Kansas University’s men’s basketball team landed a junior, a sophomore and a freshman on the Naismith Trophy Men’s 50 Watch List, announced Wednesday by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
With honorees Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden Jr. and Cliff Alexander making the cut, KU joins three other programs — Arizona, Duke and Kentucky — with three student-athletes on the watch list.
The reigning Big 12 Player of the week and the Orlando Classic MVP, junior forward Ellis leads Kansas with 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. The Wichita, Kansas, forward has scored 17 or more points in each of his last four games and has two double-doubles on the season.
A sophomore guard, Selden is tied for the team high with 22 assists. The Roxbury, Massachusetts, native is scoring 7.7 points and pulls down 3.8 rebounds per game.
KU’s top freshman to date, Alexander scores 9.7 points per game and is tied for the team lead with nine blocked shots through six games. The Chicago forward averages 6.0 rebounds per outing and is shooting 56.3 percent from the field.
The watch list will be cut down to a midseason 30 on Feb. 12, 2015, with the 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Award announced March 6. Four semifinalists will be named March 22 with the winner announced April 5.
— Check out the complete list here.