KU’s Udoka Azubuike named 1st-team All-America by U.S. Basketball Writers Association
Kansas senior center Udoka Azubuike has been selected as a first-team All-America by the United States Basketball Writers Association, it was announced Monday.
KU sophomore point guard Devon Dotson was named second-team by the organization.
Members of the USBWA first team were Azubuike, Luka Garza, Iowa; Markus Howard, Marquette; Myles Powell, Seton Hall and Obi Toppin, Dayton.
The second team consisted of Dotson plus Vernon Carey, Duke; Malachi Flynn, San Diego State; Payton Pritchard, Oregon and Cassius Winston, Michigan State.
Baylor’s Jared Butler made the third team, along with Tre Jones, Duke; Jordan Nwora, Louisville; Filip Petrusev, Gonzaga; and Jalen Smith, Maryland.
Four organizations that select All-America teams are used by the NCAA to determine consensus All-America status: The Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Sporting News.
Of those four, the AP, Sporting News and USBWA have released their All-America teams. The Sporting News and AP had Dotson and Azubuike on the second team.
The NABC will release its All-America team Tuesday. ESPN.com recently put out an All-American team that had Dotson and Azubuike on the first team.
Meanwhile on Monday, KU junior guard Marcus Garrett was named one of four finalists for 2020 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year as presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
Finalists are Garrett, Ashton Hagans (Kentucky), Tre Jones (Duke) and Mark Vital (Baylor). The finalists were chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s board of selectors, made up of sports journalists from around the country, who based their selections on outstanding on-court defensive performances during the 2019-20 season.
The winners are scheduled to be announced on April 1, and each winner will be honored with a ceremony at a later date.
This is the third year of the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award. West Virginia’s Jevon Carter was the first recipient in 2018 and Matisse Thybulle of Washington was last year’s winner.
