KU Men’s Basketball Trio Named to the Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List

ATLANTA – Kansas sophomore Perry Ellis and freshmen Wayne Selden, Jr., and Andrew Wiggins have been named to the Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List the Atlanta Tip-Off Club announced Thursday.

The list consists of 50 men’s basketball players who have captured the attention of the Naismith Trophy voting committee early in the season. Kansas’ trio made up half of the Big 12 Conference contingent on the list.

Through three games, Ellis leads Kansas in scoring with 19.0 points per game, which is fourth in the Big 12. The 6-8 Wichita, Kan., forward has scored 21 or more points in each of his last two games, including a career-high 24 in KU’s 94-83 win against then-No. 4 Duke on Nov. 12. The performance earned him co-Big 12 Player of the Week accolades. Ellis is tied with freshman center Joel Embiid for the team high in rebounding at 8.0 boards per contest, which is tied for fourth in the conference.

Selden is third on the KU team in scoring at 10.0 points per game and ranks sixth in the Big 12 in assists with a 4.3 average. The 6-5, Roxbury, Mass, guard scored 15 points in the Duke victory and his 4.3 assist-to-turnover ratio is fourth among the Big 12 leaders.

Wiggins was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after scoring 22 points and pulling down eight rebounds against Duke. The 6-8, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, guard is second on the team with a 17.0 scoring average, good forsixth in the Big 12. He also ranks among the league leaders in rebounds (tied for 16th at 6.0), field goal percentage (ninth at 54.5) and steals (sixth at 1.7)

KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.