Nation of Blue

Basketball

Wayne Selden, Jr. Talks Kentucky

When the Tilton School gets thrown around, most people’s heads turn and begin discussing the name Nerlens Noel in the recruiting world.

However, he isn’t the only stud in a deep roster for the Tilton. In fact, one of the better players happens to be a sophomore next season.

Wayne Selden, Jr. (Class of 2014, The Tilton, New Hampshire) may be one of the next best wing players to emerge from the Boston area.

The 6-foot-4 shooting guard has a huge achievement that many players his age (and even some older players) fail to accomplish: as a freshman, Selden received an offer from Kentucky and John Calipari.

Typically, Calipari is patient with his players, as many people say “Cal will get who he needs to get.” Sure, that may be correct, but Selden is just enjoying the opportunity that is presented in front of him.

“It’s an honor (to have an offer from Kentucky). You see guys like John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Brandon Knight go through the program and be successful. It’s mind-blowing to think I could be included with those names.”

While he is young, Selden recognizes everything the University of Kentucky represents, whether it be the great past, the steady present, and the prominent future.

“The winning, the tradition, the fan support, and all the players they send to the NBA impress me,” he said. “We all want to go to the NBA and the next level.”

At this point, Selden looks to be on his way to a great college and professional career. His game, dominated by penetration and creating for others, is something that he thinks makes him such a good player.

“My strength is getting in the open-court and running. When I’m running, I can still finish strong and create for others. That helps a lot,” he said.

Once you witness his game and skill set (video below), it would not be surprising to see that many teams and conferences are coveting the youngster.

“I have received letters from teams in the Big East, ACC, Pac-10, and Big 12, but right now, I only have offers from Kentucky, Boston College, Providence, UConn, and Pittsburgh.

However, Selden has yet to really engage in the recruiting process, and there is nothing to blame with his youth. With that said, he cannot really measure how interested he is in UK or the other schools recruiting him.

But the shooting guard did say “Kentucky definitely interests me.”

Selden has also had the opportunity to play with a very unique player in Nerlens Noel recently, who is also very high on Kentucky’s board in 2013.

The rising sophomore considers it an advantage to have such a player of Nerlens’ caliber alongside him.

“I love playing with Nerlens. It would be great to play with him in college,” he acknowledged. “He blocks everything!”

“When you play with him, it’s like block, block, block, dunk. . . Repeat,” Selden said with laughs.

It’s no surprise that the Tilton is one of the best teams in the New England area.

Selden has not had the chance to take many visits, but as a native of Boston, he has taken some visits to some local schools.

“I have visited Providence and Boston College so far, and I have talked to Coach (Ed) Cooley from Providence and Coach (Steve) Donahue from Boston College.

Despite having a ton of things to do this summer, he hopes to get out and take some visits.

“I have a very busy summer, but I want to visit some schools. I don’t have anything planned yet, but hopefully I can visit some campuses.”

Selden did not say anything about visiting UK, but if he doesn’t this summer, he has plenty of time to do so.

This young player’s best days are shortly over the horizon, and it should be a treat to see him grow and develop.

Checkout some highlights from Selden:

[youtube_sc width=430 url=2K8oQvwxfwk]

Follow Garrett Tucker on Twitter [URL=”https://twitter.com/GTuckersports”]@GTuckersports[/URL] for more info on Kentucky recruiting.

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