Shortly before tipoff of Thursday’s 94-63 Kansas victory, the first-year Pitt State coach was introduced to the crowd as a former Kansas guard and the school’s all-time leading 3-point shooter.

As a roar filled Allen Fieldhouse, Boschee waved in a few different directions and then tried to get his guys locked in on the task at hand. It clearly worked. Pitt State raced out to leads of 12-0 and 21-6 before being overwhelmed by fifth-ranked Kansas’ athleticism and defensive intensity.

After it was all over, Boschee explained what the night meant to him.

“It was obviously exciting to come back here and play and get to experience it,” Boschee said. “It’s changed a lot but it’s good to be back. It was just fun to be back and be received well.”

Boschee appreciated much more about Thursday’s game than the warm welcome he got from the adoring Kansas fans. He also was proud of the way his team performed.

“My freshman year, I remember Coach (Roy) Williams always used to say, ‘I don’t know if Boschee is fearless or clueless,’ and that was kind of our thing tonight,'” Boschee said after the loss. “I thought our guys just played hard. They competed and I was proud of the way they didn’t back down.”

Pitt State arrived in Lawrence on Wednesday night, and Boschee joked after Thursday’s game that the new look of KU’s campus made it tough to give the bus driver directions.

After that, a little nostalgia set in.

“We came in to practice about 7:30 and I felt like I was walking into Coach Williams’ 7:30 Sunday night practices, which everybody dreaded,” Boschee said. “It had that feeling a little bit.”

Kansas coach Bill Self, who was the head coach at Tulsa and Illinois during Boschee’s KU career, joked about the bald-headed look that Boschee used to sport during his early days at Kansas, saying, “I don’t know why he shaved his head back then; he’s got a beautiful head of hair.”

Thursday’s game was supposed to be a reunion of sorts for Boschee and former Missouri Southern State standout Cam Martin, who now is in his super-senior season with the Jayhawks. But Martin missed the game because of a separated right shoulder.

“I would have loved for Cam to be able to play today because, obviously, he was (Boschee’s) best player there at Missouri Southern,” Self said.

Martin was in attendance for Thursday’s game but did not suit up.

Self has been a part of plenty of these games in which former KU players return to coach against their alma mater, and he’s always shown a great deal of appreciation and admiration for their time as Jayhawks, even if it pre-dated his arrival.

“I actually coached against Jeff, but I never had the opportunity to coach him, obviously,” Self said. “But he was a great player here and obviously a terrific shooter. He’s class. And I know this place means a lot to him. I’m sure he felt some love from the crowd during introductions.”