KU’s Andrew Wiggins basketball writers’ All-America second team

Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins was selected to the All-America second team on Wednesday by the United States Basketball Writers Association.

Wiggins, who helped the 10th-ranked Jayhawks to a Big 12 championship this season, was joined on the second team by Wichita State senior Cleanthony Early, Syracuse senior C.J. Fair, Cincinnati senior Sean Kilpatrick and Iowa State senior Melvin Ejim, who beat out Wiggins for Big 12 player of the year.

Creighton senior forward Doug McDermott, the frontrunner for national player of the year honors, highlighted the first team. He was joined by Arizona junior Nick Johnson, Louisville senior Russ Smith, Duke freshman Jabari Parker and Connecticut senior Shabazz Napier.

Wiggins is averaging 16.8 points and 5.9 rebounds during the regular season, including a 41-point performance in the Jayhawks’ loss at West Virginia last Saturday.

It’s the sixth straight season a Kansas player has been selected to one of the USBWA All-America teams: Ben McLemore and Jeff Withey earned the honor last season, while Thomas Robinson (2012), Marcus Morris (2011), Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich (2010) and Collins (2009) also landed on the first or second team.

• Wiggins and Joel Embiid were chosen to the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ all-District 8 first team.

Wiggins and Embiid were joined by Iowa State’s Melvin Ejim and DeAndre Kane and Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield. KU’s Perry Ellis and K-State’s Marcus Foster were on the second team.

In District 16, Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early, Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker were first-team picks.

This story was originally published March 12, 2014 at 11:57 AM with the headline "KU’s Andrew Wiggins basketball writers’ All-America second team."