KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Upon sheer mention of the relationship between Devonte’ Graham and Svi Mykhailiuk, Kansas assistant coach Jerrance Howard can’t keep from interjecting … loudly.

"Brothers!" he shouts, turning the heads of a couple passersby in a corridor outside the KU locker room at Sprint Center.

Looking from afar, you’d have no idea how deep that brotherhood goes.

One glance at Graham tells you everything you need to know about his personality. In games, he’s likely smiling, possibly skipping or bouncing around. He seems to feed off the energy from the crowd and it carries over into his personal life, too.

"It works for him. He does what he does," said forward Mitch Lightfoot. "And obviously everybody loves Devonte’ Graham because of it."

Contrast that with Mykhailiuk, a tall guard with elite shooting potential whose biggest trash-talking moments come when he smacks his lips together or glances in the general direction of one of his teammates in a practice.

He’s soft-spoken, though Lightfoot insists he’ll joke around a bit more behind closed doors, and would much rather hide his face from the camera — specifically the one on Graham’s phone — than jump in front of it.

"He puts me (in his Snapchat) too much," Mykhailiuk playfully laments. "I don’t want to be in his story."

Yet, when it was time to divvy up room assignments for the road, the two seemed a natural pairing.

Even looking at it three years later, assistant coach Kurtis Townsend still remembers why he recommended to Bill Self that the 6-foot-8 guard from Ukraine should be matched with his 6-2 North Carolinian counterpart. Townsend noticed it almost immediately, remembering how connected the two were from their first days on campus.

"I never saw him without Devonte’ real close to him," Townsend said.

After sharing a room over and over, there’s no doubt about their bond.

Mykhailiuk admires Graham’s social media habits, rattling off the list of platforms he’ll use in given day.

Graham, on the other hand, notes Mykhailiuk is an avid WWE fan, though more often than not he just sees him playing games on his computer.

But for some reason — whatever it is — it just works. And that’s why the two continue to get paired up, even though, as Howard notes, they seem to be, well …

"They’re completely opposites," Howard said. "It’s an unbelievable relationship."

* * * * *

When Svi Mykhailiuk first arrived in Lawrence, his English wasn’t great.

"He didn’t know seven words," Howard jokes.

Perhaps, but he did have one part of the culture down — specifically, three letters that quickly earned him the respect of Graham.

"He actually had a pretty good taste in music when he first got here," Graham said. "He’s a big DMX fan."

Mykhailiuk’s initial gravitation toward Graham made sense.

While he had the intrigue and allure of being a foreign prospect, it was easy to forget Mykhailiuk was just 16 years old and eager to fit in. And with Graham having the personality to take on the spotlight, Mykhailiuk was able to exist peacefully alongside him while he figured out his bearings.

"It makes it easier on guys," said guard Tyler Self. "I don’t think he’s felt as nervous or as pressured being around Devonte’."

Even today, the effects are clear.

There’s a rule on the team when it comes to Mykhailiuk, pointed out by freshman Josh Jackson after a game at Kansas State earlier in the season. If Mykhailiuk is open for 3, you give him the ball. No questions asked.

Still, when the Ukranian was going through a bit of a slump, he started to pass up open looks in games. Then he started to do the same in practice, earning a look from Graham that tells him what he already knows.

"The next possession," Howard said, "Svi’s going to shoot it."

At the beginning of his career, though, that was sort of the problem.

Mykhailiuk entered KU with great size for his position and had shown flashes of the all-around player he could become, but he wasn’t quite ready to step into that role right away.

"He came in as just a shooter," Graham said. "His first year, that’s all he did."

Since that time, Graham notes, Mykhailiuk has made strides in his mentality and has become much more aggressive.

It shows.

In a loss at West Virginia in January, Mykhailiuk posted seven assists — a career high. In back-to-back road wins against Oklahoma and Iowa State, he combined for 15 rebounds. Prior to this season, his career highs in both categories were four and five, respectively.

"I would say everything," Mykhailiuk said of his improvement. "Just trying to get better in every aspect of the game."

Now, part of the reason for the increase can be easily explained.

Mykhailiuk is averaging more than twice as many minutes this season than in either of the first two years of his career, which has led to him setting career highs in several different categories.

At the same time, Mykhailiuk doesn’t count out the effect playing alongside Graham has had. If anything, he embraces it.

"I know him pretty good. He knows me pretty good," Mykhailiuk said. "It also helps us on the court."

* * * * *

By now, you’ve heard the Devonte’ Graham story. It’s been told over and over.

What’s traveled under the radar, though, are a particular set of skills he uses to ruthlessly bury opponents, far off the court in Allen Fieldhouse and even away from the hoop in McCarthy Hall.

"Svi’s definitely the ping-pong champion," Graham said. "But I’m way better at pool."

Putting aside their escapades — which to the chagrin of Mykhailiuk always seem to end up on social media — that playful demeanor has helped Graham as much as it has helped Mykhailiuk.

Graham always showed signs of charisma and leadership, but he wasn’t pushed into that role early on because of the other players on the roster.

The Jayhawks were a young team in Graham’s first season, but they still had guards like Frank Mason and Wayne Selden, both of whom had already completed one season under Self.

Enter Svi Mykhailiuk.

"So many people look to Frank as our leader," Townsend said. "Devonte’ got somebody that looks to him like, ‘Wow, I need you.’ And that always makes somebody feel good."

Unlike Mykhailiuk, Graham’s on-court growth from his sophomore season to his junior one has been a bit more modest — at least until the tournament.

Through three rounds, Graham has tallied 60 points and is shooting better than 50 percent from the field and from 3, all numbers way up from the year before.

His real improvement, though, has come on the sidelines, where Graham hasn’t just gotten more comfortable as a leader, but has even gone as far as to suggest an adjustment to his coach during the team’s 98-66 win over Purdue that helped turn a close contest into a laugher.

After Graham shot a contested 3 against Caleb Swanigan, Self got on him, expressing his displeasure with the attempt. Graham listened to the message and then offered up his own suggestion — if the guards were to start their sets higher up on the floor, it would create more space to drive downhill.

Therein lies another difference between the guards.

When it comes to lessons from their coach, Graham and Mykhailiuk have always responded a bit differently.

Graham, as Townsend puts it, has a way of listening, taking in the advice from the coaches and then letting the message bounce off him. Conversely, Mykhailiuk used to take things a little more personally, at least when he first arrived on campus.

"I don’t know if he ever had a coach get on him like coach Self does," Townsend said.

He probably hasn’t had a teammate like Graham either.

There are the looks he’ll give Mykhailiuk, telling him to shoot, but when that isn’t getting the message across, Graham has no problem walking up to him and emphasizing it even further.

"Man, shoot the ball," he’ll say. "You’re open."

And Mykhailiuk will listen.

* * * * *

Devonte’ Graham has his thing. Svi Mykhailiuk wanted one of his own.

Anyone who’s watched KU go through warmups or follows the team on social media has seen Graham’s pregame ritual. He’ll make sure he’s on camera — filmed typically by KU strategic communications manager Rachel Pincus — and then begin taking shots from half-court.

The videos are somewhat repetitive, but there’s a reason why people keep looking at them.

"It isn’t the shot," Pincus notes. "It’s his reaction."

So well before the team’s game against Baylor, having seen Graham shoot — and react — a number of times, Mykhailiuk decided it was time for a shot of his own.

He sat on the visitor’s bench, launching 3 after 3 until finally Graham noticed what was happening. He quickly swooped in, taking a seat next to Mykhailiuk and alternating shots back and forth with him until finally one of Graham’s rattled in.

Brandishing his signature smile, Graham popped off the bench, looking back at Mykhailiuk with a playful laugh to celebrate his win. The 19-year-old Ukranian was beaten, though far from discouraged.

"I’m gonna hit one," Mykhailiuk said, continuing to shoot.

It’s in these moments the brother-like relationship between Mykhailiuk and Graham is evident. It’s also a reminder there may not be many more of those moments remaining.

As it stands, both Graham and Mykhailiuk could forgo their senior seasons and opt to enter the NBA Draft. The duo are both projected as top 70 prospects by DraftExpress.com, with Graham being projected to go in the middle of the second round.

But whether their time as Jayhawks ends at three years or there’s a senior finale in store, it’s clear the two have left their mark on the current team, demonstrating what Howard says is one of the best things about sports.

"That’s one thing you’ve got to appreciate about the game of basketball," Howard said. "You kind of create life-lasting memories and relationships with guys from all different walks of life."