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KANSAN.COM
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Will the real Wayne Selden Jr. please stand up?
SCOTT CHASEN @SchasenKU
Junior guard Wayne Selden Jr., pitched at Team U.S.A.'s first exhibition game, scored 15 points against Turkey and 23 points on Brazil at the World University Games.
IAMFS HOYT/KANSAN
Leading up to last year's NCAA Tournament, things seemed to be moving the right way for Wayne Selden Jr. He was averaging 17.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game over his last three contests and shooting better than 71 percent from the field in his last two games alone.
There would be no fairytale ending.
Selden scored just six points in the NCAA tournament, shooting 27.3 percent from the field. Selden missed both of his tournament three-point attempts and couldn't get to the free throw line a single time in 43 minutes.
Now fast forward three months: In the two exhibitions in Kansas City, Mo., leading up to the World University Games, Selden averaged 17.5 points per game, shooting better than 50 percent from the field. He had a double-double in the second contest, posting 22 points
and 10 rebounds, and unlike last time, his performance would be a sign of things to come.
Selden had his way against Turkey in the Jayhawks' opener, scoring 19 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. He added nine rebounds and a steal in his 38 minutes on the court, but that wasn't even the most impressive thing.
Selden seamlessly adapted to the increased physicality of playing against a team of grown men, which was something the rest of the Jayhawks struggled with. He had no problem ripping away rebounds from the much taller Turkey team, and he also had the biggest highlight of the night when he rose up and threw down a thunderous alley-oop dunk off a Nic Moore assist. In the team's next outing, it was the same story. Selden diced up Brazil early to the tune of 15 first-half points. He'd finish with another well-rounded performance, posting 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, rounding out his stat line with four rebounds, three assists and three
steals in 39-plus minutes. In fact, it was such a strong performance that by the end of the game, Selden found himself trending nationally on Twitter.
So who is the real Wayne Selden Jr.? Is he the man who has dominated the international competition and showed that he can shine in the face of pressure? Or is he the man who has absolutely disappeared in the last two NCAA tournaments, totaling a mere 2.5 points per game on 19 percent (4-of-21) shooting? What is the World's best?
It's hard to tell at this point. It's very easy to look at Selden and some of his games and get excited. He is well put together for a basketball player, and he seems to have all the tools to succeed at the NCAA level. However, there's also a massive two-year sample size to draw from, during which Selden showed himself to be inconsistent and underwhelming.
And from year one to two, Selden showed little improvement. His points, rebounds, assists, blocks,
steals, fouls and turnovers per game all stayed within 0.3 of where they had been the year before, while his field goal percentage dropped from an unimpressive 43.7 percent to a flat-out bad 38.2 percent.
It would be absolutely reasonable to accept that he isn't going to break out in the next year.
But despite all that, something about this feels different. It may be a bit of optimism to make the leap on my part, but this Selden looks
different than any previous version of himself. And the difference isn't physical; it's in his play on the court.
He looks more aggressive, more focused, more confident. If this is the Selden we all see in the college season, the Jayhawks could be one of the best teams in the nation.
With Selden playing this well, a Final Four could be in the cards.
So will the real Wayne Selden Jr. please stand up? We may have our answer soon enough.
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