Kansas' Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur Named to Preseason All-Big 12 Team in Men's Basketball
Oct. 9, 2007
<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>IRVING, Texas – University of Kansas junior Brandon Rush and sophomore Darrell Arthur have been named preseason All-Big 12, the league office announced Tuesday.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Rush and Arthur were selected in a vote by the conference coaches. The KU guard duo of junior Mario Chalmers and sophomore Sherron Collins each received coaches’ votes and were named preseason honorable mention by the conference.
“We have multiple guys who deserve preseason All-Big 12 recognition and I think it’s great that we had a couple of guys land on the team with Brandon and Darrell,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “I also think Mario, Sherron, Sasha (Kaun), Darnell (Jackson) and Russell (Robinson) are worth mentioning too, because I think we will be a balanced team.”
Joining Rush and Arthur on the All-Big 12 team are Baylor junior guard Curtis Jerrells, Nebraska senior center Aleks Maric, Texas sophomore guard D.J. Augustin and Texas A&M senior forward Joseph Jones. There was a tie in the voting as six were listed on the team. Augustin was named the preseason player of the year, wile Missouri junior forward DeMarre Carroll was the preseason newcomer of the year and KansasState forward Michael Beasley the preseason freshman of the year.
Last year Rush and teammate Julian Wright were named Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year and both were on the preseason all-conference team. A native of Kansas City, Mo., Rush has been named All-Big 12 First Team at the conclusion of the last two seasons. In 2006-07, he averaged at team-leading 13.8 points per game and earned Wooden Award All-American honors as Kansas went 33-5 (14-2 Big 12) won the Big 12 regular season and postseason championships and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Arthur was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection last season and member of the Big 12 All-Rookie team. The Dallas forward averaged 9.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and his 1.47 blocked shots per game were fourth in the Big 12.
Chalmers was the 2007 Big 12 co-Defensive Player of the Year as he averaged 12.2 points his sophomore season. The Anchorage, Alaska, guard set the KU single-season steal record with 97 thefts and has led the Big 12 in steals each of the last two years. Collins joined Arthur on the league’s all-rookie and honorable mention teams last season. He scored 9.3 points a game and made 47 three-pointers for KU as a freshman.
