The selection of Travis Releford to the USA Basketball U-18 national team underscores just what a blockbuster recruiting year Bill Self and his staff executed.

One of 12 players chosen to the team that is a blend of rising high school seniors and incoming college freshmen, Releford has been the stealth recruit of the 2012 class ranked by Rivals.com as second in the nation to UCLA.

Releford is local, from Bishop Miege High in Roeland Park, so it’s sort of been understood for a long time that if KU wanted him, KU would get him. The flaw in his game, his outside shot, tends to douse the flames of enthusiasm about his recruitment, but it can’t be denied that what he just accomplished by making the cut bodes well for his chances of succeeding in the Big 12.

Given that Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins, Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed are the only returning scholarship players, and the latter two have combined for 234 minutes in college, Self needed to land a monster class, and he did.

There are some credible basketball brains who have whispered Marcus Morris, the 6-foot-9 twin, could be as talented as any player Self has recruited to Kansas, which says something considering five of his recruits were taken in this year’s NBA Draft, and none of them was named Julian Wright or Sherron Collins. Markieff Morris, an inch taller than his twin, should get plenty of time backing up his brother and Aldrich. Quintrell Thomas, a 6-foot-8 power forward from New Jersey, looked far more active than quick or explosive in a recent scrimmage against former KU players and looked the least ready to play right away of the seven incoming recruits. He could be pressed into early action based on need.

On the perimeter, Self has four newcomers competing to join Collins in the backcourt to fill the time left open by the departures of Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush. The player most likely to lock down a starting spot early is 6-5 small forward Mario Little, ranked by some services as the No. 1 junior-college recruit in the nation. Reporters look forward to Little filling their notebooks based on his assessment of Self: “He’s country, but he’s cool.”

Tyrone Appleton figures to get most of his minutes in a backup point guard role. The competition to ride shotgun to Collins will be the most interesting one to watch. Tyshawn Taylor, the long, super-quick, combination guard with a sophisticated game at both ends of the floor, could earn the starting spot. His long-range shooting touch is a question mark, but Taylor blends so well with talented players that he figures to get a lot of playing time at both guard spots. The taller Releford, a strong defender, also is a strong candidate at shooting guard. Morningstar looked much improved in the scrimmages, but likely trails Taylor and Releford. Reed has the offensive tools to crack the rotation, but could be held back by limited quickness defensively.

This shapes up as a big, athletic team vulnerable to early-season upsets and talented enough to win two or three NCAA Tournament games if it can get past first-game jitters. The experience is short, but the talent is long.