Des Moines, Iowa – If there’s one player that Kansas guard Bobby Pettiford is familiar with heading into Saturday's showdown against Arkansas, it's Ricky Council IV. Pettiford, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard attended South Granville High School in Durham, N.C., while Council IV, the 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard, attended South Durham High School in Durham, N.C.

Snuggled inside his locker on Friday, Pettiford talked about his relationship with Council IV.

“Oh yes, I know him,” said Bobby Pettiford with a smile. “We haven’t talked this week, but we’ll probably talk today. A lot of people from Durham have been texting about me and Ricky being on the same court during March Madness. People from Durham don’t see stuff like that, so that will be great.

“I’ve known Ricky for as long as I can remember," he added. "We played basketball together. We played on the Carolina Crossovers together and I can probably find some pictures of us. Ricky is my guy. We’ve been talking and working out together for a long time.”

In advancing to the Round of 32, Kansas defeated Howard, 96-68. Coming off the bench, Pettiford scored two points, pulled down two rebounds, dished out one assist, and was credited with two steals.

Arkansas, in defeating Illinois, 73-63, saw Council IV lead the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

How much, if any at all, has the Kansas coaching staff picked Pettiford’s brain in terms of gathering as much information as possible about Council IV?

“Oh yes, for sure,” said Pettiford when asked if the coaching staff has asked him about Council IV. “They’ve asked me about how he is, and he’s a dog, and he can score. He’s shooting better than he did last year and everybody knows that he’s a freak athlete, so I don’t have to tell them that.

“Arkansas is a really good team,” he added. “I think they are very underrated and I know they missed some key players this season (injury). I think they are really better (record-wise) than the record shows and they’ve got some young guys running the show.”

On the season, Council is averaging 16.0 points, 3.6 rebounds per game, and 2.2 assists per game. Offensively, he’s connected on 44.3 percent of his field goals, 27.4 percent of his shots from behind the arc, and 78.3 percent of his free throws.

In 83 career games, Council IV is averaging 12.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. He’s shot 43.7 percent from the field, 30.6 perfect from behind the arc, and 78.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Not surprisingly, he’s a player that the Kansas coaching staff is quite familiar with heading into Saturday's showdown.

“Ricky is an explosive athlete,” said Norm Roberts. “His first step is ridiculously quick and he's explosive to the rim. He's a really, really good player, and he's had a great year for them. Mitchell and his brother, they've always been good.

“They know how to screen,” he added. “They know how to pinch post. They know how to attack the glass. They make an impact on the game defensively by walling up and blocking shots. They've all had a great year there at Arkansas.”