LAWRENCE — Javelin throwers do not usually do burnouts down the runway. They do not perform well if they’re overly amped.

Yet as warmups unfolded in the men’s division last Sunday at the Big 12 Outdoor, it was obvious Jesse Vaughn was juiced. Too much so.

In an instant, Kansas throws coach Andy Kokhanovsky recognized his senior needed to settle down.

“He noticed I was just trying to be the strong man of the day and just get one out there,’’ Vaughn said. “So we had to step back, start again and take it easy.

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Musings at the mid-week:

■ Listening to Bill Self constantly reference “agents and runners’’ over the years led some of us in the media to imitate that line.

■ Once, it even prompted me to ask the Kansas basketball coach to define a “runner.’’

■ They are unknowns that agents use to get in the heads of players and potentially convince stars to settle on a particular representative.

■ Now, the problem with runners is front and center. A middleman, Rodney Blackstock, allegedly arranged $10,000 in cash payments to Ben McLemore’s AAU coach, Darius Cobb.

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LAWRENCE — Senior night without the senior was conducted again Tuesday at Kansas.

When underclassmen declare for the NBA draft, they join Bill Self and speak at cameras and recorders.

The exercise is not as frightful as engaging 16,300 in Allen Fieldhouse. Then again, what’s at stake can be.

Is Ben McLemore ready? We all wonder. Which means he falls — loosely — into the same category as a couple of other recent one-and-dones for the Jayhawks, Josh Selby and Xavier Henry.

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ARLINGTON, Texas — The call, as it turned out, perhaps did not favor Kansas.

The Jayhawks may have been better off had Elijah Johnson been whistled for a flagrant two and been ejected.

The senior point guard never collected himself completely Friday in Cowboys Stadium.

Yet for the longest time, it did not matter. Kansas was in control. The Jayhawks’ experience, fortitude and talent pushed the lead against Michigan into double figures.

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ARLINGTON, Texas — Ben McLemore missed a dunk at the end of the shoot-around Kansas engaged in Thursday at Cowboys Stadium.

The basketball forcefully caromed off the rim to halfcourt.

McLemore then missed another slam to begin a dunking exhibition coach Bill Self staged for fans to end the Jayhawks’ public practice for teams in the South Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

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Musings at the mid-week:

■ Among points Bill Self raised Tuesday was the need for Kansas to play like a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

■ That happened in one half on opening weekend in KC. Wow, was that a good half as the Jayhawks buried North Carolina.

■ One make outside 2 feet against Western Kentucky remains incredible.

■ Interesting when Self notes one characteristic of this year’s KU squad is how close it has come to reaching its ceiling.

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