MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Oscar Tshiebwe was a forward among guards Wednesday, as the Big 12 released its preseason team.
At 6-foot-9 and 260 pounds, the West Virginia sophomore was the only non-guard to be named preseason all-Big 12 first-team, after a vote by the league’s coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
A season ago, Tshiebwe averaged 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds for a WVU team that finished 21-10 and tied for third place in the Big 12.
A year later, Tshiebwe and teammate Derek Culver, who was named preseason honorable mention, are two of the few big men who the Big 12 coaches recognized.
Of the 14 players listed, only Tshiebwe, Culver, Texas’ Jericho Sims (honorable mention) and Baylor’s Mark Vital (honorable mention) were non-guards.
Baylor guard Jared Butler was named the conference’s preseason Player of the Year after he averaged 16.0 points and shot 42% from the field last season.
He was a unanimous selection on the first team and was joined by Kansas’ Marcus Garrett, Oklahoma’s Austin Reaves, Texas’ Matt Coleman III and Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham, who was also voted the top freshman.
Texas Tech forward Marcus Santos-Silva, a transfer from Virginia Commonwealth, was named the preseason Newcomer of the Year. He averaged 12.8 points and 8.9 rebounds at VCU last season, but was not recognized as preseason first-team or honorable mention.
The Big 12 preseason poll will be released Thursday.
Preseason Player of the Year: Jared Butler, Baylor, G, 6-3, 195, Jr., Reserve, La.
Preseason Newcomer of the Year: Marcus Santos-Silva, Texas Tech, F, 6-7, 245, Sr., Taunton, Massachusetts
Preseason Freshman of the Year: Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State, G, 6-8, 200, Fr., Arlington, Texas
Preseason All-Big 12 Team
Jared Butler, Baylor*, G, 6-3, 195, Jr., Reserve, La./Riverside Academy
Marcus Garrett, Kansas*, G, 6-5, 195, Sr., Dallas, Texas/Skyline
Austin Reaves, Oklahoma, G, 6-5, 206, Sr., Newark, Ark./Cedar Ridge/Wichita State
Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State, G, 6-8, 200, Fr., Arlington, Texas/Montverde Academy
Matt Coleman III, Texas, G, 6-2, 180, Sr., Norfolk, Va./Oak Hill Academy
Oscar Tshiebwe, West Virginia, F, 6-9, 260, So., Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo/Kennedy Catholic (Pa.)
* Denotes unanimous selection.
A tie resulted in an extra position on the team.
Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically by school):
MaCio Teague (Baylor), Mark Vital (Baylor), Greg Brown III (Texas), Courtney Ramey (Texas), Jericho Sims (Texas), Kyler Edwards (Texas Tech), Mac McClung (Texas Tech), Derek Culver (West Virginia)
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