Graham named to Naismith Trophy Late Season Team

ATLANTA – Kansas senior Devonte’ Graham has been named one of 30 men’s basketball players to the Citizen Naismith Trophy Late Season Team competing to receive the 50th Citizen Naismith Trophy, the Atlanta Tip Off Club announced Wednesday. Graham is vying to become the third Jayhawk to win the Naismith Trophy with Danny Manning claiming the honor in 1988 and Frank Mason III last season.
 
Graham is the only player in NCAA Division I averaging 17.0-plus points, 7.0-plus assists, 1.5-plus steals and fewer than 3.0 turnovers per game. The Raleigh, North Carolina, native is fifth nationally in assists per game at 7.2 and he is second the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.7. Graham is scoring 19.0 points per game in Big 12 play and averaging 17.5 points in all games, which is third in the Big 12. He is second in the conference in assists (7.2), eighth in free throw percentage (82.7), fifth in 3-point field goals made (3.0) and fifth in steals (1.7).
 
Graham recently became the 22nd player in KU history to record 1,500 career points. He currently sits in 20th place of that category at 1,531 while his 537 assists are 10th and his 180 steals are also 10th on the KU career books. Graham is the third player in school history to tally 1,500 points, 500 assists and 175 steals in a career. KU All-Americans Darnell Valentine and Kirk Hinrich are the only other Jayhawks to hit those numbers. Valentine had 1,821 points, 609 assists, 336 steals from 1978-81 and Hinrich recorded 1,753 points, 668 assists, 206 steals from 2000-03. Additionally, Graham sits third on the KU career 3-pointers made list, currently at 263.
 
From this list of 30, the Naismith Trophy’s 10 semifinalists will be revealed on Feb. 28, and only those 10 players are eligible for the group of four finalists, which will be released in mid-March. Fans, once again, will be able to vote for their favorite player by visiting naismithtrophy.com/vote between March 19-30 to cast their ballot, and the fan component counts for five percent of the overall final vote. The 50th Citizen Naismith Trophy will be awarded on April 1 in San Antonio, during the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
 
Players come from 10 conferences with the Big 12 and BIG EAST leading the way with five players apiece.
 
Citizen Naismith Trophy Late Season Team
Name, School (Class, position)
Deandre Ayton, Arizona (Fr., F)
Marvin Bagley III, Duke (Fr., F)
Mohamed Bamba, Texas (Fr., F)
Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State (Jr., F)
Joel Berry II, North Carolina (Sr., G)
Trevon Bluiett, Xavier (Sr., G)
Mikal Bridges, Villanova (Jr., G/F)
Miles Bridges, Michigan State (So., G/F)
Bryce Brown, Auburn (Jr., G)
Jalen Brunson, Villanova (Jr., G)
Jevon Carter, West Virginia (Sr., G)
Gary Clark, Cincinnati (Sr., F)
Mike Daum, South Dakota State (Jr., F)
Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (Sr., C)
Carsen Edwards, Purdue (So., G)
Vince Edwards, Purdue (Sr., F)
Keenan Evans, Texas Tech (Sr., G)
Marcus Foster, Creighton (Sr., G)
DEVONTE’ GRAHAM, KANSAS (Sr., G)
Kyle Guy, Virginia (So., G)
Tra Holder, Arizona State (Sr., G)
Chandler Hutchison, Boise State (Sr., G)
Kevin Knox, Kentucky (Fr., F)
Jock Landale, St. Mary’s (Sr., C)
Caleb Martin, Nevada (Jr., F)
Luke Maye, North Carolina (Jr., F)
Collin Sexton, Alabama (Fr., G)
Landry Shamet, Wichita State (So., G)
Allonzo Trier, Arizona (Jr., G)
Trae Young, Oklahoma (Fr., G)
 FOLLOW 

@KUHoops

/KansasBasketball

@KUHoops 

KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.