Look! You can't even see the court!
Five days away, Jayhawk Nation is only five days away from seeing one of the most talked about freshman in the country up close and personal when he takes the court for the first time Saturday morning against USC. Buckle up Kansas fans because you are about to see one of the most electrifying players to ever wear the crimson and blue.
It’s Josh Selby Time!
Coach Self has done everything he can to deflect the Selby hype off of his prized freshman, but lets be honest here, Selby has hype around him because, well, he’s good. Really good. Really, really good. So good that after totally dominating during McDonald’s All-American week, which hosts what most people think are the top players in the country, Selby quickly became one of the most anticipated incoming freshmen in recent memory. Simply put – Selby was the best player there. He dominated throughout the week of practices and scrimmages, and he was sick throughout much of the week.
ESPN.com’s Reggie Rankin wrote during the McDonald’s All-American Game Practices: “I think Selby’s played the best during the practices I’ve attended. He can score, and his athletic ability is a great asset. A relentless attacker, Selby doesn’t stop until he gets to the rim.”
How will Selby impact the Jayhawks once he takes the floor on December 18th against USC? That one question has been asked over and over ince the season started, so I’m going to tell you.
Toughness: The words ‘mentally tough’ get tossed around a lot in sports, that a player is or isn’t mentally tough. I’m not sure that those two words can truly describe Selby once he steps on the court. Tough, winner, proud, competitive…those words fit, but it’s not enough. Selby has the will to win that just makes him different. He wants to prove to all those that said he wasn’t the best that he is the best. You could be his best friend or his cousin, it really doesn’t matter. Once you step on the court as his opponent, you’re going to get destroyed.
ESPN.com’s Scouts Inc, which is led by former college coach Paul Biancardi, stayed consistent with their scouting reports on Selby.
January 2010: “Selby competes and plays with toughness.”
July 2009: “He competes and plays with toughness and never allows his defender to relax.”
May 2009: “I love his energy and tenacity; the kid is a winner that loves to compete and he never stops giving his all on the court.”
June 2008: “Josh is a warrior on the basketball court.”
The will to win is one thing, but the will to win with something to prove is another. Selby doesn’t need to prove that he’s one of the best freshmen in the country. Selby wants to prove he is THE best. If he’s told he can’t do something he will do whatever it takes to show that he can do it and can do it better than anyone else.
During last April’s Jordan Brand Classic in New York City, Selby was joking around with former Duke guard and current ESPN commentator, Jay Williams during warm-ups. Williams pointed to spots on the floor behind the three point line while telling Selby ‘I bet you can’t hit it from here.’ Selby did it over and over again. Tell him he can’t and you will be forced to admit he can.
The Jayhawks have already shown this season that they can play with, and beat, any team in the country. However, with Selby, the Jayhawks will have another player on the court that can take over in tight situations. Selby wants the ball and thrives in those situations. His ability to create for himself and his teammates will make Kansas nearly impossible to defend.
Changes How Opponents Can Defend: Without Selby the Jayhawks are forced to rely on the individual talents of their star players, Marcus Morris and Tyshawn Taylor. Obviously that has worked out for the Jayhawks thus far, but relying on two players for an entire season is tough to do for any team. With Selby playing the game that changes drastically. Not just for Morris and Taylor, but for everyone else on the court as well.
If Taylor, Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed are all on the court together, the Jayhawks are forced to rely on Taylor to be the only perimeter player on the court who can get to the rim or create off of his penetration for his teammates. Morningstar and Reed, who are both terrific players in their own right, are best used as spot up jump-shooters who thrive off of someone else’s creativity. If opponents sag off of Taylor in order to make it much harder for him to penetrate and create, Morningstar and Reed are then forced to take many more contested
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shots than they would when their man is forced to help stop the penetration.
That changes once Selby hits the court. With Selby, Taylor, and/or Morningstar and Reed on the court together, the Jayhawks now have two guys that can create off of penetration. It creates a ‘pick your poison’ situation for opponents. Opponents can sag off both Taylor and Selby to prevent penetration but once the ball enters the post, the Jayhawks will then have multiple guys open to shoot uncontested jumpshots. If opponents play into their man, the Jayhawks will have at least three of their five players on the court who have the ability to beat their man one-on-one. In other words, Selby makes the Kansas offense complete, and very difficult to defend.
Makes the players around him better: As mentioned earlier, Selby will change how opponents can defend Kansas once he hits the court. His ability to create will increase the offensive production and efficiency of his teammates. Morningstar and Reed will go back to being back breaking jump-shooters and Tyshawn Taylor will see open lanes to the rim because Selby makes it nearly impossible for teams to take both of them away. Opportunities for Thomas Robinson and the Morris twins will also increase because Selby and Taylor will have many more opportunities to create for them. They will also see more opportunities to take their man one-on-one in the post which will create defenses to adjust to the post players, which will lead to more open perimeter players.
Selby will make players like Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford better as well.
With Selby and Taylor on the floor the Jayhawks have one of the quickest and most athletic backcourts in the country. Add Elijah Johnson or Travis Releford and now the Jayhawks are just downright scary.
Put any three of the four on the court together and the Jayhawks will run a lot of opponents out of the gym. Once the Jayhawks create a turnover, those guards are so quick and athletic you can guarantee two points the other way, and most likely in spectacular fashion.
Pressure: Unlike many other high profile freshmen in the country, Selby won’t have an enormous amount of pressure to carry his team. Selby doesn’t have to be great in every game in order for the Jayhawks to win. Like all freshmen, Selby will make mistakes on the court. He will turn the ball over or miss a defensive assignment that costs his team two points. However, he will also do whatever he can to make sure his team walks out of there with the win.
Buckle up Kansas fans – ‘The Problem’ is about create havoc on opponents.
