Henry picks … Memphis

Citing a desire to play on the same team as his brother, Xavier Henry on Tuesday signed a national letter of intent with the University of Memphis.

Henry, whose brother is a freshman guard at Memphis, announced for the Tigers over Kansas University early Tuesday morning on ESPN and ESPNU.

“The deciding factor was getting my last chance to play with my brother and keeping my family together so everybody can watch all the games,” Xavier Henry said.

“It was really hard (turning KU down) because I loved everything about the school, the coaches, the players.”

Henry reportedly had been favoring Memphis ever since his recent car accident, wanting somebody who would “take care of me.”

That would be his brother.

“We know how to play. We play great. We should take over Memphis,” Xavier said of he and C.J.

KU has signed No. 18-rated Thomas Robinson and No. 27 Elijah Johnson.

“I’m happy with what we got. We helped ourselves athletically. We could use another impact guy,” coach Bill Self said of recruiting on his weekly radio show.

The Jayhawks are recruiting guards Dominic Cheek (Jersey City, N.J.), John Wall (Raleigh, N.C.) and Lance Stephenson (Brooklyn, N.Y).

Reed gets shiner

Tyrel Reed, who scored nine points in 14 minutes, played with a black eye he suffered after a fall at practice on Monday.

“He dove for the ball. Conner (Teahan) hit him and kind of pushed his head into the floor,” Self explained. “He’s got a good shiner.”

Rotation to thin

Self said he planned to pare down the rotation Monday against Washington at Sprint Center. “We’ll get down to eight or nine,” he said. Self said he felt he knew who the eight or nine would be but did not reveal them to the media.

For starters

The starting lineup consisted of Sherron Collins, Brady Morningstar, Tyshawn Taylor, Markieff Morris and Cole Aldrich.

“One of those two guys will be starting at least in the short term,” Self said of the duo of Morningstar and Reed. “Tyshawn gives us an element of athletic ability we need.”

Stats, facts

Collins scored a career-high 25 points. His previous best was 23 against Missouri his freshman year. … The Eagles’ shooting percentage (23.6) was the lowest by an opponent since Oklahoma State shot 23.1 percent on March 7, 1999, in a 53-37 KU victory. … FGCU’s three baskets in the first half tied for the fewest since Cornell made three in the second half on Jan. 2, 1996. FGCU’s halftime field-goal percentage of 12 percent (3-of-25) was the lowest since Cornell shot 12 percent in the second half of the 1996 game. Kansas won that game, 100-46. … FGCU recorded no assists in the first half. The last time that happened was 2006 versus Kentucky.