Coach Bill Self asked his players to fill out a short questionnaire during the first week of practice.

Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor thought one question on the sheet was easy: “Which player will be the biggest surprise?” He quickly jotted down freshman forward Quintrell Thomas and moved on to the next question.

“I put him on my paper because I think he’s going to be really good,” Taylor said. “He’s going to surprise some people.”

Taylor’s proclamation proved to be prophetic in Kansas’ first exhibition game of the season, a 98-79 victory against Washburn. Thomas, who was the least-heralded of the Jayhawks’ seven newcomers, finished with 10 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes.

While the rest of the freshmen struggled, Thomas thrived. He played physical below the basket and frequently worked his way to the foul line, making six-of-eight free throws.

Thomas’ performance surprised Self. He said Thomas was sent in to the game to rebound and show off his strength in the paint, but Self said he wasn’t confident that would happen after two weeks of practice. He said he thought Thomas was behind the rest of the freshmen class.

“If you’re going to grade our newcomers, he’s probably graded out fifth as a freshman in practice,” Self said. “In practice leading up to that point, he’s been thinking instead of playing.”

Against Washburn, he just played. Since arriving on campus this summer, Thomas has developed a reputation as a fearsome rebounder.

Former Jayhawk and current New Orleans Hornet Julian Wright praised Thomas’s rebounding ability after the two played in pick-up games over the summer. It grew from there.

Self described Thomas as a “runner, jumper, strong guy.” His teammates compared Thomas to former Jayhawk Darnell Jackson, who came to Kansas physical but offensively unpolished.

“He’s almost like Darnell. He can rebound the heck out of the ball,” sophomore center Cole Aldrich said. “His post moves are still coming and whatnot so he’s really working hard on that.”

But Thomas doesn’t want to hear that his rebounding ability is ahead of his offensive skills. He said he can do it all.

Thomas knows he has room to improve on all facets of his game, but he considers himself a complete player. He said the reason people thought his rebounding was ahead of his offense was because of the way he learned to play basketball.

“It’s like this: When I first started playing basketball, of course, you don’t get the ball much so you need to do something to stay on the court,” Thomas said. “Pretty much, I do whatever I’ve got to do to play.”

For Thomas, that continued in high school. Thomas graduated from St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, N.J., one of the most famous basketball high schools in the country.

St. Patrick has produced NBA players, such as Al Harrington of the Golden State Warriors and Samuel Dalembert of the Philadelphia 76ers. Thomas played with a number of current Division-I basketball players — including Villanova guard Corey Fisher and Louisville forward Derrick Caracter — during his first three years at St. Patrick. Thomas was rarely the first or second option when it came to scoring.

It wasn’t until his senior season that he averaged more than 10 points per game. By then, Thomas had already committed to Kansas and his reputation as a rebounder was already firm. But Thomas said his senior season proved he could do whatever a team needs out of him.

“If I’ve got to score, I’ll score,” Thomas said. “If I’ve got to rebound, I’ll rebound.”

Self says he has to rebound. The Jayhawks have scorers in junior guard Sherron Collins, sophomore center Cole Aldrich and sophomore guard Tyrel Reed.

Self needs someone like Thomas to come off the bench with energy and fight for every loose ball. If Thomas can score points the way he did against Washburn, perfect. If not, it’s no big deal.

“If he’s an offensive player first, he won’t be an effective player here,” Self said.

That’s fine with Thomas. He said he knew exactly what Self expected from him when he checked into the game.

He just doesn’t want people to think he can’t score. He doesn’t want to be regarded as the least of the five freshmen.

“People can criticize me all they want,” Thomas said. “But as long as I get in and do what I got to do to help the team win, it doesn’t matter. I don’t have to score or anything.”

Taylor, Thomas’s roommate, thinks the lack of attention motivated Thomas.

“It gets a little frustrating when the guys around you are getting talked about and you’re not,” Taylor said. “I think he felt like he had something to prove. If people keep not talking about him, he’s going to become one of the best players on our team.”