Jayhawks aplenty on 2017-18 All-Big 12 teams
IRVING, Texas – Highlighted by Big 12 Player of the Year Devonte’ Graham, conference regular-season champion Kansas is well represented on the men’s basketball 2017-18 All-Big 12 Team selected by the conference coaches, the league announced Sunday.
Graham was the unanimous selection for Big 12 Player of the Year, while redshirt sophomore Malik Newman is the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and Bill Self the co-Big 12 Coach of the Year, along with Chris Beard of Texas Tech. Graham is an All-Big 12 First Team selection, while senior Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is a second team honoree. Sophomore center Udoka Azubuike is third team and junior Lagerald Vick honorable mention. Newman was also named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.
Historically, Graham is the 12th Jayhawk to be named his conference’s player of the year. This is the ninth time a Kansas student-athlete has earned the distinction in the 22-year history of the Big 12 Conference. With Frank Mason III winning the 2017 honor, this is the seventh time in league history a school has been named the Big 12 player of the year in consecutive seasons with Kansas holding four of those occasions.
“I am so happy for Devonte’, it’s well deserved,” Self said. “He’s played as big a role on this team I believe as any player that we’ve had since we’ve been here, on any team. Everyone inside the program knows it goes far past statistics. We’re really happy for him. It’s well deserved.”
Graham was joined on the All-Big 12 Frist Team by Javon Carter (West Virginia), Dean Wade (Kansas State), Keenan Evans (Texas Tech) and Trae Young (Oklahoma) with Graham, Evans, Carter and Young being unanimous selections by the league coaches.
“To be selected for this by the conference coaches is an honor,” Graham said. “It’s good to see my fellow starters on the all-conference teams as well, as these awards are a total team effort.”
A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Graham is a three-time all-conference selection earning second team honors in 2017 and honorable mention in 2016. A two-time Big 12 Player of the Week this season, Graham is scoring 17.6 in all games, which is second in the Big 12. Graham is second in assists (7.2), is second the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7), ninth in free throw percentage (83.0), fourth in 3-point field goals made (3.0), seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (42.3) and fifth in steals (1.6).
Newman, from Jackson, Mississippi, is the ninth Jayhawk to be named his conferences’ newcomer of the year and the first in the Big 12 era. A transfer from Mississippi State, Newman is averaging 12.2 points for the season, which ranks 25th in the Big 12. He is third on the team with a 4.9 rebound average and 55 3-point field goals made.
Mykhailiuk, Azubuike and Vick are appearing on the All-Big 12 Team for the first time in their career. Mykhailiuk is second in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (45.1) and third in 3-point field goals made (3.1) as he is the only player in the conference to rank that high in both 3-point stats. From Cherkasy, Ukraine, Mykhailiuk is averaging 15.3 points per game, which is 10th in the Big 12.
Azubuike leads the country in field goal percentage at 77.4 percent. The Delta, Nigeria, center has five double-doubles on the season, two in Big 12 play, and ranks tied for 14th in the league in scoring at 13.7 points per game. Azubuike’s 7.1 rebound average is seventh in the conference. Vick, from Memphis, is averaging 12.2 points per game, which is 23rd in the conference. He pulls down 5.0 rebounds per game and has made 46 3-pointers this season.
“I think Svi (Mykhailiuk) deserved his second-team honors, he’s had a tremendous senior year,” Self said. “Doke (Azubuike) being recognized on the third team is nice by other coaches. I was hopeful that he may sneak on the second team but certainly understand with the depth and quality of players in our league. It was nice to see Malik as the newcomer of the year and on the all-newcomer team and Lagerald to receive votes for honorable mention.”
Self guided the Jayhawks (24-7, 13-5) to their 14th-straight Big 12 regular-season title in 2018, establishing an NCAA record for most consecutive conference crowns in college basketball history. He captured the 2018 regular-season championship by two games en route to earning his eighth Big 12 and ninth overall conference coach of the year honor: 2000 (WAC), 2006 (Big 12), 2009 (Big 12), 2011 (Big 12), 2012 (co-Big 12), 2015 (Big 12 by AP), 2016 (Big 12 by AP), 2017 (Big 12) and 2018 (Big 12).
In the 22-year history of the conference, Kansas lays claim to a league-best 116 All-Big 12 selections which includes first-, second-, third-, honorable mention, all-defensive and all-newcomer team honorees. Texas is second with 88. Graham gives Kansas a first-team selection for the 18th-consecutive season and the 20th time in the history of the league. Kansas has 21 KU All-Big 12 First Team choices in the 15 seasons under Self.
2017-18 All-Big 12 Team
(As selected conference coaches; **unanimous selection)
Player of the Year – **DEVONTE’ GRAHAM, KANSAS (Sr., G)
Defensive Player of the Year – Javon Carter, West Virginia (Sr., G)
Newcomer of the Year – MALIK NEWMAN, KANSAS (R-So., G)
Freshman of the Year – Trae Young, Oklahoma (Fr., G)
Sixth Man Award – Terry Maston, Baylor (Sr., F)
co-Coach of the Year – BILL SELF, KANSAS; Chris Beard, Texas Tech
All-Big 12 First Team
**Devonte’ Graham, Kansas (Sr., G)
Dean Wade, Kansas State (Jr., F)
**Trae Young, Oklahoma (Fr., G)
**Keenan Evans, Texas Tech (Sr., G)
**Jevon Carter, West Virginia (Sr., G)
All-Big 12 Second Team
Manu Lecomte, Baylor (Sr., G)
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Kansas (Sr., G)
Barry Brown Jr., Kansas State (Jr., G)
Kenrich Williams, TCU (Sr., F)
Mohamba Bamba, Texas (Fr., F)
All-Big 12 Third Team
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., Baylor (Sr., C)
Udoka Azubuike, Kansas (So., C)
Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma State (Sr., G)
Vladimir Brodziansky, TCU (Sr., F)
Sagaba Konate, West Virginia (So., F)
All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (Listed alphabetically by school)
Cameron Lard (Iowa State), Donovan Jackson (Iowa State), Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State), LAGERALD VICK (KANSAS), Matt Coleman (Texas), Dylan Osetkowski (Texas), Kerwin Roach II (Texas), Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech)
Big 12 All-Defensive Team
Barry Brown Jr., Kansas State (Jr., G)
**Mohamba Bamba, Texas (Fr., F)
Sagaba Konate, West Virginia (So., F)
**Jevon Carter, West Virginia (Sr., G)
Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech (Fr., G)
Big 12 All-Newcomer Team
Lindell Wigginton, Iowa State (Fr., G)
MALIK NEWMAN, KANSAS (R-So., G)
**Trae Young, Oklahoma (Fr., G)
Mohamed Bamba, Texas (Fr., F)
Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech (Fr., G)
KU’s Conference Players of the Year
Big Eight
Dave Robisch (1970, 1971)
Bud Stallworth (1972)
Danny Manning (1986, 1987, 1988)
Jacque Vaughn (1996)
Big 12
Raef LaFrentz (1997, 1998)
Drew Gooden (2002)
Nick Collison (2003)
Wayne Simien (2005)
Marcus Morris (2011)
Thomas Robinson (2012)
Frank Mason III (2017)
DEVONTE’ GRAHAM (2018)
KU’s Conference Newcomer of the Year
Big Eight
Vernon Vanoy (1967)
John Douglas (1977)
Darnell Valentine (1978)
Danny Manning (1985)
Rick Calloway (1990)
Rex Walters (1992)
Jacque Vaughn (1994)
Jerod Haase (1995)
Big 12
MALIK NEWMAN (2018)
KU’s Conference Coaches of the Year (incudes wire services and ties)
Dick Harp (1960)
Ted Owens (1967, 1971, 1974, 1978)
Larry Brown (1986)
Roy Williams (1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003)
BILL SELF (2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
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