Print edition: 
OKLAHOMA CITY — They say it's hard being tall because, everywhere you go, people are always looking at you. Cole Aldrich probably thought he could escape that on the basketball court, but really, he hasn't.
Think about it. When has Aldrich, Kansas' 6-foot-11 center, gone up against an opponent that can look him in the eye this season? A look at KU's schedule reveals Oakland's Keith Benson, Cornell's Jeff Foote and Texas' Dexter Pittman as the only true centers with NBA ability that Aldrich has dueled.
For the most part, Aldrich has been able to direct traffic in the paint as if he were an elementary school hall monitor. During today's matchup with Northern Iowa center Jordan Eglseder, who stands 7-foot and weighs 280 pounds, Aldrich will get a chance to show what he can do when space to operate comes at a premium.
Is he prepared? Well, KU redshirt freshman Jeff Withey better hope so, or else he will feel as if he hasn't done his job very well.
"Every day," said Withey, who is 7-foot, "I'm trying to give him a hard time, block some shots and get him ready for games like this."
What a luxury to have. There aren't many guys like this, and the Jayhawks have two. When Withey transferred from Arizona during the middle of last season, KU hoped he would be a rotation player right away when he became eligible this season. But having him to challenge Aldrich at practice has been a suitable Plan B.
"It's really helped me a lot," Aldrich said. "Just knowing that last year I was going against (Markieff Morris) or Marcus (Morris). They've got great size, but they don't have the ability that Jeff does with his height. He's a legit 7-foot. He really contests you and makes you think about taking some of the shots that you do."
Withey knows more about guarding Aldrich than anyone. He knows the positives:
"His jump hook is really hard to block," Withey said. "The way he angles it, he's really fundamental. He also has really long arms. He may not be a 7-footer, but he has the arm length of a 7-footer. All the shots he takes are really tough to guard."
Withey also knows the negatives:
"Cole has his days where he's really aggressive, and then sometimes he's a little passive," Withey said. "I think he needs to be a little bit more aggressive, and that will come with the tournament."
It has to be nice for Aldrich to have a play pal. At one point this week in the locker room at the Ford Center, Aldrich and Withey stood in a doorway and attempted to outreach the other.
"I can reach just a little bit higher than he can," Aldrich said. "We were trying to figure out how high the doorway was. I'd say it's about 10."
The big guys sure do have a unique perspective. But, as much as Withey may have helped Aldrich, his 225-pound frame can't fully prepare Aldrich for Eglseder.
"One of the biggest keys for him is he needs to be the most athletic, quicker of the two," KU coach Bill Self said. "He's not going to go through this guy at all. He didn't go through Pittman. He's gonna have to use his quickness and understand he needs to make a quick move. Because there's gonna be some purple jerseys down there on top of him if he does catch it."
Aldrich, who gets to work with KU assistant coach Danny Manning every day as well, prides himself on his footwork. It will be put to the test today.
"Catching the ball in areas where he can go to work as opposed to catching the ball outside the scoring area," Self explained.
The Jayhawks do not ask Aldrich to score like they did a year ago, but they certainly could always use his scoring. Taking 10 field-goal attempts against Lehigh on Thursday was a good sign.
"Staying aggressive is the main thing," Aldrich said. "If I've got position on the post, just demand the ball. Make sure that if we're not able to throw it in, the defense at least collapses a little bit and we're able to drive it in and get good shots."
At least Aldrich won't be alone in directing traffic today.
"I look forward to every game, but just to have another true center... ," Aldrich said. "Because in the college game, there are very few true centers and going up against another one is a fun little pleasure."
