Matt Kleinmann walked into a crowded Steak and Shake three weeks ago.

His parents and girlfriend beside him, happy thoughts from a 97-70 victory against Kansas State still swirled in his head. Kleinmann had played three minutes, scored two points and grabbed one rebound.

It was late at night, but the restaurant was still buzzing. Students, needing a cheap meal after the game, and alumni, waiting for the 23rd Street traffic to die down, dined on burgers and shakes.

But for a second, they put their food down and stopped sucking on their straws. Their attention had shifted toward something more important.

A Kansas basketball player — and in Lawrence that means celebrity status — had entered their presence.

So, they stood up. Each person greeted Kleinmann with a standing ovation before he could even find a table.

“That was kind of a surreal moment,” Kleinmann said.

Surreal, you bet. But it’s the life Kleinmann has been living for the past two years as a walk-on at Kansas.

Knowledge is power

Take a look behind Kansas’ bench at most home games and you’ll likely see Kansas City area high school star Travis Releford. Rivals’ No. 43-ranked player in the class of 2008 gets the chance to see as many games as he wants.

It might be hard for some to believe, but Kleinmann did the same his senior year of high school.

“I’d call him up and say, ‘Hey can I come to the game?’” Kleinmann said of his frequent phone calls to coach Bill Self. “Then I’d talk to him at practices on some days and just really get to know the coaches.”

He wasn’t a four-star recruit like Releford, and he wasn’t on any top 100 lists.

His coach at Blue Valley West High School, Donnie Campbell, bluntly said Kleinmann wasn’t very good offensively. Kleinmann’s knowledge of the game was what impressed Kansas.

“He has a real understanding for being around the basket and understanding angles,” Campbell said. “I know the Kansas coaches saw that in him and knew he could get better.”

He kept close contact with Self, even though he knew he’d probably never see significant playing time. And if he wanted that, he could have gone somewhere else.

Kleinmann had plenty of schools vying for his services. Yale, North Carolina-Wilmington, William and Mary, South Florida and Valparaiso all expressed interest.

The crown jewel, though, was Pacific. The Tigers, fresh off a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to the Jayhawks, offered Kleinmann a scholarship. Kleinmann made an official visit to the Tigers’ northern California campus, but Kansas beat Pacific again as he chose to be a Jayhawk.

“There were probably some other schools that I might have wanted to go to or had a better deal to, but nothing ever clicked,” Kleinmann said. “I wanted to be at Kansas.”

Talking about practice

Outspoken NBA star Allen Iverson certainly wouldn’t embrace the role that Kleinmann cherishes.

Why? Because being a walk-on is all about practice. Not about the game. Practice.

Essentially, that’s all Kleinmann’s job is. Sure, sometimes he gets a couple minutes of playing time at the end of blowouts, but he’s at Kansas to be a practice player.

Everyday he goes up against players who are more talented than he is and tries to somehow make them better. Whether that is setting hard screens, being physical or running until he can’t breathe, Kleinmann tries to do it.

“He’s a big body, so he gives it hard to Shady, Sasha and all of them,” junior guard and fellow red-team member Jeremy Case said. “He’s a good replica of the other players they’re going to play against. He’s a lot of help to us.”

Frustration could easily creep into the mind of a walk-on. Think about it. Banging bodies with Sasha Kaun for more than two hours everyday for at the most, two minutes of game time? Not too many sane people would volunteer to do that.

But Kleinmann always keeps a positive outlook. It helped that he had former walk-on Christian Moody to emulate. Kleinmann spent his first two years of college watching Moody, whom CBS analyst Billy Packer called the best walk-on in the history of college basketball.

“I learned a lot about my role, but I also learned how to treat people,” Kleinmann said of what he learned from Moody. “I think that was the big part of him showing me how to lead by example.”

Kleinmann still gets discouraged sometimes, but he always finds ways to stay motivated. He thinks of practices as his games. Because he never has the chance to get tired during games, he makes sure he works himself to exhaustion during practice. His goal, along with all the other reserves who make up the red team in practice, is to make everyone else better.

“It seems like when we have a really good game it’s because the red team pushed them harder in the practice before,” Kleinmann said. “So if you ever hear the blue team had a tough practice maybe that’s because the red team had a really good one.”

A Jayhawk for life

Former walk-on Joel Branstrom is still on the sidelines for a team that wears blue. This time he’s the coach, the head man for Olathe Northwest High School’s girls varsity team. He’s been the school’s only coach since it opened in 2003.

Branstrom, who played from 1994-97, is 10 years removed from his days as a Jayhawk, but it still remains a part of his life.

“It’s amazing how many people know you. It’s almost embarrassing,” Branstrom said. “But it’s a credit to how great KU fans are. I’m proud to be a Jayhawk.”

One story of recognition sticks out in Branstrom’s mind. He was attending church in Olathe, and a lady in her 60s called out his name and asked how he was doing. She started talking about Jayhawk basketball and said her mom was an even bigger fan than she was.

Branstrom was shocked when the next week the lady brought her mom to church with her. He said the lady’s mom, who had to have been in her 80s, knew everything about him and even remembered his Senior Day speech.

In a few years, Kleinmann will likely be telling the same stories. The architecture major will have a job out of basketball, but his experience as a Jayhawk will never leave him.

And it will be about more than having old ladies recognizing him in church. Branstrom said learning about the game and life from former Kansas coach Roy Williams benefited him in his career. Kleinmann sees the same for his future.

“In general, for anyone who plays for KU, the doors are open,” he said. “The qualities you learn playing basketball for KU carry over into whatever you want to do.”

Still dreaming

Kleinmann still has two years left to be a Jayhawk. That means two more years of hard work, but also two years of benefits. Kleinmann could be part of a national championship team this season. And hey, not everyone gets a standing ovation when they walk into a restaurant.

Branstrom would advise Kleinmann mainly to enjoy the journey while he still can.

“It’s demanding and tough,” Branstrom said. “Have little things to be competitive with and that keeps it fun. Just be thankful for what you’re doing and what God gave you.”

It wouldn’t be too hard to persuade Kleinmann to do that.

“It’s a fantasy come true,” he said. “I can’t help but smile every time I’m on the court. Who wouldn’t enjoy playing in Allen Fieldhouse?”

Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.

— Edited by Ryan Schneider