When Danny Manning led the Jayhawks to the NCAA title in 1988, he became the measuring stick for players who carry their team to greatness.

It’s taken 19 years, but Texas phenom Kevin Durant might be the player to take the baton from Manning and establish a new standard for greatness in college basketball. The difference? Durant is an 18-year-old freshman.

Anybody who is even remotely associated with college basketball is taking a turn heaping praise on Durant. Kansas coach Bill Self said he would be the best player in the conference ­— before he ever stepped onto the court in Austin.

“I think he’s hands down the best player in the country, and probably the best freshman to ever have played, and probably the most talented college player in the last 30 years,” Self said. “Name one senior more talented than this guy.”

Manning agrees, citing some of his childhood idols for comparison.

“I like Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird,” he said. “Kevin Durant is definitely in that echelon.”

The best

Early in the conference schedule, as the national spotlight began to shine on Durant, he went into coach Rick Barnes’ office to talk about the pressure. Barnes tried to calm the freshman’s nerves.

“I said to him, ‘Look, I don’t want you to think that our success or failure is on you,’ ” Barnes said. “I was probably saying that to make him relax, because I didn’t believe it for one second.”

Durant is dangerous because he can dominate the game in several different ways. At 6-foot-9, he towers over opponents and leads the team in blocks. But he also has the versatility of a smaller player, and leads the team in steals.

Even with all that, he’s known for his scoring ability. He’s averaging almost 25 points per game, and a graph of those shots wouldn’t reveal any pattern. He can thunderdunk from under the basket, swish a hook shot from outside the paint, and make three-point shots that drop the jaws of NBA players.

Not that he’ll tell you that, though. He banged his chest after hitting a key three-pointer Wednesday night, which is about as much as he’ll ever be seen hyping himself up. Talking to Barnes after the Villanova game, he questioned why the focus was on him.

“He told me, ‘Coach, I don’t want it to be about me. I have great teammates, and they deserve as much attention as I’m getting right now,’ ” Barnes said.

It’s now rare to get Durant to agree to an interview, and when he does, he uses it as a platform to praise his teammates. When a national sports magazine wanted Durant for its cover, it ended up with Durant and his teammates. But that doesn’t stop other Big 12 coaches from singling him out for praise.

“I think the best player in the country is Kevin,” Texas Tech coach Bob Knight said. “I don’t even think there’s a question about that.”

Six very important games

When asked to compare the two, coach Bill Self said they’re similar, but Manning has an extra gold star on his résumé.

“They’re both scoring and rebounding at about the same clip,” Self said. “But Danny took that team and won a national championship, and those are six very important games.”

Manning led the Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA title as a senior, then played 15 seasons in the NBA. He or Wilt Chamberlain hold virtually every Kansas record, and former broadcaster Max Falkenstein said those were the two best players he’d seen play for Kansas. Manning is currently on the Jayhawk staff as the director of student-athlete development.

His numbers as a senior are almost directly comparable to Durant’s as a freshman (see chart), but Manning gives the nod to Durant.

“He’s so much better than me as a player. It’s not comparable,” Manning said. “He’s filling up the stat sheet, and he buys into the team concept. This guy is a great player.”

Self said that the only thing remaining to be seen about Durant is how he handles the pressures of March.

It’s something that Manning got to practice three times before leading the Jayhawks to the title. He did it as a No. 6 seed. Texas will likely enter the tournament much higher.

So if Manning were to face Durant, what would the Jayhawk great do to stop him?

“You can’t,” he said, shaking his head. “He does it all.”

He’s the engine

The task of guarding Durant on Saturday will go to sophomore forward Julian Wright, but he’ll need some help.

“We’re not going to get into a one-on-one contest, because he’s too talented,” Wright said.

Against Texas A&M, Durant was double-teamed the entire time, but still managed to score 30 points in a double-overtime victory.

Kansas will substitute players in and out throughout the game in the hopes of keeping a fresh player on him at all times. Wright said the team will try to limit his rebounding, but the Jayhawks know he will be hard to contain.

“He obviously makes that team go,” Wright said, “He’s the engine.”

Don’t expect a Jayhawk double-team to be effective. Durant is used to being pushed and pulled from all directions.

“Every single night people come at him with one guy, two guys or three guys,” Barnes said. “For him to do what he’s done has been amazing.”

Forget about class

The Boston Celtics and the Memphis Grizzlies are battling for the title of worst team in the NBA. Yet when the draft comes around, neither of them will be losers.

Durant and Ohio State’s Greg Oden, Jr. are the two top prospects. Coming into the season, the 7-foot Oden was the consensus No. 1 pick, but Durant’s play this year has thrust him back into the conversation. It’s a topic that Durant isn’t going to address until after the season.

“He’ll have time when the Final Four is over with,” Barnes said. “He just wants to enjoy what he’s doing right now.”

The last player to make it to the Final Four in a similar situation was Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony in 2003, but Anthony had a veteran supporting cast, and didn’t have to carry the load for his team as often.

“They used Carmelo mostly as a small forward,” Barnes said. “Kevin has been everywhere for us.”

When he steps onto the Allen Fieldhouse court Saturday, Durant has the opportunity to take the first step in that journey and win a share of the Big 12 title. Regardless of the outcome, he’ll likely sweep every important postseason award.

That’s the same way Manning left Kansas in 1988. Of course, Kevin Durant wasn’t even alive when that happened. For now, the 18-year-old superstar is content to score 30 points a night, create just as many points for his teammates and let everybody else do the talking for him.

“You can put what he’s done up against any basketball player in the country,” Barnes said. “Forget about class.”

The awards committees are ignoring Durant’s youth, but it’s not going to disappear anytime soon. In the near future, the measuring stick for college basketball greatness will have a new word on it: Freshman.

Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips@kansan.com.

— Edited by Will McCullough