Selden proves his worth to Jayhawks against Florida

Just when the Kansas Jayhawks needed him, Wayne Selden stepped up to the plate and showed just why he is seen as the leader of this team to beat the Florida Gators in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.

Selden has long been seen as integral to the Jayhawks’ hopes of competing for the Big 12 title this season and his second-half performance against Florida highlighted just how big a role the 20-year old will have this year.

With Kansas looking good in the Big 12, their football team will now be hoping to get their own season off to a similar start at the beginning of the New Year.

While a lot of punters at the bookies and the likes of BET FAIR are undecided over the Jayhawks’ chances in the 2015 season, new head coach David Beaty could do a lot worse than look at how Bill Self has worked with the basketball team during his 11-year tenure and hope for some similar success.

But Self was certainly looking a little nervous and frustrated for large parts of the Florida game.

Trailing 39-24 at half-time, Selden scored 14 of his 21 points after the break to ensure Kansas didn’t slip to a second defeat of the season.

The Gators had looked in full control during the opening half, frustrating the Jayhawks and forcing Kansas into a number of unforced errors.

But, in the second half, Selden took the game by the scruff of the neck, leading an impressive comeback that resulted in a morale-boosting win at Allen Fieldhouse.

Starting the game with a disappointing average of just 7.7 points per game, Selden proved against Florida that he is capable of much better stats that his record this season indicates.

With the impressive duo of Cliff Alexander and Perry Ellis continuing to shine inside, Kansas know they need strength in the backcourt if they are going to really have a hope of being in Big 12 championship contention come March.

Following his arrival at Kansas, Selden had been expected to be a huge star for the Jayhawks, although a lack of consistency has often seen the shooting guard come in for some criticism.

On the back of this display, though, Kansas fans will be hoping Selden can now start producing this level of performance on a much more regular basis than he perhaps has done this season.