Five upperclassmen and one high-profile freshman make up the six-man preseason AP All-America men’s basketball team announced Monday.
Heralded Duke forward Cooper Flagg is the the only freshman to make the team with 24 out of 55 votes. Alabama guard Mark Sears, North Carolina guard RJ Davis, Kansas center Hunter Dickinson, Auburn forward Johni Broome and Arizona guard Caleb Love round out the team.
All six players are members of top-11 teams with aspirations of competing for an NCAA championship. All but Flagg are fifth-year seniors.
Sears (17.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.6 spg last season) is a near-unanimous selection who earned 54 out of 55 votes from a panel of national media. The returning second-team All-American helped lead Alabama to the Final Four last season in an NCAA tournament run that included a Sweet 16 upset of Davis’ Tar Heels. His Crimson Tide are ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP poll.
Davis (21.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.2 spg) is the only returning member from last season’s first-team All-America team. The reigning ACC Player of the Year received 51 of 55 votes and leads a ninth-ranked North Carolina team seeking its second Final Four in four seasons.
Dickinson (17.9 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.4 bpg) is returning for his second season at Kansas after transferring from Michigan last season. He was a second-team All-American last season and earned 42 votes for the preseason team. Dickinson’s Jayhawks are ranked No. 1 to start the season.
Broome (16.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.2 bpg) is a returning third-team All-American and was a first-team All-SEC selection last season. He leads an Auburn team that’s ranked No. 11 in the preseason AP poll. Broome earned 34 votes.
Love (18 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.2 spg) is returning for his second season at Arizona after sharing a backcourt with Davis at North Carolina for three seasons. He was a third-team All-American and named Pac-12 Player of the Year in his first season with the Wildcats. He earned 24 votes. Arizona is ranked No. 10 in the preseason poll.
Flagg joins Duke as one of basketball’s most hyped prep prospects in years. The No. 1 player in his high school class, Flagg is also projected as the No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA draft. He averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 2.7 blocks per game last season at Florida’s Monteverde Academy as a two-way, 6-9 forward with 3-point range. He tied Love with 24 votes to extend the traditional five-man team to six players. Duke enters the season ranked at No. 7.
This season will feature several matchups of preseason All-Americans. North Carolina will face Duke and Alabama will face Auburn twice each as ACC and SEC rivals. Arizona and Kansas will face off in each team’s Big 12 season finale in March. North Carolina is scheduled to face Kansas (Nov. 8) and Alabama (Dec. 4) before conference play begins. Duke and Auburn will also face off on Dec. 4. Duke will also take on Arizona on Nov. 22.
Others receiving votes: Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (15 votes); Alex Karaban, UConn (10); LJ Cryer, Houston (5); Braden Smith, Purdue (5); Kam Jones, Marquette (2); Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State (2); Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M; Johnell Davis, Arkansas; Norchard Omier, Baylor; Ace Bailey, Rutgers; Robbie Avila, Saint Louis; Tucker DeVries, West Virginia; Tre Johnson, Texas
