SEC lands 2 players on The Sporting News All-America teams

The Sporting News it out with its All-America teams, and they reflect the changing nature of college basketball and the NBA.

With that in mind, the SEC landed 2 players on the 3 All-America teams, and they are 6-foot-9 stars Brandon Miller of Alabama on the first team, and Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky on the third team. Long gone are the days of guards dominating these postseason teams.

The blue ribbon panel of voters identified by The Sporting News includes reporters and analysts who closely cover the game across the country from national voices to television analysts to beat reporters assigned to specific teams and leagues. The TSN squad is one of 4 identified by the NCAA for inclusion in establishment of the annual consensus All-America team.

The members chose only one player this year unanimously: Purdue center Zach Edey, who received a first-team nod from every voter. Kansas’ terrific junior forward Jalen Wilson missed that distinction by a single vote. Wilson forever will be an All-American, though – the fourth for KU in the last six seasons.

Here are the SEC selections and The Sporting News’ descriptions:

Brandon Miller, Alabama, First Team
Key stats: 19.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 40.4 3-PT, 45.3 pct. FG
Defining game: 30 points, 10 rebounds, 10-of-16 shooting in 78-66 victory at Vanderbilt.

Overview: Miller’s play has been a revelation almost from his first game at Alabama. Rated only the 11th-best player in the freshman class of 2022, he performed as the nation’s best freshman within the season’s first month. He was not regarded as elite from 3-point range as he entered Alabama, but that became his greatest strength; he was 38-of-71 – 53.5 percent – in his first 11 games. His length helped empower an imposing Alabama frontcourt defense. It’s inescapable, though, his season will be better remembered for the terrible incident at which he was present in January, when a teammate was arrested for alleged involvement in the murder of a young woman near the Alabama campus. Miller was not charged in the case, but neither was he publicly disciplined by the Crimson Tide basketball staff or athletic department.

Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky, Third Team
Overview: It is not often the player who wins every major player of the year trophy – including the Naismith Award, the Oscar Robertson Trophy, The Sporting News Player of the Year – returns in the modern age of basketball. And when it used to happen fairly often in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, that player usually went out and did it again. Tshiebwe did not have such a season, perhaps because of a preseason knee surgery that limited his preparation time. He eventually recovered well enough to average 16.4 points and 13.1 rebounds and help rescue Kentucky from the brink of missing the NCAA Tournament to a position solidly in the field.

Here are the teams:

First team
Zach Edey, Purdue
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
Jalen Wilson, Kansas
Brandon Miller, Alabama
Drew Timme, Gonzaga

Second team
Jaime Jaquez, UCLA
Azoulas Tubelis, Arizona
Marcus Sasser, Houston
Jalen Pickett, Penn State
Tyler Kolek, Marquette

Third team
Kris Murray, Iowa
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Kendric Davis, Memphis
Markquis Nowell, Kansas State
Armando Bacot, North Carolina

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.