KU Men's Basketball Tabbed Seventh in Blue Ribbon Preseason Poll; Morris, Selby Honored

Sept. 28, 2010

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Kansas junior Marcus Morris and incoming freshman Josh Selby were both given high honors by the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Preseason Yearbook, while Bill Self’s squad was ranked seventh in the nation by the publication. Voters selected Morris as a member of the first team All-America, while Selby was chosen as newcomer of the year.

Morris is coming off a season in which he garnered national attention, being named All-Big 12 Second Team as well as Yahoo! Sports’ Most Improved Player. He averaged just under 13 points per game and six rebounds last year.

Selby arrives in Lawrence as the number one overall recruit as ranked by Rivals.com and as a 2010 McDonalds All-American. The freshman averaged 32 points, seven assists and five rebounds during his senior season at Lake Clifton High School (Baltimore, Md.).

The Jayhawks enter the 2010-11 season coming off a dominant 33-3 season, in which they were ranked number one in the nation 29 out of the 36 weeks heading into the NCAA Tournament. They sustained only one conference loss last year and extended the nation’s longest active home winning street to 59 games. KU is the highest ranked Big 12 team in the poll beating out in-state rival Kansas State, which is ranked 10th. Other Big 12 teams in Blue Ribbon’s Top 25 poll are Baylor (16), Texas (18) and Missouri (20). This is the second-straight season KU finds itself ranked in Blue Ribbon’s PreSeason Top 10, as last year it was slotted at number one overall.

1) Duke (ACC)

2) Michigan State (Big 10)

3) Ohio State (Big 10)

4) Pittsburgh (Big East)

5) Purdue (Big 10)

6) Villanova (Big East)

7) Kansas (Big 12)

8) North Carolina (ACC)

9) Illinois (Big 10)

10) Kansas State (Big 12)

11) Gonzaga (WCC)

12) Florida (SEC)

13) Syracuse (Big East)

14) Tennessee (SEC)

15) Kentucky (SEC)

16) Baylor (Big 12)

17) Georgetown (Big East)

18) Texas (Big 12)

19) Memphis (Conf. USA)

20) Missouri (Big 12)

21) Virginia Tech (ACC)

22) BYU (Mountain West)

23) Washington (Pac 10)

24) Temple (A-10)

25) NC State (ACC)