KU, K-State each land one on preseason All-Big 12 basketball team

Kansas junior forward Perry Ellis and Kansas State sophomore guard Marcus Foster were each selected to the preseason All-Big 12 basketball team, which was released Thursday after a vote from the league’s coaches.

West Virginia guard Juwan Staten was chosen as the coaches’ preseason player of the year after leading the conference in scoring (18.1 points per game) last season. Iowa State junior forward Georges Niang and Oklahoma junior guard Buddy Hield filled out the five-man first-team.

Kansas freshman Cliff Alexander, a 6-8 forward from Chicago, shared preseason freshman of the year honors with Texas freshman center Myles Turner. Iowa State guard Bryce Dejean-Jones, a graduate transfer from UNLV, is the conference’s preseason newcomer of the year.

Ellis, one of Kansas’ two returning starters, averaged 13.5 points per game 6.7 rebounds per contest in 2013-14, earning All-Big 12 third-team honors. Foster, K-State’s leading scorer last season, averaged 15.5 points while playing 29 minutes per game as a freshman last season.

Alexander, meanwhile, was rated as the No. 4 overall recruit in the country by Rivals.com following his senior season at Curie High School in Chicago. A presumptive starter in the Jayhawks' frontcourt, Alexander averaged 25 points, 16 rebounds and six blocked shots in his senior season and was named the 2014 Naismith Boys High School Player of the Year.

This story was originally published October 2, 2014 at 11:27 AM with the headline "KU, K-State each land one on preseason All-Big 12 basketball team."