LAWRENCE | How deep are the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks? Well, KU coach Bill Self said Monday that Mario Little and Travis Releford have played very well during two-plus weeks of practice. But he also said they could redshirt this season. </p><p>Little and Releford, wing players with enough talent to start for most programs, will not play during tonight&rsquo;s exhibition game against Fort Hays State at Allen Fieldhouse because only first-year players are allowed to play in exhibition games and still redshirt. By sitting Little and Releford, Self will have another week to decide whether they are ready to break into KU&rsquo;s playing rotation. </p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of good players, and I think it&rsquo;s a good problem to have,&rdquo; Self said. &ldquo;I also think this: We can&rsquo;t keep all our good players happy if everybody plays. But if you redshirt a couple that are (future) starters at Kansas, it&rsquo;s probably a pretty good tradeoff.&rdquo;</p><p>Little, a senior from Chicago, would have to make the jump to a starting role next season. Releford, a sophomore from Kansas City who played at Bishop Miege, would have three more years to realize his potential. Of the freshmen, it appears that only guard Elijah Johnson would be a candidate for a redshirt year. </p><p>Self has said that he will not waver from his usual rotation of eight or nine guys. At guard, the Jayhawks have Sherron Collins, Tyshawn Taylor, Xavier Henry, Tyrel Reed, Brady Morningstar and C.J. Henry etched into the not-redshirting category. None of KU&rsquo;s inside players &mdash; Cole Aldrich, Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey &mdash; will redshirt. </p><p>By December, when Morningstar returns from his suspension and Withey can play for the first time after transferring from Arizona a year ago, Self will have 11 skilled players at his disposal. If Little, Releford and Johnson can&rsquo;t beat out the likes of Taylor, Xavier Henry and Morningstar in the next few weeks, they will likely be asked to redshirt for the good of the program and their own futures.</p><p>For Self, the only problem has been figuring out who is better than who. </p><p>&ldquo;We talk about separation,&rdquo; Self said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s been the separation we hoped for two weeks in. I still think everyone looks about the same.&rdquo;</p><p>The players who gain enough separation will be a part of a team expected to lead the race for a national championship. The ones who don&rsquo;t will be a part of it from the periphery. No wonder practices have been as heated as ever in Lawrence. </p><p>&ldquo;(Self) says it&rsquo;s for playing time,&rdquo; Xavier Henry said. &ldquo;Everybody knows. You&rsquo;re not out there just messing around.&rdquo;</p><p>Collins said that there has been a lot of trash-talking between members of the blue and red teams during scrimmages. Collins was asked which player had been talking the most, and his answer wasn&rsquo;t all that surprising given Self&rsquo;s comments on redshirt candidates.</p><p>&ldquo;Travis,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s letting you know when he&rsquo;s hitting shots, letting you know when he gets a deflection. Travis is the biggest talker we&rsquo;ve got right now.&rdquo;</p><p>Self said that C.J. Henry has missed nine days of practice because of a knee injury and won&rsquo;t play tonight.