Former KU guard Wayne Selden named MVP of prestigious basketball tourney in Europe
Former University of Kansas guard Wayne Selden has been named Final Four MVP of the 2020-21 FIBA Europe Cup, which was contested Friday through Sunday in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Selden, a 6-foot-5, 26-year-old native of Roxbury, Massachusetts, scored 13 points, dished six assists and grabbed four rebounds in Ironi Ness Ziona’s 82-74 victory over Arged BMSLAM Stal in the Europe Cup Final Four championship game Sunday.
Selden’s Ironi Nezz Ziona is a team based in Israel; Arged BMSLAM Stal is based in Poland. Selden scored 24 points in Ironi Ness Ziona’s 81-80 semifinal victory over BC Parma, a team based in Russia. Selden’s three-point basket with 9.5 seconds left proved the difference in that game.
Ironi Ness Ziona became the first winners of the competition from Israel. Previous winners of the Cup: Dinamo Sassari, Italy, 2019; Umana Reyer Venezia, Italy, 2018; Nanterre, France, 2017; Fraport, Germany, 2016. The event was not held a year ago because of the pandemic.
Selden dedicated the MVP Award to former University of Kentucky guard Terrence Clarke, a 19-year-old Boston native who died April 22 following a car accident in the Los Angeles area.
“It’s definitely for my little bro Terrence. With or without the MVP, it was going to be dedicated to him. With or without the championship, it was going to be dedicated to him, because I knew I was going to come out and give it my all,” Selden told FIBA.basketball.
“I’m blessed to be able to be the champion, to get the MVP, and this is all for him and the city back home. The city is definitely hurt right now with that loss, so I’m glad I was able to do this,” Selden added.
In the title game, Nimrod Levi led the way with 21 points. Jerome Meyinsse had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the victors.
Selden, who played at KU from 2013 to 2016, was not selected in the 2016 NBA Draft. He went on to play three seasons in the NBA, for New Orleans, Memphis and Chicago before embarking on a career overseas.
