PHOTOS COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS HAWKING DEFENSE ... Kansas University freshman guard Conner Teahan, who hails from Leawood, hawks an enemy ball-handler.

Q. Conner, you came to KU as an invited walk-on but sans basketball scholarship. Now that you helped cut down the nets after the Jayhawks won the NCAA championship how are you feeling about that decision?

A. It’s probably been the best decision I’ve ever made in my life I’d have to say, just the way everything has worked out. I knew it was a great decision from the day I made the decision, but I never thought my freshman year would be like this one was. Obviously I don’t think you could ask for a better one. It’s just been a great experience.

Q. What is the prognosis as far as you being awarded a basketball scholarship in the future at KU?

A. I would never bring that up to Coach (Bill) Self, just because I think that if he ever thinks that I deserve one he’ll bring it up. That’s just the way I am going to look at it. I don’t know if right now, especially with all the guys we’re losing, we need to get as many good guys in as we can. I have no problem not having a scholarship right now. I think I need to develop my game a lot more to become a scholarship player, and that’s what I’m trying to do right now, just kind of work my way into it.

Q. Conner, what is the deal with your hair?

A. (Laughing) I just cut it. My mom was not really liking it. She came up to Lawrence and made me get my hair cut.

Q. Do you miss your Samson locks?

A. Nah, it was getting too long. It was. I was looking at pictures. My mom had pictures from the Final Four, and I was looking at it, and yeah, it was definitely a little too long.

Q. Take us inside those final 20 magical seconds when you got into the NCAA tournament semifinal game against North Carolina. You got to inbound the ball, too.

A. Somebody called a timeout. I don’t remember exactly what happened, but they were trying to get somebody in, sub-wise. Then Coach Self came down. I got in and said to myself, ‘Don’t throw the ball away. Just get the ball in bounds. Just make sure you don’t give (the Tar Heels) the ball and we’ll be good.’ It was a great experience. I mean, all those people. It was the best basketball stage I’ve ever been a part of, obviously. The best 20 seconds off the bench I’ve ever had.

Q. In a game so lopsided and moment so happy for KU, did you receive any actual marching orders from Coach Self ... or was it simply unspoken that you should just get in there and savor the moment?

A. In a situation like that, you just get in there. But earlier on in the season when he would put us (reserves) for the last three-and-a-half minutes, he really doesn’t like when we go in there and teams start to score. There is not that much pressure going in, just because you are up so much, but at the same time there is the pressure of, he doesn’t like it when we get outscored or when the lead was 28 when we went in and we only won by 22 or 24 or whatever.

Q. As accomplished as you were in high school basketball, Rockhurst High standout football quarterbacks, a list that includes you, are pretty much assured of rock star status in terms of the attention they receive in Kansas City. Given your somewhat limited role with the Jayhawks basketball team this season did you somewhat enjoy the opportunity to blend in with your new surroundings outside the glare of the spotlight ... or did you feel even more recognizable than you did in high school walking around Lawrence as a member of this vaunted KU basketball program?

A. At the beginning of the year I was definitely lowkey. I would be wearing gear that had been given to us and people would be looking at me like, ‘Who’d he get that from?’ I definitely got those looks, which I was completely fine with. As the season went on and since the national championship you really can’t go anywhere without somebody saying something. We really love it when people say, ‘Great job.’ More people have recognized me since the middle of the season or since I began making shots at the end of games. But at the beginning, yeah, I enjoyed it because I got to do my own thing really.

Q. Your Jayhawks teammate and fellow Johnson Countian Matt Kleinmann tells of how the two of you would try to estimate from the bench your chances of getting into a game in terms of percentage. What other things would you do to stay sharp mentally and remain game-ready from over there?

A. Honestly I would actually try as often as possible when we were in huddles and Coach was talking to just stay as focused as I could and listen to everything he was saying. When you know you’re not going to get in or if you’re unsure if you’re going to get in, you might doze off during timeouts. But I just tried to stay as focused as I could when he was talking and pay attention to what he was saying. By doing that and just being able to critique what the guys on the floor were doing, it just makes your game better. Let’s say you don’t get in that game but you get in the next game or a practice or whatever. Then you kind of know what he’s looking for.

Q. You were the first player introduced at the pep rally at Memorial Stadium the day following the national championship victory. What has life in Lawrence been like in the days since you won the NCAA crown?

A. It’s been a lot of fun. Kind of hectic, just because every time you go anywhere people recognize you most of the time. It’s a lot of fun, but at the same time you kind of think, ‘Can I get away?’ I like it a lot. Everyone’s been supportive and very thankful for us. We’re just as thankful for them as they are for us. I think it’s a pretty good thing.

Q. As the Jayhawks advanced deeper and deeper into the tournament, can you describe the emotions inside the team locker room? Did things feel as if they were getting more intense, or did you feel the guys were at least somewhat able to “enjoy the ride?”

A. I don’t think it ever really got to the point where we were really tight, because we just had a group of guys that were kind of laid back and loose and could really have a good time in any situation. But honestly when we beat Davidson, it was kind of a huge weight off our shoulders.

Q. Longtime KU basketball fans can recall a short list of players who successfully transitioned from the gridiron at KU to the school’s basketball program. Somewhere amid the football Jayhawks’ run to the Orange Bowl championship did the successful high school quarterback in you ever harbor a stray thought or two about suiting up for the football team?

A. (Laughing) I thought about it, more early in the season, just because the competitive part in me still thinks, ‘I can do this. I can show them.’ Just because I felt like I could play at any kind of level in football, honestly. There were times when I would look out there and think I could do some of that stuff. But I’m really happy with the situation I’m in right now and I wouldn’t take anything back. There is a part of me that misses those football days, just because I realize I’ll never be in a really competitive game like that again in football. But I’m happy with my decision. (Football) is over and done with.

 Q. Do you feel your prep football background has aided in your basketball experience at KU? Obviously toughness would come to mind.

A. Toughness, obviously. Not so much yet because I was a freshman and not really a real leader on the team. But that is the thing I felt it helped me with in high school the most, my leadership skills and being able to be a verbal leader more or less. I didn’t really have a leader spot on the (Jayhawks) team because we had so many seniors, but that is hopefully one thing I will be able to use later on.

Q. Finally, Conner, our magic carpet allows you 20 seconds to grab something out of the refrigerator back home in Leawood. What will you be grabbing?

A. That’s a good question. I was just home, too, and I should know because I was in the refrigerator. I try not to drink soda very much but my mom gets these cherry lemonade Sunkists or something. I’m a sucker for the cherry stuff I guess you could say. I try not to drink that stuff but that would be what I take. A little weird, but every time I see it, it kind of gets me.

Contact Mark Dewar at 385-6061 or  mdewar@sunpublications.com.