Kansas’ Wayne Selden’s Potential Needs To Become Production

If I told you an unnamed player who started complied a stat line of 9.7 points, 2.5 assists and 2.6 rebounds per contest, your first thought would more than likely be somewhere along the lines of this guy being a middle of the pack player with an average skill set.

You certainly wouldn’t think he was projected to be a lottery pick, had he entered the NBA Draft after his freshman season, in which he began as a McDonald’s All-American ranked 14th in an absolutely loaded recruiting class.

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It’s not your typical formula for someone with such high accolades as seen from the blind eye, but that’s the fashion in which many would say

’s freshman season panned out after he under-performed in comparison to what is usually expected from one of the most highly touted freshmen in the nation.

Of course, there are circumstances that contributed to his mediocre inaugural season, such as taking a back seat to fellow freshman teammates who were selected first and third in the 2014 NBA Draft in Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, respectively. But those guys are now gone and a new crop of stud freshmen have come into town to join Selden with All-American’s Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre looking to take their positions in the front court.

But as crazy as it sounds to call a sophomore a veteran, that’s exactly what Selden will be next season and with his elite athleticism and tremendous potential, the time has come for him to turn his potential into productivity.

That said, the level of production head coach Bill Self will get out of Selden’s sophomore season will all depend on the mindset and confidence he has in himself once the season kicks off. Luckily for Selden, one given will be the increased number of shots he will see with the departures of Wiggins and Embiid.

Leading the team in shots attempted, Wiggins heaved a whopping 422 shots, which was 105 more than the Jayhawks’ second-leading shot taker, Perry Ellis. Embiid also took his fair share of attempts with 171 which totals out to 593 more shots, technically speaking, that will be available for Selden to pick and choose from.

Sure, it would be absolutely insane to see Selden even come close to attempting that many shots, but the freedom to become the team’s primary scorer and go-to guy when the team is looking for a spark is definitely there. Assuming he will become more aggressive on the offensive end, his shot attempts should hover around 15 or 16 a game, as opposed to 7.9 last season.

This, in turn should lead to a significantly higher scoring impact, especially if he makes the offseason improvements most do between their first two seasons.

As for his passing, despite being a shooting guard, with the departure of Naadir Tharpe and no for certain solution as the facilitator, Selden could find himself handling the rock much more frequently next season for Kansas. He has the vision and touch to become a solid passing asset, but the lack of freedom he had last season forced him to become one-dimensional and look for shots when he could get them.

With some added comfort, confidence and time spent handling the ball, his openings for others, as well as himself will become much clearer.

His rebounding on the other hand, the potential to get in and crash the boards is undoubtedly there. I know he had to compete with the likes of Embiid, Wiggins and Ellis for boards last season, but 2.6 per game simply isn’t good enough for a guy of his caliber. Hitting the weight room and improving his strength will be key, but at the end of the day, rebounding comes down to effort and that’s something that would show up on the scoreboard and stat sheet if he gave every possession full effort.

The reins aren’t going to be handed to Selden on a silver platter and the Jayhawks have a roster full of guys, whether incoming or current that are looking to find their minutes and role on the team. And for the notables like Oubre, Alexander and Ellis, they’re looking to take grasp of the team themselves and become the focal point of a national powerhouse.

As for Selden and what he brings to the table, it’s a talent with such huge upside that he could become one of the nation’s best, but it’s only the potential to become that as of now. It’s time for Selden to turn that potential into productivity.