A pair of high-scoring guards who also share the ball with their teammates highlight The Associated Press All-Big 12 men’s basketball team.
Kansas senior Devonte’ Graham and Oklahoma freshman sensation Trae Young, the league’s top two in both scoring and assists, were the only unanimous picks on the AP All-Big 12 first team released Tuesday. They also took the top individual awards.
Graham was named the Big 12 player of the year with his 17.6 points and 7.2 assists per game while helping lead the Jayhawks win their record 14th consecutive conference title this season. He ranked second in the league in both categories behind top Big 12 newcomer Young, the national leader with 27.5 points and 8.9 assists per game .
Kansas’ Bill Self took his fourth consecutive coach of the year honor, and seventh in 13 seasons.
Texas Tech senior Keenan Evans, West Virginia senior Jevon Carter and Texas freshman post player Mohamed Bamba were the other first-team picks in voting by a panel of 18 journalists who regularly cover the Big 12 in the league’s five states. Bamba is the Big 12 rebounding leader with 10.6 per game.
Graham got nine of 18 votes for player of the year, while Young got seven and Evans two. Young was listed as top newcomer on 14 ballots, including five that also had him as the top overall player.
Self got 10 votes for top coach, while Chris Beard of Big 12 runner-up Texas Tech got seven. The remaining vote went to first-year Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton after the Cowboys became the first team with a regular season sweep of a Self-coached Kansas team.
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The 2018 AP All-Big 12 team, with players listed with school, classification, height, weight, class and hometown (“u-” denotes unanimous selections):
FIRST TEAM
u-Devonte’ Graham, Kansas, Sr., 6-2, 185, Raleigh, North Carolina.
u-Trae Young, Oklahoma, Fr., 6-2, 180, Norman, Oklahoma.
Mohamed Bamba, Texas, Fr., 6-11, 225, Harlem, New York.
Jevon Carter, West Virginia, Sr., 6-2, 205, Maywood, Illinois.
Keenan Evans, Texas Tech, Sr., 6-3, 190, Richardson, Texas.
SECOND TEAM
Udoka Azubuike, Kansas, So., 7-0, 280, Delta, Nigeria.
Barry Brown Jr., Kansas State, 6-3, 195, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Kansas, Sr., 6-8, 205, Cherkasy, Ukraine.
Dean Wade, Kansas State, Jr., 6-10, 228, St. John, Kansas.
Kenrich Williams, TCU, Sr., 6-7, 210, Waco, Texas.
HONORABLE MENTION
Vladimir Brodziansky, TCU; Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma State; Sagaba Konate, West Virginia; Manu Lecomte, Baylor; Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., Baylor; Malik Newman, Kansas; Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech; Mitchell Solomon, Oklahoma State; Lindell Wigginton, Iowa State.
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Coach of the year - Bill Self, Kansas.
Player of the year - Devonte’ Graham, Kansas.
Newcomer of the year - Trae Young, Oklahoma.
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AP All-Big 12 Voting Panel: Ryan Aber, The Oklahoman; Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register; Chuck Carlton, Dallas Morning News; Paul Catalina, ESPN Central Texas; Mark Cooper, Tulsa World; Brian Davis, Austin American-Statesman; Matt Galloway, Topeka Capital-Journal; Justin Jackson, The Dominion Post; Tom Keegan, Lawrence Journal-World; Kevin Lyttle, Austin American-Statesman; Randy Peterson, Des Moines Register; Soren Petro, Sports Radio 810; Kellis Robinett, Wichita Eagle; Nathan Ruiz, The Oklahoman; Carlos Silva Jr., Lubbock Avalanche-Journal; Cody Stavenhagen, Tulsa World; Mitch Vingle, Charleston Gazette-Mail; John Werner, Waco Tribune-Herald.
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More AP college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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