’re running hard,” he says, “but running hard is very important.”

Oh. We’ll let that one slide.

I ask what else it takes besides hustle. Surely there has to be more to it than that.

“Other than good looks and dance moves … ” he says.

I stop him before he can finish. These take me by surprise.

Good looks? Coach Jankovich didn’t mention I was going to be judged on that. I also didn’t remember seeing a dancing requirement on the tryout form.

Somewhat nervous, I ask Kleinmann if he would like to see some of my moves to make sure they are up to Kansas men’s basketball standards. I’m pretty good at “the sprinkler” and “the shopping cart.”

“It doesn’t matter what it is as long as you’re comfortable with yourself doing it,” he tells me. “You’ve got to have that confidence.”

I’ll do my best.

The conversation turns one of the most important aspects of being a walk-on: getting on the court first to congratulate the players at the start of a timeout.

Kleinmann seems to have this down to an art form.

“It can be from bench to the players, but what’s most important is that you don’t have to be in your seat,” he says. “You can always get a little head-start.”

But I’m not supposed to take shortcuts, remember?

“Don’t take shortcuts when you’re playing,” Kleinmann says, “but when it comes to game time, if you’re the first one out there, it doesn’t matter how you get there as long as you get there.”

I repeat it to make sure I’ve got it right. Game time, no shortcuts. Bench time, shortcuts.

Kleinmann nods in agreement. I definitely will have to remember the difference.

I ask about the specifics of towel-waving on the sidelines, and Kleinmann tells me it all comes back to enthusiasm.

“It’s something that you can never have enough of,” he says. “You should never be too cool to wave a towel.”

I’m definitely not, and Kleinmann seems willing to help me learn.

We start with the basics of Towel-Waving 101: the standard rally wave.

Kleinmann tells me the most important thing is to wave the towel well above my head. I ask why.

“You don’t want to hit the big guys,” he says.

I work on this, finding out for myself that this cheering stuff is a little tougher than it looks on TV.

A very close second in importance, he says, is to show off my “guns” while waving the towel.

Practice makes perfect, so I roll up my sleeve and flex while spinning the white cloth.

There is one problem. Kleinmann has spent maybe two or three more hours in the weight room than I have. Next to his biceps, my arms have the look of BB guns.

Unfazed, I vow to continue my learning.

Kleinmann shows me the resting position, where the towel is grabbed with both hands and used to support his neck.

I try it, mentioning to him that this is a pose one might see in a photo shoot.

“We have to look good,” he says. “People are watching us.”

After learning the “Nick Bahe,” which requires sticking the towel in your teeth to ease the tension of the game, I ask Kleinmann if he can help me with the dejected look. You know, the one the CBS cameras always pick up on when a team is losing in the NCAA Tournament.

His face grows serious.

“We can’t practice that,” he says quickly, as if this is a topic that is not to be discussed in public. “Hopefully, we won’t have any of those this year.”

After thinking for a moment, I tell him he’s right.

No need to work on a skill I won’t be using in my one year of eligibility.