INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – A three-time All-American, three repeat members, last year’s Oscar Robertson Trophy winner and four players from the Big Ten are all members of the 2022-23 U.S. Basketball Writers Association's All-America Team. The 15-man team includes a member from each of the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 seeds, seven players who were their conference players of the year, four players who were USBWA district players of the year, two of the country's top eight scorers and four of the top seven rebounders.
The USBWA has named a men's All-America Team since its inaugural season of 1956-57. Since the 2017-18 season, the USBWA has expanded the team to honor 15 players on three teams, regardless of position. For the second time, the USBWA also recognized players with honorable mention. The All-America team is selected by the USBWA board regardless of position after voting from the entire membership and the honor is based on performance during the regular season and conference tournaments.
Leading off the first team is Gonzaga forward Drew Timme, now a three-time All-American who earned a first-team spot for the first time following two second-team selections. Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, now a two-time All-American two seasons after earning his first award, joins Timme on the first team along with Purdue center Zach Edey, one of the nation’s top scorers and rebounders, guard Marcus Sasser of top-ranked Houston and Kansas forward Jalen Wilson.
Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe, last year’s Oscar Robertson Trophy winner as the USBWA’s National Player of the Year, headlines the second team.
Timme earned the West Coast Conference’s Player of the Year honor for the second straight season, sharing it with Santa Clara’s Brandin Podziemski. The senior is Gonzaga’s first three-time All-American and gives the Zags an All-American in four consecutives seasons, tying Iowa for the country’s longest streak. He is 15th nationally in scoring, averaging 20.9 points per game.
Edey is Purdue’s first player to earn first-team selection since Glenn Robinson in the 1993-94 season and gives Purdue, the East Region’s top seed, consecutive All-Americans (Jaden Ivey was on the second team last year) for the first time since Robinson’s second All-America honor. Edey leads the nation in total rebounds at 385 and is second at 12.8 to NCAA-leader Tshiebwe’s 13.1 per game, having played one more game Tshiebwe. The USBWA’s District V and the Big Ten Player of the Year has 23 double-doubles – the second-best mark in the country – and joins Michigan’s Chris Webber (1992-93) as the only Big Ten players in the last 30 years to have at least 600 points, 350 rebounds and 50 blocked shots in a season.
Jackson-Davis is Indiana’s first first-team All-American in 10 seasons since Victor Oladipo made the first team in 2012-13. The nation’s fifth-best rebounder at 11.0 per game is the school’s first two-time selection since guard/forward Calbert Chaney’s second selection in 1992-93 and only Indiana’s third all-time, joining Chaney and Scott May (1974-75 and 1975-76 teams). Like Chaney, Jackson-Davis also made it in non-consecutive years (Chaney was on 1990-91 on second team) as a third-team selection two seasons ago.
Marcus Sasser earned first-team honors after being named the American Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year. The Cougars’ last player on the first team was a part of its heralded Phi Slamma Jamma teams, Hakeem Olajuwon in 1983-84. Sasser was also the District VII Player of the Year and gives the Cougars, the Midwest Region’s top seed, All-America selections in two of the last three seasons.
The District VI Player of the Year went to Jalen Wilson, who rounds out the first team and gives the Jayhawks consecutive first-team selections following Ochai Agbaji’s first-team spot last season. The Big 12 Player of the Year is Kansas’ 25th player to earn All-America honors and its 31st all-time selection and has led Kansas to the West Region's top seed.
Tshiebwe is the other returning All-American following a first-team nod last season as the Oscar Robertson Trophy winner. The country’s top rebounder (13.1) also has 18 double-doubles, tied for sixth in the nation. Also from the SEC is its player of the year, Alabama freshman forward Brandon Miller, who doubles as the USBWA's District IV Player of the Year. He is only the Crimson Tide’s second all-time USBWA All-American, joining Leon Douglas from the 1974-75 season. He is the only freshman to make the 15-man All-America team. Alabama is the top seed in the South Region.
The Pac-12 placed two on the second team in UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis. Jaquez was the District IX Player of the Year and is the Bruins’ first All-America selection since guard Lonzo Ball in 2016-17. Tubelis becomes Arizona’s 12th all-time USBWA honoree and its first since Deandre Ayton in 2017-18.
Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek is the nation’s second-leading assist man, handing out 7.9 per game and 246 overall. He is the Golden Eagles' first USBWA All-American since Markus Howard earned the second of his two honors in the 2018-19 season.
The third team lists the country’s leading scorer, Antoine Davis of Detroit Mercy, whose 28.2 points per game give him the national scoring lead by a 4.6-point margin and 166 total points over the second-best marks. The Horizon League’s Player of the Year and a five-time conference first-team honoree finished his career with 3,664 points, just three shy of LSU legend Pete Maravich’s all-time mark.
Jalen Pickett of Penn State earned the District II Player of the Year and is the Nittany Lions’ first USBWA All-American. The senior is fourth nationally in assists per game at 7.0. Armando Bacot of North Carolina, an honorable mention honoree a year ago, becomes the Tar Heels’ first All-American since Justin Jackson in 2016-17. Kris Murray gives Iowa its third all-time All-American and an honoree in four consecutive seasons. Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell, third in the nation in assists per game at 7.7, is the Wildcats’ first All-American since Michael Beasley on the 2007-08 team.
The four Big Ten members led all conferences, with the Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern each claiming two apiece. The American Athletic, Atlantic Coast, Big East and West Coast Conferences along with the Horizon League each had one selection.
Four other standout players received honorable mention from the USBWA: Max Abmas, Oral Roberts; Kendric Davis, Memphis; Keyontae Johnson, Kansas State; and Isaiah Wong, Miami.
FIRST TEAM
C Zach Edey, Purdue (7-4, 305, Jr., Toronto, Ontario)
F Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (6-9, 245, Jr., Greenwood, Ind.)
G Marcus Sasser, Houston (6-2, 195, Sr., Dallas, Texas)
F Drew Timme, Gonzaga (6-10, 235, Sr., Richardson, Texas)
F Jalen Wilson, Kansas (6-8, 225, Jr., Denton, Texas)
SECOND TEAM
G/F Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA (6-7, 225, Sr., Camarillo, Calif.)
G Tyler Kolek, Marquette (6-3, 190, Jr., Cumberland, R.I.)
F Brandon Miller, Alabama (6-9, 200, Fr., Antioch, Tenn.)
F Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky (6-9, 260, Sr., Lubumbashi, Congo)
F Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona (6-11, 245, Jr., Vilnius, Lithuania)
THIRD TEAM
F/C Armando Bacot, North Carolina (6-11, 235, Sr., Richmond, Va.)
G Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy (6-1, 165, Gr., Birmingham, Ala.)
F Kris Murray, Iowa (6-8, 220, Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
G Markquis Nowell, Kansas State (5-8, 160, Sr., Harlem, N.Y.)
G Jalen Pickett, Penn State (6-4, 209, Sr., Rochester, N.Y.)
HONORABLE MENTION
G Max Abmas, Oral Roberts (6-0. 175. Sr., Rockwall, Texas)
G Kendric Davis, Memphis (6-0, 177, Sr., Houston, Texas)
F Keyontae Johnson, Kansas State (6-6, 230, Sr. Norfolk, Va.)
G Isaiah Wong, Miami (6-4, 184, Jr., Piscataway. N.J.)
By Conference: Big Ten 4, Big 12 2, SEC 2, Pac-12 2, ACC 1, American Athletic 1, Big East 1, Horizon League 1, West Coast 1.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. Today, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. For more information on the USBWA and its All-District teams, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.