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Kansas stoked about Selby, even if he can’t play until Dec. 18

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Kansas rolled to an easy home victory Friday night against North Texas, but that was hardly the best part of the day for Bill Self’s squad.

Not when the NCAA ruled star freshman Josh Selby would be eligible to play during the 2010-11 season.

Hey, ask the fans if you don’t believe me. They were the ones chanting “We want Selby, we want Selby,” during the win.

The 6-2 point guard dealt with issues surrounding his family’s association with Carmelo Anthony’s business manager, Robert Frazier. Frazier’s a longtime family friend, who helped the family (re: gave them money and advice) which is against NCAA rules.

As a result, Selby will miss the first nine games of the season – he’ll make his debut Dec. 18 vs. USC – and must repay $5,757.58 to a charity of his choice.

“It’s not one (ruling) that anyone is overly excited about, but it’s very fair and certainly understandable,” Self told the Lawrence Journal-World. “He is kind of a victim of circumstance, to be quite honest. We do have rules and it’s pretty clear how the rules read, but if you’re a 17-year-old out there and nobody tells you these things, you could easily get caught up in the same thing. Even though there was no ill intent by Josh and his family, we and they understand there are consequences if rules are violated.

“Hopefully he can be an example for other youngsters out there moving forward. He’s disappointed that it’s that many games, but he’s excited to know that he will be in a Kansas uniform before too long.”

As for the Jayhawks, they’re stoked. Selby will step right into the starting lineup and provide the toughness and savvy that KU relied on Sherron Collins for the last two seasons. Some freshmen may not live up to the hype, but that’s not the case with Selby. Kansas was going to be good without him, but they could give Duke a run for the title with him. His teammates can’t wait for the 18th.

“He’s as good as advertised,” junior forward Markieff Morris told the AP. “No, I take that back. He’s better than advertised. I think people are really going to like watching Josh play.”

Want more? @BeyndArcMMiller‘s also on Twitter. Click here for more.