Bill Self has coached some of the nation’s finest defensive teams over the past few years at Kansas.

And he’s not going to lower the standard for this year’s Jayhawks. Forget the youth. Forget the inexperience. Defensive expectations will not be lowered.

“My goal for this team is to be one of the 10 best defensive teams in the country by the year’s end,” Self said.

Kansas looked more like a team that isn’t even in the top 100 defensively in its first exhibition game against Washburn last week. In the 98-79 victory, the Jayhawks committed 28 fouls and the young players seemed lost on defense.

A week later, the Jayhawks already played much improved. The offense starred in the 103-58 victory against Emporia State Tuesday night, but the defense was more than solid.

Self said he saw slight improvements. The freshmen only finished with six combined fouls as opposed to 13. The Hornets only shot 36 percent from the field against the Jayhawks. Sophomore center Cole Aldrich contributed three of his trademark blocks. Five players finished with multiple steals.

Junior guard Sherron Collins, known as a steady defender, said the difference was Kansas focusing for the whole 40 minutes.

“I think we played better defensively,” Collins said. “I just think getting ahead by a lot and going to the locker room thinking you have the game won, you come out flat. But I think we did a good job coming out with more energy.”

And perhaps, a little more concentration. One statistic that stood out in Self’s mind was that freshman forwards Marcus and Markieff Morris only combined for one foul in the game against Emporia State.

Against Washburn, they committed eight. The Morris twins began playing less with their hands in the second game and didn’t play with excessive physicality.

“My first game I wasn’t really looking to be a defender,” Marcus said. “I was just more trying to get in the flow of the game and see how it was to play my first college game.”

He must have learned something. Marcus Morris contributed six rebounds, two steals and a block in the game against Emporia State.

Self said by the end of the year, Marcus could be the best defender on the team because of his unlikely combination of 6-foot-8 size and quick feet.

But it’s going to continue to be a work in progress for all five of the freshmen. They are, of course, only one year out of high school, where the defensive demands are significantly less.

Not only are the defensive schemes more complex in college than they are in college, but Self said some of the elite players aren’t taught how to guard.

Self said this was because high school coaches just play zone defense with their big men and tell them not to foul.

“That’s not bad coaching. That’s maybe smart because you’re keeping your best players in the game, which gives you a better chance to win,” Self said. “Here, we don’t care about that.”

Self cares about guarding. It’s his job to teach the freshmen how to do it correctly. It doesn’t come overnight.

When Self coached at Illinois, he once had a motto that stated “youth is not an excuse.” Especially on defense.

— - Edited by Scott Toland