Kansas coach Bill Self is convinced something special is going to happen Thursday night at the 2008 NBA Draft.

Self said he expected five Kansas players to be selected in the draft, which will take place in New York City and be aired live at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Since the draft expanded to its current two-round format, the most Jayhawks ever taken in a single draft was two players. Kansas has produced four NBA Draft picks in the past five years.

But Self said he was confident Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers, Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson all would be picked Thursday night. He even thought Russell Robinson had a chance to be taken.

“The great news is all those kids are going to have an opportunity to play and be successful,” said Lew Perkins, Kansas athletics director. “The bad news is they’re not going to be with us.”

BRANDON RUSH

Ask former Jayhawk Julian Wright, who the New Orleans Hornets selected 14th overall in last year’s NBA Draft, which Jayhawk will be most successful in the NBA and he’ll say he doesn’t know. Ask him again and he’ll admit he thinks it’s Rush.

“Brandon, maybe,” Wright said. “In terms of his game, it’s pretty suited for the NBA.”

Wright’s observations are dead on with the feelings of NBA scouts. Andy Katz, an ESPN college basketball and NBA Draft analyst, said Rush was one of the most coveted players in the draft right now.

Teams think Rush has the size and defensive ability to be an effective shooting guard at the next level. Katz said if Rush was available when the Washington Wizards selected at No. 18, they would pick him — but Katz isn’t so sure that would happen.

“He may not get all the way down to 18,” Katz said. “He’s a player that’s rising.”

Fellow ESPN draft expert Chad Ford had Rush slotted at No. 13 to the Portland Trailblazers in last Wednesday’s mock draft.

DARRELL ARTHUR

Darrell “Shady” Arthur has traveled coast-to-coast and worked out with as many teams as any player in the draft. That doesn’t mean it makes it any easier to project where he’ll go.

“Darrell Arthur is kind of hard to place,” Katz said. “He could go in the late lottery or he could slide down into the 20s. He’s sort of all over the map.”

All players aspire to be taken in the lottery, which means in the top 14 overall. Arthur’s size and ability to score near the basket indicates he has a good chance to be picked highly.

Self said he thought Arthur would go somewhere in between picks number 10 and 17.

According to Ford, Self is just off. Ford’s latest mock draft has Arthur going to the Washington Wizards with the 18th pick.

MARIO CHALMERS

Self said he wasn’t sure if Chalmers would be selected in the first round when the junior declared for the draft in April. Now, there’s no doubt in the coach’s mind he will be.

Self said he had received dozens of positive reports on Chalmers and his individual workouts for teams. Katz agreed and said Chalmers was a lock for the first round.

“Chalmers is getting a lot of interest from Orlando at 22, possibly San Antonio at 26,” Katz said. “I think you’re going to find him at the end of the day out in Orlando.”

Internet rumors are swirling that the San Antonio Spurs, whose general manager R.C. Buford is the father of current KU player Chase Buford, promised Chalmers they would take him if he was still available at No. 26.

If the Spurs did pass on Chalmers, he could be selected by the New Orleans Hornets with the next pick. That would make him teammates with Julian Wright once again. Wright said he wasn’t selfish and wouldn’t root for re-uniting with one of his college teammates on draft night.

“I just want them to get a good fit,” Wright said. “But if one of them does fall here, I wouldn’t mind playing with him.”

SASHA KAUN

Kaun won’t play in the NBA next season but that doesn’t mean he won’t be drafted.

The center signed a three-year deal with CSKA Moscow, a professional basketball team in Russia, on Sunday. The signing, however, doesn’t insure an NBA team won’t pick him – in fact, it could make it more likely.

If NBA teams draft a player who already signed a contract in a foreign league, they gain his rights in case he ever does decide to play in America. It’s an attractive deal for NBA teams because they receive rights of a player without having to pay any money until the player comes back to the United States.

In last year’s draft, 10 international players in the same position as Kaun were picked.

DARNELL JACKSON

Self said it wouldn’t quite be a miracle if a team selected Jackson after all he’s been through in college – but it would be close.

If Jackson does get picked, he will likely be one of the final selections.

“Darnell, based on what I’ve been told, has had not good but great workouts,” Self said. “I think he has a great chance to get drafted and I think he will.”

Self compared Jackson to former Florida big man Chris Richard, who was primarily a reserve in college but became the fifth Gator selected in last year’s draft. Like Kansas this year, Florida was the reigning national champion last year.

RUSSELL ROBINSON

No expert’s mock drafts have Robinson being picked Thursday night, but Self sees the perfect scenario of how it could happen.

“He’s one of those guys that late in the second round, somebody could say, ‘Well I just want to draft somebody that’s dependable and can be a third guard,’” Self said. “If that’s the case, then Russell could be the man.”

Even if Robinson is not selected, he could try to latch on with a team through free agency. He may spend next year in the NBA Developmental League or elsewhere, but Perkins is sure he’ll keep chasing his dreams.

“Russell is going to play some place,” Perkins said.

- Edited by Deepa Sampat