She’ll be the well dressed woman with the blond hair in the parents’ section applying a Kleenex to her eyes during KU’s 12:45 p.m. battle against Colorado.

“I always have tears when I watch the games. I am so proud and so into the games – crying because I’m happy,” said Olga, a Tomsk, Russia, native who arrived Dec. 29 in Lawrence for a month-long visit.

It’s her second trip to town to see her son, but first during basketball season. She’s cheered wildly during wins over Rhode Island, Oklahoma State and Missouri – her trip to conclude after today’s game against the Buffs. However she’s promised to return next season, Sasha reiterating Friday he’d definitely be back for his senior campaign.

“It’s something else. There’s nothing like that in Russia,” Olga Kaun said of the fieldhouse atmosphere, using her son as an interpreter in a sit-down interview Friday.

“The way the people cheer like that, the way the people love basketball … I’m proud to have a son who everybody kind of loves around here. I’m proud he is a person that people make signs for,” she added with a smile, referring to homemade signs in the stands.

Sasha Kaun said it has been special playing college basketball with his mom on hand.

“In the past, she just saw tapes. Seeing me live is so much different,” Kaun said. “She is really starting to enjoy it and get into it now. It’s kind of sad she’s leaving (Sunday). It’s been really nice having her here, but I know she has to go to work.”

Olga Kaun, who works in real estate, has made the most of her time with Sasha the past month. She’s actually roomed with Sasha and KU sophomore center Matt Kleinmann in Jayhawker Towers.

“It’s definitely nice to have a mom around to cook for us,” Kleinmann said. “She’s made hand-made pasta with all kinds of mushrooms and onions – home cooking with a little different style, flavor.

“It’s really good. It smells like food every time we walk in. She’s always cooking. When she’s offering it, I’m eating it.”

Same goes for Sasha.

“I like the soups, different meats. It’s good. She tries to take care of me all the time,” Kaun said.

Olga has taken it upon her self to tidy up the apartment for the boys.

“We feel self-conscious about that, try not to leave too much for her to clean up,” Kleinmann said. “I think Sasha cleans a little bit more, takes the trash out a little bit more since she’s been here. They go to malls, restaurants. He tries to keep her from being bored.

“I think he’s going to be sad when she leaves. It’s probably a little awkward having your mom basically down the hall from you a month when you are in college, but he has been away from her so long. I know he loves seeing her.”

Olga Kaun merely chuckled when asked if she was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed again next week instead of on the comfy couch in Kaun and Kleinmann’s living room.

“I’ve just been very happy being with him and getting to see the games I hear so much about,” Olga said. “I will be sure to tell all my friends and relatives when I get home about the atmosphere for basketball.”

She said “yes,” when asked if she thought she and her son might live in the U.S. someday.

“I’ll pray,” she said, asked if she thought Sasha would make millions playing in the NBA.

“It is beautiful,” she said of Lawrence. “The campus itself, the university, I like a lot better than Tomsk. I love the weather. It’s warm, especially in January. I like to take walks. I like the atmosphere around campus and the students. I also like American people. They are very welcoming. They are not angry. They do not disrespect you.”

Sasha has always been respectful to his mom, stepping up since his dad’s death eight years ago.

“He was a good boy, very responsible,” said Olga Kaun, who remembers patching her son’s sneakers so he could continue playing both hoops and soccer. “He used to shop, clean the house, cook. When (Sasha’s dad) died, I had something to eat when I came home (from work).”

No wonder she misses her only child greatly.

“It is hard, but part of life, I guess,” said Olga, noting Sasha has been gone since enrolling at Florida Air Academy in Melbourne, Fla., for high school. “It is hard, but part of life, I guess. I know I will be back.”

The Jayhawks will welcome her with open arms.

“I think she is a great woman,” sophomore Mario Chalmers said. “She is so happy being here with him. She always has a smile on her face when we get ready to play. It’s good for her to finally get to see him play and great for him having his mom here.”

Kleinmann will have a lasting memory of Olga’s visit: Watching Sasha, his mom and some of Sasha’s Russian friends in town conversing in a foreign tongue while lounging around the Towers.

“You can hear them laugh,” Kleinmann said, “but you can’t understand the punch line.”