Tuesday afternoon, Fran Frischilla was calling the Tulsa-Arkansas Little-Rock game when he made a bold but not at all unbelievable claim. Frischilla said that if Kansas splintered off their second five into another team, that team would be among the 25 best in the country. Like I said: not all that far-fetched. That this statement isn't met with grave incredulity is a testament to how talented and experienced and deep Kansas really is this year. It's the Jayhawks, and then it's everyone else.

Here's another example. Tuesday night, star freshman forward Thomas Robinson -- whom Rivals called one of the elite rebounders in his class -- played a mere two minutes. Why? Because the man in front of him, Cole Aldrich, is too good to take out of the game. Per Bill Self:

"Thomas didn’t get a chance to play because if he played, then Cole can’t, because he (Robinson) can’t chase a guard around," KU coach Bill Self said. Cole Aldrich, who earned MVP honors, scored 18 points with 11 rebounds and five blocks in 30 minutes.

OK, so there is obviously strategy involved here. Robinson is a bit more of a lumberer than is Aldrich, and Memphis was throwing four and sometimes five guards at the Jayhawks, because Memphis's team is primarily made up of guards. Adding Robinson would have been a liability. I get that.

Still. Robinson would be a starter at almost any other school in the country. Heck, most of Kansas's bench would, and that includes fellow top recruit Elijah Johnson and bench forward Markieff Morris. These are really good players, and the fact that Bill Self can take them off the bench to sub in for guys like Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich, and Xavier Henry is a luxury few college basketball teams have. Not just in 2009. Like, ever.

Now they just have to play like it. Easy, right?

Related: Pac-10 Basketball