ROXBURY, Mass. -– At Roxbury’s Shelburne Community Center on Friday night, Tilton’s star senior guard Wayne Selden signed his letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Kansas.
Selden -- who started as an eighth-grader at O’Bryant High, before transferring to the Tilton, N.H. prep school following his freshman year -- chose the Jayhawks over Florida, Missouri, Ohio State, Syracuse, and UCLA. He is ranked the No. 16 overall player in the Class of 2013 by ESPN.
Dozens of Selden’s friends and family members gathered at Shelburne on Friday night to celebrate his commitment and signing. Before his official signing, his closest family members gave brief comments on Selden’s success and thanks to those had supported his endeavors, on and off the basketball court.
His mother, Lavette Pitts, emphasized that “it takes a village to raise a child,” a sentiment that Wayne echoed following the signing of his letter of intent.
“It feels good to have everybody [in Roxbury] behind me and supporting me with every decision I make,” Selden said, “So I just feel like I need to put all the tools God gave me into the right things and just be the best player and person I can be.”
Selden, whose Tilton squad will kick off their season in a matchup at National Prep Showcase on Sunday against Kiski Prep (Pa.), said he was also appreciative of the respects that he received from many of his former high-profile teammates.
“I’ve heard from a lot of guys; Georges [Niang] texted me this morning. He’s at Iowa State, so I’m going to be playing against him next year, that’s going to be weird,” Selden said with a laugh. “I heard from a lot of guys, and that’s just us keeping it in the family.”
In addition to Selden, Kansas has four other signees in the 2013 class, ESPN100 guards Conner Frankamp and Brannen Green, as well as center Joel Embiid and postgrad point guard Frank Mason.