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2016 NBA Draft: Kansas’ Wayne Selden Jr.

By Michael Whitlow

Mar 17, 2016; Des Moines, IA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Wayne Selden Jr. (1) handles the ball the ball against Austin Peay Governors guard Khalil Davis (11) during the first half in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2016; Des Moines, IA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Wayne Selden Jr. (1) handles the ball the ball against Austin Peay Governors guard Khalil Davis (11) during the first half in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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Throughout the offseason for the Chicago Bulls, we’ve looked at potential prospects that could be selected in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Bulls. With this look, we’ll glance at Kansas wing Wayne Selden Jr., who recently worked out for the Bulls.

Wayne Selden Jr. was one of Bill Self’s prized recruits in 2013 for the Kansas Jayhawks. Selden Jr. joined the likes of former No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins and No. 3 overall pick Joel Embiid in one of the best recruiting classes in recent memory.

Selden Jr. stayed with the Jayhawks for two more seasons after Wiggins and Embiid left after their Round of 32 exit against Stanford a few years back and helped lead the Jayhawks to the Big XII regular season and tournament titles this past season before bowing out to eventual national champ Villanova in the Elite Eight.

During his three seasons in Kansas, Selden Jr. certainly had flashes of brilliance, including a career-high 33 points at home against the Kentucky Wildcats this season in an overtime thriller.

He also shut the Big XII Tournament down a few weeks later with one of the dunks of the year in the college ranks.

(The hilarious reaction from the fan with the clock around his neck was his uncle, Anthony.)

As you can see with this vicious throwdown against Baylor, Selden Jr.’s athleticism in the open floor can’t be questioned. When he’s got a full head of steam, not many can slow the 6’5″, 232-pound wing down.

So, with all the hype around Selden Jr. even before he set foot in Lawrence, Kansas, why is receiving second-round grades during the pre-draft process?

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There’s a few things holding Selden Jr. back:

  • He’s an extremely streaky player. In his 33-point performance against Kentucky back in January, he shot 12-of-20 from the field. It took Selden Jr. five games after the UK game to reach that amount.
  • He’s not an advanced ball-handler. Like myself, DraftExpress projects Selden Jr. as a three-and-D guy in the NBA. His handles are fairly basic and he’s not a player that can consistently create enough space of his own shot.
  • He’s a right-dominant player on offense. Offensively, Selden Jr.’s size can help him get to good spots on the floor to score, but he’s reliant on just his right hand far too often.

DraftExpress also expands into things Selden must work on more in the future as well, including shooting more at the top of his jump on his jump shot.

Despite not being a truly advanced player at this stage in his career, Selden Jr. still has some things going for him. He’s already developed into an NBA body (6’5.75″ with a 6’10.5″ wingspan measurement at the 2016 NBA Draft Combine), which makes it tough to slow him down in the open floor when he decides to attack the paint.

Along with his positive size, Selden has improved his shooting and his form. It all needs a fair amount of work still, but he improved his overall shooting percentage from 43.7 percent to 47.4 percent in his three years with the Jayhawks. He also shot a tad over 39 percent from three in 189 attempts last season.

As a potential second-round pick of the Bulls — who definitely could use some help on the wing — Selden Jr. wouldn’t be expected to come in and produce right away with guys like Jimmy Butler and Doug McDermott already in front of him.

(Selden Jr.’s role as a second-rounder would be similiar to what we discussed with Oregon State guard Gary Payton II earlier in the week and possibly playing for the new Windy City Bulls D-League franchise to develop more.)

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But moving forward, if Wayne Selden Jr. could expand his offensive game a little more and find a consistent jumper (in terms of his form), he could become a nice role player for a Bulls team that is looking shoot more and more from the perimeter under now second-year head coach Fred Hoiberg and need more athletes outside of Butler trying to stop wings around the league.

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