Kansas Foursome Named to Big 12 Preseason Men's Basketball Honors
Oct. 27, 2004
DALLAS – Kansas senior forward Wayne Simien has been named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year in a vote by the conference coaches, the league office announced Tuesday.
Simien and teammate Keith Langford were also members of the Preseason All-Big 12 Coaches Team. Additionally, KU senior guard Aaron Miles and sophomore guard J.R. Giddens were among the honorable mentioned as voted on by the league coaches.
Simien was an All-Big 12 First Team choice last season en route to earning Associated Press All-America Third-Team accolades. He is the top returning scorer in the Big 12, averaging 17.8 ppg in 2003-04. The Leavenworth, Kan., senior has 22 career double-doubles, including 11 last season. He has been named to the Preseason Wooden Award Top 50 for 2004-05.
Langford was an All-Big 12 Second Team member last season as he led KU in scoring 12 times. The Fort Worth, Texas, guard averaged 15.5 points per game for the Jayhawks. Joining Simien and Langford on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team were Iowa State sophomore guard Curtis Stinson and the Oklahoma State senior guard duo of John Lucas and Joey Graham. Simien was the only unanimous selection of the league coaches.
Oklahoma forward Taj Gray was selected the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, while guard Daniel Gibson of Texas was tabbed as Preseason Freshman of the Year. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players in the voting.
2004-05 Preseason Men’s Basketball Big 12 Accolades
Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year – Wayne Simien, Sr., F, Kansas
Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year – Taj Gray, Jr., F, Oklahoma
Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year – Daniel Gibson, G, Texas
Preseason All-Big 12 Team
Keith Langford, Kansas – Sr., G
Wayne Simien, Kansas – Sr., F
Curtis Stinson, Iowa State – So., G
Joey Graham, Oklahoma State – Sr., G
John Lucas, Oklahoma State – Sr., G
Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention – Kansas: J.R. Giddens, Aaron Miles; Missouri: Linas Kleiza, Jimmy McKinney; Oklahoma: Kevin Bookout; Texas: Jason Klotz, P.J. Tucker; Texas A&M: Antoine Wright
