Those highlights will be courtesy of Kansas University’s incoming freshmen, who, along with 12 other hungry basketball players, should most definitely warm-up the Jayhawks’ tradition rich building on cold winter nights. “This could be about as entertaining a team as I’ve had to coach. This is without question the most athletic team we’ve had,� 11th-year KU coach Bill Self said. He is as elated as anybody over the arrival of his Sensational Six freshmen recruits, whose performances figure to determine whether KU’s 2013-14 college basketball season is a runaway success or not. “This is about as excited I’ve been in coaching a young group of kids. We’ve got length. We’ve got height. We’ve got strength. We’ve got depth,� Self added. There is a caveat, however. “We don’t know how to play. After being around the guys all summer ... we’ve got a long way to go,� Self said. Now in his 21st year as a head coach, Self knows full-well a team this young — sophomore Perry Ellis and junior Naadir Tharpe are the veteran returnees off a 31-6 team that lost its five leading scorers — will have its ups AND its downs. “I’m not sure we’re better yet,� Self said of the Jayhawks, who last season won the Big 12 for a ninth straight year, claimed
the Big 12 postseason tourney title and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. “On paper we could have a chance to have a great run. To go 31-6 with our schedule (games against Duke, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, San Diego State, Georgetown in non-conference season) will be really hard to do. Ultimately we could have a team that could play for high stakes. That would be our goal every year. “It’s not often you lose five starters, a top pick (Ben McLemore, No. 7 overall, Sacramento Kings), another NBA player (Jeff Withey, second round, New Orleans Pelicans) and from a talent standpoint be comparable. I do think this team has a chance to do that,� Self added. KU, which says goodbye to McLemore, Withey, Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford and Kevin Young, brings in seven newcomers who are eligible to play. An eighth, 6-10 Hunter Mickelson of the University of Arkansas, must sit out the season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. One of the newcomers has extensive playing experience. Tarik Black, a 6-9 senior forward from Memphis, took advantage of the rule that allows a player immediate eligibility at a transfer destination if he has received an undergraduate degree. The U of M grad averaged 8.1 points and 4.8 boards a game his junior season at Memphis.
The other newcomers constitute the highly publicized Sensational Six. Wiggins, 6-8 from Thornhill, Ontario, enters as Rivals.com’s No. 1-ranked player nationally. Selden, 6-5 from Roxbury, Mass., is No. 12; Embiid, 7-foot from Cameroon, No. 25; Greene, 6-7 from Juliette, Ga., No. 29; Frankamp, 6-0 from Wichita North High School No. 34 and Mason, 5-11 from Petersburg, Va., No. 76. Wiggins is the guy who arrives with all the hype. “He’s an alpha dog, a take-charge guy, a leader, a unique guy,� Self said of Wiggins, expected to be No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. “He is humble, still yet he wants the moment. He lives for the moment. Athletically he’s different. It’s also what gives him a chance to really stand out. He doesn’t just play on athletic ability or talent alone. He plays with a competitive spirit that I think gives him a chance to be different. He’s just going to be a freshman. He will make mistakes. Would I sell out right now for him averaging what Ben (McLemore, 15.9 ppg) averaged last year? Absolutely. I do think he has a chance to be as all-around as anybody that we’ve had, certainly the most all-around player I’ve coached.� It’s easy to envision a scenario in which all six freshmen play a lot.
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