Wayne Selden ready to become KU’s leading man

Here was Wayne Selden, standing in the bowels of the Sprint Center on Wednesday morning. He wore a red tie and dress pants. He yawned once, preparing for a day of interviews at the annual Big 12 basketball media day in Kansas City.

For Selden, now a sophomore at Kansas, the questions would be the usual sort: Does KU have enough talent to secure an 11th straight Big 12 title? Can Selden, a shooting guard, step into the void left by former Kansas wing Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft? Can Selden, a limited ballhandler as a freshman, take some pressure of Kansas’ smaller guards by manning the point at times? Can Selden, a 6-foot-5 brute of a guard, handle the duties of the four position?

Wait, what? Wayne Selden playing the four?

“I love how Wayne can post and do some things,” Kansas coach Bill Self says.

So, yes, if there was any major revelation on Wednesday at the Sprint Center, it might have been Self talking about Selden as a jack-of-all-positions leading man. In one moment, Self was talking about using Selden as a secondary point guard to take some heat off sophomore Frank Mason and freshman Devonte’ Graham, the early leaders at the position. The next moment, he was talking about using a four-guard lineup with either Selden or freshman Kelly Oubre Jr. as a stretch four.

Self, of course, has talked about playing small in year’s past. But with a glut of options in the backcourt, he sounds serious about exploring a way to maximize Kansas’ length and athleticism on the perimeter.

“If your definition of small ball is playing four guards? Probably a lot,” Self says of the lineup. “But our four guards could be 6-5, 6-6, 6-7, 6-7, if we play Wayne at the point.”

The roots of the four-guard experiment appear to have taken hold during the summer months. As the Jayhawks went through their usual routine of summer workouts, Selden says KU’s coaching staff approached him about playing some four this year. At first, he says, he was a little surprised. For one, the Jayhawks have junior Perry Ellis, a preseason All-Big 12 selection and fringe All-American candidate, returning at the power forward. And Selden, a former McDonald’s All-American, started all 35 games on the wing as a freshman.

But as Selden thought more about the idea, he came to understand it.

“We have six or seven guards that could all start on this team,” Selden says. “There’s guards that might not play as much, but they could start on other Big 12 teams.”

Even in the preseason, with the Jayhawks’ season opener more than two weeks away, it appears clear that Kansas could be Selden’s team. A natural leader, Selden is the type of player, teammate Jamari Traylor says, who can hold teammates accountable during practice and be humble enough to take responsibilities for his own mistakes.

“He’s vocal,” Traylor says.

Last season, Selden entered his freshman season as a potential NBA prospect. But a nagging knee injury drained him of some of his natural athleticism. Selden still managed to average more than nine points per game, but he often deferred to Wiggins and center Joel Embiid, another future first-round pick.

“At times,” Selden says, when asked if he simply tried to blend in as a freshman. “When you have two of the top three picks in the draft… “

Selden’s voice trailed off for a moment.

“It’s hard to say,” he says.

Now Selden is trying to step into the leadership role. And really, it began in the days after Kansas’ loss to Stanford in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. Selden had heard some rumors that he was considering entering the NBA Draft, and he wanted to squash them.

“I knew I wanted to come back, probably even before the season was over,” Selden says. “I knew where I wanted to be. I knew, from a team standpoint, we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to accomplish last year. And I wanted more.”

Selden, of course, also wanted to take another step as a player. After one season at Kansas, he finally felt comfortable. And he liked the feeling.

“I feel a complete turnaround,” Selden says. “Last year, I was coming in blind, not really knowing what to expect being a freshman. Now I know what to expect, and I’m pretty confident.”

Young but ready? — The process could take a few months, Self says, but the Kansas baseketball coach can envision at least once scenario in which all four of Kansas’ freshmen play a crucial role in the Jayhawks’ rotation. In the past, Self has traditionally played a rotation with four to five perimeter players and four big guys.

“They need to be impactful,” Self said Wednesday at Big 12 media day. “We’ve got some good returning players, but we don’t have near as much experience as what a lot of people may think.”

Power forward Cliff Alexander projects to start alongside Perry Ellis in the frontcourt, while point guard Devonte’ Graham has impressed in practice to this point. Swingman Kelly Oubre Jr. and guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk could also compete for minutes on the wing, Self says.

“In order for us to have a great season, those four guys have to play well,” Self said. “Cliff needs to be our inside presence; Devonte’ needs to be our lead guard, or if he’s not, at least play starter’s minutes. Kelly Oubre needs to be our best wing defender. And of course, Sviatoslav could be our best shooter.”

The excess of options in the backcourt could lead to a playing time crunch. Last season, that meant that wing Brannen Greene played sparingly during his freshman season. When asked if Greene, a former top 30 recruit, would factor into the rotation this season, Self was noncommittal.

“I don’t know,” Self said. “I do think he has the talent to do so, without question. Everybody can’t factor in the way that you want. If you really break it down, you can’t play 12 guys and have everybody be a major factor. But right now, he’s one of the guys (battling for time).”

During the first three weeks of practice, Self tapped junior Perry Ellis and sophomore guards Selden and Frank Mason as the “best” players in practice. But Self added that freshman guard Devonte’ Graham is “just comfort away from being the lead guard on this team.”

“I’m not going to say he’s going to start,” Self said, “but he could very easily be our starter by midseason or maybe before.”

Sophomore center Landen Lucas, who could battle for reserve minutes inside, could be out another week because of a stress fracture in his foot, Self said.

Self revealed that he voted for Texas to win the Big 12 in the preseason conference poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team. Last season, Self voted for Oklahoma State in the preseason poll. The Jayhawks then won at least a share of the conference for the 10th straight season. “Hope I’m wrong again,” Self said.

This story was originally published October 15, 2014 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Wayne Selden ready to become KU’s leading man."