photo by: Mike Yoder

Kansas guard Wayne Selden Jr. (1) drives to the basket in a Team USA gold-medal game against Germany Monday, July 13, at the World University Games in South Korea.

Throughout each KU men’s basketball season, our sports editor, Tom Keegan, does a thing after every game where he rates the players of the game in his Keegan Ratings.

This is not that.

It is, however, a ranking that illustrates which KU players the Jayhawks’ 8-0 run to the World University Games gold medal helped the most in South Korea.

So let’s get to it. As Keegan does in his ratings, we’ll go with scholarship players only and not worry about the guys who play at other schools.

1. Wayne Selden – By far KU’s best player throughout the touranment, Selden emerged as a go-to option and really showed well as a leader. He looks more determined than ever and his confidence should be sky high come October when the Jayhawks get going for real.

2. Hunter Mickelson – Throughout most of the second half of last season, KU fans everywhere wondered why Mickelson did not get more of an opportunity to play. I don’t think anyone will have to worry about that any more. The transfer from Arkansas played quality minutes and put up surprising numbers throughout the tournament, even working his way into a starting role. That kind of lift to his confidence should only make him continue to work harder and harder throughout the rest of the season.

3. Carlton Bragg – Bragg’s numbers were not exactly amazing but the thing the long freshman gained that should benefit him the most is his ability to play through adversity. After breaking his nose before things even got going, Bragg played tough and looked unfazed by the injury throughout the tournament. That kind of toughness and sacrifice goes a long way with KU coach Bill Self and you can bet Bragg will get plenty of positive feedback about it. That should only make him more comfortable when the season rolls around.

4. Frank Mason – Mason played exactly the way KU fans would have expected him to play heading into the tournament, so I’m not sure the bulldog point guard gained a whole lot in terms of learning anything new about his game. Still, he was fantastic in leading the offense, set up more plays and buckets than he even got credit for and played a ton of minutes while running the show the whole time.

5. Landen Lucas – There were up and down moments for Lucas, who still lacks some of the skills necessary to be a force down low. But the man can rebound. And he did that pretty well in Korea. With the addition of Bragg and Cheick Diallo and the emergence of Mickelson, Lucas might not get a ton of minutes this winter. But it now seems like a safe bet to say that when he’s in there he can have a real impact on the glass.

6. Lagerald Vick – Vick’s a long shot to play this season, but it won’t be because he doesn’t believe he can. The young guard was out there during some pretty crucial moments throughout the tournament and he looked pretty salty at times, especially as a scorer. A loaded roster ahead of him and his inexperience and limited defensive skills will likely keep him off the court this winter. But this experience will no doubt help his development and help him be in a better position to push the guys ahead of him in practices.

7. Perry Ellis – Ellis was good at times and average at others in South Korea but didn’t really stand out. The good news for KU was that he didn’t need to. He can save that for the college season and what figures to be a big senior year. That said, he looked healthy, moved well, shot the ball with confidence and, like Mason, performed pretty much exactly the way people expected him. That’s by no means a knock on him, but I’m not sure the tournament helped him a whole lot.

8. Jamari Traylor – Traylor’s minutes were down and Lucas and Mickelson played much bigger roles. For a guy who already is quick to get down on himself, that probably didn’t help. Still, Traylor’s a good teammate and I noticed him genuinely fired up on the bench late in the gold-medal game when it became clear that KU was going to win. That’s a good sign that even though he didn’t set the world on fire with his play, he stayed in it for his teammates.

9. Devonte Graham – Graham did not get to play because of injury, but you have to think that just being there helped him a little bit. He saw how his teammates competed in various settings. He was able to observe how Nic Moore and Frank Mason handled things on the floor. And he no doubt did all he could as a vocal leader from the bench. Plus, can a player ever be around too much winning? Even though he didn’t play a minute, just feeling that feeling can be something that sticks with Graham, too.

Agree? Disagree?

Be sure to make your vote count in our KUsports.com poll about which player the trip to Korea helped the most.