Josh Selby returns to KU basketball practice for first time in two weeks

By Gary Bedore     Nov 22, 2010

Nick Krug
Kansas freshman Josh Selby and senior Conner Teahan rise out of their seats as they watch the action in the second half of the exhibition game, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Josh Selby was back on the basketball court with his Kansas University teammates and coaches Sunday for the first time in two weeks.

“His 45-day window ran out on Nov. 8,” KU coach Bill Self explained Sunday of the month-and-a-half period in which Selby had been allowed to practice and work with KU’s coaches as he awaited a ruling on his amateur status by the NCAA.

“He’d been working out on his own, but doing nothing with his team. He hadn’t been coached in a couple weeks. He was all right. He had a good practice.”

Selby, a 6-foot-2 freshman point guard from Baltimore, will have plenty of time to get reacquainted with his teammates. The NCAA has suspended him nine total games, meaning he’ll make his collegiate debut Dec. 18 versus Southern California in Allen Fieldhouse.

“It wasn’t as tough on us as it was on him. He needs the reps,” Self said of the past few weeks. “It’s been tough on him because telling him he can’t play in the games and can’t practice isn’t good. He kept his composure. He spent a lot of time running on his own and working on his own.”

Selby, the No. 1 player in Rivals.com’s class of 2010 rankings, is relieved to be back practicing.

“I don’t think it’ll take long (to be in game shape),” Selby said, “because our team will continue to do a great job of mentoring me on and off the court. With their help, I’ll be fine.”

Junior Tyshawn Taylor has been of great help.

“I talk to Tyshawn all the time,” Selby said. “I watch him, the way he controls the team, handles the ball. I learn a lot from him.”

Selby’s mom on Saturday told the Journal-World that the family was working on a plan to pay back $4,607.58 in impermissible benefits to a charity of the family’s choice — likely cancer research.

Self indicated that Josh could use a portion of his scholarship check each month to go to charity.

“There are different ways to do it,” Self said. “You could hold a little out of the check each month. The big thing is he needs to have it repaid before he leaves Kansas, so that’s what he’ll do, pay a little bit at a time. He’ll have to be on some payment plan. That’s the big deal with the NCAA ruling. It has to be paid back.”

KU (3-0) will play host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-3) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Allen Fieldhouse. The Islanders of the Southland Conference have defeated Northeastern Oklahoma (81-74) and lost to Texas A&M (86-65) at home and lost at Oklahoma State (68-58) and at Ohio (83-70). The school, enrollment of just 9,468, is located in the Coastal Bend region of South Texas.

No word on McLemore: Ben McLemore, a 6-foot-5 senior guard from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., did not orally commit to either of his finalists — KU or Missouri — over the weekend. McLemore had said late last week he hoped to talk to his mom Friday back home in St. Louis, then announce his college choice Saturday. He has said many times that KU is his leader. Various recruiting analysts have indicated his mom has been against an early commitment to KU.

One of McLemore’s AAU coaches told Zagsblog.net Sunday that McLemore would not be committing anywhere soon.

“Ben stated he’s waiting to (the) spring,” Roy Pierce of the St. Louis Eagles told Zagsblog.net. “That’s the last word.”

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