MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — West Virginia junior forward Sagaba Konate was named to the all-Big 12 preseason first team Wednesday.
The team was selected by a vote of Big 12 coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
Konate, a 6-foot-8 forward from Mali, averaged 10.8 points and led the Big 12 with 116 blocks last season.
He declared for the 2018 NBA Draft and was invited to the NBA Combine last May. Konate ultimately decided to return to WVU for his junior season.
Kansas State forward Dean Wade was a unanimous selection for the league’s preseason Player of the Year and joined Konate on the first team.
Other first-team selections: Iowa State guard Lindell Wigginton, Kansas forward Dedric Lawson and Kansdas State guard Barry Brown Jr.
Lawson, a transfer from Memphis, was named as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and Kansas freshman Quentin Grimes was the Freshman of the Year.
The coaches’ preseason poll will be released Thursday.
