Time has told an unfortunate story for Josh Selby and his short Kansas Jayhawks career. The hype of one of the country's top five recruits coming to join a loaded Kansas squad that already had the Morris twins down low -- Markieff and Marcus -- had many crowning Bill Self's 2010-11 Jayhawks team as national champions before any games were played. The team held the No. 1 ranking for some time even before Selby's arrival. Certainly he would put them over the top.
Then came the struggles, an injury and an inability to make good on all of that potential. One season after wowing scouts with his aggressive scoring ability, Selby looked timid and never made the on-court splash that so many predicted. Instead, he bowed out after one season to jump to the NBA -- a move that has many shaking their heads at a kid cashing in at the lowest point.
Not so says ESPN's Chad Ford, however. He still has Selby tagged as a lottery talent, and says that Self's program was perhaps to blame for Selby's lack of impact:
Selby had some answers of his own. He missed the first nine games of the season serving an NCAA suspension for taking illegal benefits as a high school player. By the time he was able to play, Kansas had a tight rotation that Selby would have to fit into. Also, the style of play wasn't a great fit for Selby. He is at his best initiating the offense and creating off the dribble. At Kansas, he was often asked to get the ball up the floor, dump it to one of the Morris twins and then spot up in the corner.
It would be an interesting twist if Selby ends up chosen before both of his teammates at KU, yet that's a likely scenario given the allure of potential when it comes to the NBA Draft. That's the reason Kwame Brown gets chosen first, Hasheem Thabeet taken second and Darko Milicic over Carmelo Anthony. Selby can still make good on such athleticism and talent, and that's what Ford believes he will do. But to this point, the hype doesn't match the substance.