Spotlight on the Kansas Jayhawk Mens Basketball starters

Ben McLemore was a five-star recruit who was ranked No. 17 nationally by Rivals.com and the No. 4 shooting guard. McLemore played for Wellston High School in St. Louis in 2009-10 and when the school closed following the 2009-10 academic year, then he went to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, and later transferred to Christian Life Center in Humble, Texas.Kansas freshman record-wise, McLemore has accomplished the following standings in the KU record books as a freshman.556 points are a Kansas freshman record. He is the only KU freshman to have scored more than 500 points.16.4 ppg would surpass the KU freshman record of 14.6 ppg held by Danny Manning in 1985.5.3 rebound average would rank tied for ninth on the KU freshman list.69 three-pointers made in 2012-13 are tied for third on the KU freshman list (Xavier Henry, 2010).43.4 three-point field goal percentage is fifth on the KU freshman list.86.7 free throw percentage is first on the Kansas freshman list. Elijah’s full name is Elijah K. Johnson and has an undecided major.  He can play either one or two guard spots.  In his junior season in 2011-2013, he started in 38 of 39 games while averaging 32.2 minutes, 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the Jayhawks.  He ranked second on the team in assists and third in scoring.  He recorded his first career double-double in the Final Four versus Ohio State (3/31) with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson led the team with 55 steals on the season, which ranked fifth in the Big 12.  Johnson also led the team in three pointers made (69) and attempted (204).  Johnson played 36 minutes in the National Championship versus Kentucky and finished with 13 points, two rebounds and two assists.Johnson guided Cheyenne High School to a 21-3 record in 2008-09 averaging 15.9 points, 4.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds as a senior.  He rated the No. 24 recruit in Rivals.com's final ratings, No. 28 by ESPNU 100 and No. 29 by Scout.com for 2009.  He was rated the fifth-best point guard by Rivals.com and signed an NLI with Kansas in November 2008. Jeff Withey is 7 feet tall and a transfer from Arizona who became eligible following the fall 2009 semester.  His full name is Jeffree David Withey and was born in San Diego, California.  He is majoring in communication studies.In his Junior year during the 2011-2012 season, he started all 39 games for the Jayhawks.  He averaged 24.8 minutes, nine points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game.  Withey led the Big 12 in blocks and ranked in the top 10 nationally.  He set an NCAA Tournament record for most blocks in a single tournament with 31 rejections and was named to the Midwest Region All-Tournament Team.  Withey was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year while he scored 10 or more points during 18 games on the season and blocked three or more shots in 22 of the 39 games.  He also led the team in free throw shooting at 79.5 percent. He played 32 minutes in the National Championship versus Kentucky and had five points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals.Withey attended Horizon High School in San Diego, California. He ranked as the No. 8 center in the nation by Scout.com and ESPNU 100 and the No. 39 overall recruit on Bob Gibbons' All-Star Sports Top 250. View the list »
The Kansas Jayhawks and head coach Bill Self celebrate with the trophy after their 70-54 win over the Kansas State Wildcats during the Final of the Big 12 basketball tournament at Sprint Center on March 16, 2013 in Kansas City, Missouri.

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As the NCAA tournament has started up, it’s time to take a look at the core of the KU basketball team that garnered them the Big 12 Conference title, the Big 12 Tournament title and a number 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.

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This Kansas team is filled with senior leadership with transfers and redshirt players. The starters consist of 4 seniors and a star redshirt freshman.

Jeff Withey, Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford, Kevin Young and Ben McLemore have been the starters through the majority of the season. Check out the list to find out about each player and their contributions to the team.

Jeff Withey is 7 feet tall and a transfer from Arizona who became eligible following the fall 2009 semester. His full name is Jeffree David Withey and was born in San Diego, California. He is majoring in communication studies.

Elijah’s full name is Elijah K. Johnson and has an undecided major. He can play either one or two guard spots.

Ben McLemore was a five-star recruit who was ranked No. 17 nationally by Rivals.com and the No. 4 shooting guard. McLemore played for Wellston High School in St. Louis in 2009-10 and when the school closed following the 2009-10 academic year, then he went to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, and later transferred to Christian Life Center in Humble, Texas.

Travis Releford is a Kansas City product who is a versatile guard majoring in African and African American studies. He appeared in 30 games for the Jayhawks his sophomore season. He then took a redshirt for the 2009-10 season.

Kevin Young played two seasons in NCAA Division I at Loyola-Marymount then sat out the 2010-11 season, graduating from San Bernardino (Calif.) Community College. He was born in Riverside, California, and is majoring in African American Studies and minoring in history.

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  • Jeff Withey is 7 feet tall and a transfer from Arizona who became eligible following the fall 2009 semester.  His full name is Jeffree David Withey and was born in San Diego, California.  He is majoring in communication studies.In his Junior year during the 2011-2012 season, he started all 39 games for the Jayhawks.  He averaged 24.8 minutes, nine points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game.  Withey led the Big 12 in blocks and ranked in the top 10 nationally.  He set an NCAA Tournament record for most blocks in a single tournament with 31 rejections and was named to the Midwest Region All-Tournament Team.  Withey was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year while he scored 10 or more points during 18 games on the season and blocked three or more shots in 22 of the 39 games.  He also led the team in free throw shooting at 79.5 percent. He played 32 minutes in the National Championship versus Kentucky and had five points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals.Withey attended Horizon High School in San Diego, California. He ranked as the No. 8 center in the nation by Scout.com and ESPNU 100 and the No. 39 overall recruit on Bob Gibbons' All-Star Sports Top 250. 
  • Elijah’s full name is Elijah K. Johnson and has an undecided major.  He can play either one or two guard spots.  In his junior season in 2011-2013, he started in 38 of 39 games while averaging 32.2 minutes, 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the Jayhawks.  He ranked second on the team in assists and third in scoring.  He recorded his first career double-double in the Final Four versus Ohio State (3/31) with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson led the team with 55 steals on the season, which ranked fifth in the Big 12.  Johnson also led the team in three pointers made (69) and attempted (204).  Johnson played 36 minutes in the National Championship versus Kentucky and finished with 13 points, two rebounds and two assists.Johnson guided Cheyenne High School to a 21-3 record in 2008-09 averaging 15.9 points, 4.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds as a senior.  He rated the No. 24 recruit in Rivals.com's final ratings, No. 28 by ESPNU 100 and No. 29 by Scout.com for 2009.  He was rated the fifth-best point guard by Rivals.com and signed an NLI with Kansas in November 2008. 
  • Ben McLemore was a five-star recruit who was ranked No. 17 nationally by Rivals.com and the No. 4 shooting guard. McLemore played for Wellston High School in St. Louis in 2009-10 and when the school closed following the 2009-10 academic year, then he went to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, and later transferred to Christian Life Center in Humble, Texas.Kansas freshman record-wise, McLemore has accomplished the following standings in the KU record books as a freshman.556 points are a Kansas freshman record. He is the only KU freshman to have scored more than 500 points.16.4 ppg would surpass the KU freshman record of 14.6 ppg held by Danny Manning in 1985.5.3 rebound average would rank tied for ninth on the KU freshman list.69 three-pointers made in 2012-13 are tied for third on the KU freshman list (Xavier Henry, 2010).43.4 three-point field goal percentage is fifth on the KU freshman list.86.7 free throw percentage is first on the Kansas freshman list. 
  • Travis Releford is a Kansas City product who is a versatile guard majoring in African and African American studies.  He appeared in 30 games for the Jayhawks his sophomore season.  He then took a redshirt for the 2009-10 season.For his junior season in the 2011-2012 season, he started 38 of 39 games and averaged 30.9 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game for the Jayhawks.  He was ranked third on the team in rebounds.  Releford was named Big 12 Player of the Week after his stellar efforts against Kansas State and Oklahoma.  He joined Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor as the only Jayhawks to score in every game that season. 
  • Kevin Young played two seasons in NCAA Division I at Loyola-Marymount then sat out the 2010-11 season, graduating from San Bernardino (Calif.) Community College.  He was born in Riverside, California, and is majoring in African American Studies and minoring in history.In his junior season in 2011-2012 season, he played in 38 of 39 games as a junior and averaged 11.4 minutes, 3.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Young played 11 minutes in the National Championship versus Kentucky and tallied three rebounds and a block.Young graduated from Perris High School of the Sun Belt League, helping his team go 25-7 overall and 10-0 in league play and leading his team to the CIF-SS Division 3 finals where it lost to league-rival Hemet West Valley.  Young also ran track and cross country at Perris. 
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, Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Examiner

Ryan Falkenrath, contributor to http://falkeetriathlon.blogspot.com/, is a married father of two, with a passion for Jayhawk Basketball ever since he stepped foot onto the KU campus as a student more than 15 years ago. Ryan lives in the Kansas City suburbs and has been witness in person to the...

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