KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -Kansas coach Bill Self's fence-mending trip worked: Xavier and C.J. Henry are still coming to Lawrence to play for the Jayhawks.
A day after traveling to Oklahoma City for an air-clearing meeting with two of his prized recruits, Self said Wednesday that Xavier and C.J. will play for Kansas next season.
``It's resolved, at least from everybody's perspective who's involved in the process,'' Self said.
The tension started this week, following a story about the Henry family in The Kansas City Star.
Carl Henry, the brothers' father and a former KU player, told a Kansas City radio station he was concerned the story portrayed Xavier and C.J. as selfish and uninterested in attending college classes. He said the story, while factually accurate, made his sons look like prima donnas.
The story and Carl's comments created an Internet buzz and speculation that the brothers might bolt Kansas for Kentucky. Self headed off the flap before it could build any further.
``They were disappointed and hurt by what they thought the Kansas people were perceiving their family to be,'' Self said. ``They worked long and hard, just like all families, to develop a certain type of work ethic and reputation, and they thought that was being looked at kind of negatively. We talked about it and got it out in the open.''
C.J., a 6-4 guard, hasn't played organized basketball in four years. He played baseball in the New York Yankees system for three years and enrolled at Memphis as a non-scholarship freshman last year, unable to play due to a broken foot.
Xavier, a 6-foot-6 swing man and one of the nation's top high school recruits last year, wanted to play with his older brother, so he agreed to play at Memphis in April.
Calipari's departure for Kentucky changed everything. The brothers considered following Calipari, but ended up at Kansas, where both parents and an aunt played basketball.
Deep and talented, Kansas returns nearly everyone from a team that reached the NCAA round of 16 last season. The Henrys give Self one of the best recruiting classes Kansas has ever had, making the Jayhawks a preseason favorite to win their second national title in three years.
Self traveled to Oklahoma City with assistants Danny Manning and Joe Dooley. The coach said it didn't take long to sort things out.
``I got down there and they were saying, 'What are you guys doing here?' so it was not as big a deal with the boys as the parents,'' Self said. ``After we talked about it and got it to kind of a resolution, which really didn't take much, they were fine. They never gave me any indication they weren't coming to Kansas.''
One thing Self didn't discuss was a comment Carl Henry made about the coach needing to be onboard with what the family was trying accomplish, which would ultimately be both brothers playing in the NBA. Self said he coaches every player with the same purpose: to make the team and the players better.
``I don't have to discuss that with anyone,'' Self said. ``I'm the coach and they know I'm the coach. When they signed up to have the boys to play for me and us to coach them, they gave them to me to coach them.''
