Jayhawks Head to Quarterfinals of World University Games

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After a couple of blowout wins over Brazil and Chile, a last second, thrilling victory over Serbia, and another blowout over Switzerland, the Kansas Jayhawks head into the quarterfinals of the World University Games on Friday night at 10 p.m., central time, with the opponent yet to be decided.

Regardless of the results the rest of the way through the tournament, however, Jayhawk fans have several reasons to be satisfied. The main reason being Wayne Selden.

As discussed previously, Selden had a much-maligned sophomore campaign at KU. After many people thought he would make a leap to stardom after spending a freshman season in Andrew Wiggins‘ shadow, Selden regressed, and looked afraid at times on the court. He’s been anything but in this summer’s World University Games, leading the Jayhawks in scoring at just over 19 per game. Even more impressive is that he’s doing it on 60% shooting from the floor, and 39% from behind the arc.

Also coming up big for the Jayhawks has been Hunter Mickelson. After a season in which Bill Self struggled to find a big man to pair with Perry Ellis, Mickelson clearly looks like the best option thus far in South Korea. He sparked a Kansas comeback in the win over Serbia, with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. I’ve even seen some people comparing Mickelson to a former Jayhawk that also played center and transferred in — Jeff Withey.

I think a comparison to Withey is a bit too much, especially considering his defense almost single handedly led KU to a championship in 2012. Regardless, Mickelson has certainly been impressive, and looks to have an early lead for the starting center this year for the Jayhawks. But a lot can change, and keep in mind that Cheick Diallo isn’t with the team in South Korea because he can’t participate due to lacking United States citizenship.

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Kansas’ two freshmen that are playing at the games, LeGerald Vick and Carlton Bragg, both had their best games in Wednesday night’s 96-57 win over Switzerland. Bragg put in 9 points to go with 4 rebounds, and Vick put in 11 on an efficient 5 of 8 from the floor, along with 7 rebounds.

The kryptonite thus far for the Jayhawks, as it was for most of last season, has been zone defenses. In Tuesday night’s win over Serbia, Serbia controlled the tempo of the game, slowing it down so they could set up their zone every time down the floor. This held the Jayhawks to 37% from the floor, their lowest mark of the tournament. The ‘Hawks narrowly pulled out the victory on Tuesday, and it’s easy to see this dooming the Jayhawks as they start to face some of the best in the world in the medal round.

Other College Players at the World University Games

Mangok Mathiang of Louisville is representing Australia, and has been a load on the inside thus far, averaging 12.5 points per game, to go with over 9 rebounds in 4 games.

Nikola Jovanovic of USC posted his best game of the tournament for Serbia against the United States on Tuesday night. Jovanovic finished with 6 points and 3 rebounds, on a perfect 3 of 3 from the floor.

Alex Murphy, younger brother of Eric Murphy, has been Finland’s leading scorer up to this point. Through four games, the Florida Gator is averaging 16.5 points per game.

Next: Impact College Players at the FIBA U19 World Championshps

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