Guards Selden, Mason sign letters of intent to play basketball at KU

By Gary Bedore     Nov 16, 2012

Wayne Selden, a powerful combo guard from Massachusetts, and Frank Mason, a conventional point guard from Virginia, on Friday signed letters of intent to play basketball at Kansas University, coach Bill Self announced Friday night.

Selden, a a 6-5, 225-pound senior from Tilton (N.H.) School, is ranked No. 26 nationally by Rivals.com.

“Wayne is one of the most powerful wings in high school basketball,” Self said. “He’s got a great frame. He’s explosive. He can play the 2 (shooting guard) or 3 (small forward) and maybe even play some emergency point. He’s big enough to post and defend the 4 (power forward) if we decide to go small and he can make shots.”

Selden, who signed his letter at Shelburne Community Center in his hometown of Roxbury, Mass., averaged 16 points, five assists and three rebounds and helped lead Tilton to a 25-6 record and a spot in the state’s Class AA title game. Selden’s summertime Boston Amateur Basketball Club won the Elite Youth Basketball League title in 2011.

“He’s a strong kid. He has an NBA type body,” Self said. “He’s explosive. He can put it down on the deck, make threes.”

Selden reclassified from the Class of 2014 to 2013 earlier this year. He chose KU over Syracuse, Florida, UCLA and Missouri.

“Norm deserves the credit for recruiting Wayne,” Self said of KU assistant coach Norm Roberts. “Wayne has a great family and he’s at a terrific school. I really believe he’s the total package as a future Jayhawk.”

Mason, who is ranked No. 134 nationally, is a 5-11, 180-pound point guard from Petersburg, Va. He plays at Massanutten Military Academy, in Woodstock, Va. Prior to Massanutten, Mason played at Petersburg High School where led the state in scoring in 2011 at 27.4 points per game and in 2012 at 27.1 points per contest. During his Petersburg career he scored 1,901 points and the Wave were a combined 78-4.

“He’s a jet,” Self said. “Frank is a really, really quick guard. He’s a true point. He can get guys easy baskets. He can break people down, very similar to the way the fans saw Sherron (Collins) break people down off the bounce.”

Mason chose KU over Alabama, Maryland, South Carolina and Virginia Tech.

“Frank is one of the best-kept secrets in high school basketball,” Self said. “I really believe even though his high school ranking is not much, he’s a guy that is as good as any guard out there.”

KU earlier this week announced the signing of Conner Frankamp, 6-0, Wichita North; Brannen Greene, 6-7, Tift County High School, Tifton, Ga.; and Joel Embiid, 7-foot, 220, from Cameroon, currently playing at The Rock School in Gainesville, Fla. The Jayhawks have no scholarships left to give, but will continue recruiting No. 1-rated Andrew Wiggins (6-7, Thornhill, Ontario), No. 2-rated Julius Randle (6-9, Plano, Texas) among others. Scholarships, of course, become available when players turn pro or leave the program.

No. 32-ranked Tyler Roberson, a 6-8 small forward from Roselle (N.J.) Catholic High School, on Friday signed-a-letter of intent to play basketball at Syracuse over KU and Villanova. No. 6 Aaron Gordon (6-8, San Jose, Calif.) this week eliminated KU from his list of schools. He has a list of Arizona, Kentucky and Washington. No. 3 Jabari Parker (6-9, Chicago) recently cut his list to Michigan State, Duke, Florida, BYU and Stanford.

PREV POST

Blue-chip high school forward Tyler Roberson picks Syracuse over Kansas, Villanova

NEXT POST

41491Guards Selden, Mason sign letters of intent to play basketball at KU