KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Josh Selby officially became a Kansas Jayhawk on Sunday, putting his signature on a national letter of intent and giving coach Bill Self the most highly rated point guard he ever signed. The 6-foot-3 Selby can both score and distribute the ball and was rated No. 4 overall by Rivals.com. The Baltimore, Md., native will be expected to step right in for departed senior Sherron Collins, the winningest player in Kansas basketball history. He follows swing guard Xavier Henry as highly touted guards to join the Jayhawks. Henry has announced he's going into the NBA draft this year, becoming Self's first one-and-done.
"This is a big day for our basketball program," Self said Sunday, one day after Selby announced his decision on ESPN2 during the Jordan Brand Classic all-star game.
As a senior at Lake Clifton High School in Baltimore, Selby averaged 32 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
"I'm ready to lead Kansas to a national championship," Selby said in a news conference after scoring a team-high 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting in the West team's 129-125 victory over the East. In explaining why he chose Kansas, the do-everything guard also left no doubt he's already got an eye on the NBA.
"It's the best place for me to mature both on and off the court to get to the next level," he said.
Including Henry, Collins and center Cole Aldrich, the Jayhawks lost three starters from the team that won a sixth straight Big 12 conference and was ranked No. 1 for much of the season.
"We felt like losing the caliber players we lost off of last year's team that we really needed to hit a home run from a talent standpoint in the spring signing, and we've done that with Josh," said Self. "He's a point guard that can score. He's a playmaker. He can be a great facilitator and also a great finisher himself."
Selby said Self was a big reason why he chose Kansas over a host of other major programs who pursued him.
"He's very outgoing. He knew how to handle a street kid," Selby said. "When we talked, it felt like I was talking to a father figure."
Selby's decision came down to Kansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arizona and UConn. He seems to have the talent to join Tyshawn Taylor immediately in what could be the finest backcourt in the Big 12.
"We've been really fortunate to have really good guards here, but certainly Josh is the most highly recruited guard that we have signed since we have been at Kansas," Self said.
Kansas has already signed guard Royce Woolridge of Phoenix, leaving one more scholarship to give. Self has said he might not use it. But Kansas appears to still be in the running for Terrence Jones, a 6-8 power forward from Portland who is rated No. 13 in the country by Rivals.com. Jones and Selby have said they might want to play together.
"Although you don't play the games on paper, on paper we have one scholarship to give and that may or may not be used," Self said. "One thing I am very comfortable with is Josh and Royce. They are two perimeter players we feel like are going to be very good. Josh is definitely a top-five player in the country and Royce is one of the most underrated players that we recruited and we think has a chance to be terrific. I am very pleased with our recruits so far and certainly won't rule out the possibility of adding a third player to the class if things fall perfectly."