The only reason Josh Selby was ever a college student was because the NBA's age minimum of 19 forced him to be one. According to media reports, he spent time in high school driving an acquaintance's Mercedes-Benz -- and he'll be able to get his own Benz soon enough. But in between he had to go through the mandated higher-education charade.
And now it's highly likely that Selby will be drafted lower this year than he would have been last June.
Let's face it: The past year was largely a waste of Selby's time and KU's effort. The school's basketball staff, academic support staff and compliance staff spent an enormous amount of manpower on getting the guard from Baltimore eligible. Part of it was an undertaking to determine his amateur status, but a bigger part was fighting for his academic credentials to be accepted.
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"Josh dealt with more crap than any other freshman I've been around," Self said.
He broke his hand shortly after arriving in Lawrence last summer. Then, after starting practice with the team, he became entangled in a protracted eligibility struggle that dragged on nearly forever. When it was finally settled, Selby was docked nine games and made to sit out 10 practices to make up for ones he'd participated in while technically ineligible.
When he finally took the court Dec. 18 against USC, Selby delivered 21 points and five rebounds -- and he played well through Feb. 1, averaging 12 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
But it was all downhill from there. A stress reaction in his right foot put him on the sideline for three games, and after coming back Selby was nothing more than a single-digit spare part.
He averaged fewer than four points in KU's final 13 games and never once shot 50 percent from the field. Selby lost minutes, lost confidence and lost his shooting touch. He finished his college career with a 7.9 ppg average on 37 percent shooting.
Still, the kid was set on testing the waters. He grew up in a stereotypical urban nightmare -- violence, drugs, poverty, an unstable family situation and academic struggle was his childhood context. Nobody can blame Selby for jumping at the first available chance at a better life.
The Josh Selby story exposes one-and-done -- college basketball - ESPN
