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Foster Named to Big 12 Second Team, Newcomer Team

Spradling and Gipson earn honorable mention.

He's not Michael Beasley, but he's now clearly ahead of Jake Pullen's trajectory.
He's not Michael Beasley, but he's now clearly ahead of Jake Pullen's trajectory.
Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

The Big 12 announced its official men's basketball awards today, voted on by the league's head coaches. While the results weren't fantastic for the Wildcats, they weren't horrible.

Marcus Foster was named an All-Big 12 second team selection, as well as being named to the All-Newcomer team. For that portion of the Wildcat fanbase that can't survive without a healthy dose of DISRESPECT, you can take solace in the fact that somehow, against all rational sense, Foster wasn't a unanimous selection to the All-Newcomer team.

Foster is in heady company in terms of Bramlage history. He becomes only the second Wildcat to be named to the All-Newcomer team, and also the second K-State freshman to be named All-Big 12 on either the first or second teams. The other player in both categories was, of course, Michael Beasley. Fitting, of course, since Foster's game against Texas in Bramlage was positively Beasleyesque.

Will Spradling and Thomas Gipson were also given nods at honorable mention.

And with that, the full award slate, presented in reverse order of presumed import:

Honorable Mention:

Isaiah Austin, Baylor; Wayne Selden Jr. and Naadir Tharpe, Kansas; Will Spradling and Thomas GIpson, Kansas State; Ryan Spangler, Oklahoma; Le'Bryan Nash, Oklahoma State; Kyan Anderson, Texas Christian; Javan Felix, Cameron Ridley, and Isaiah Taylor, Texas; and Eron Harris, West Virginia.

Special Teams:
BIG 12 ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
PLAYER SCHOOL POS HT WT CLASS
Joel Embiid*
Kansas
C 7' 0" 250 FR
Marcus Foster
Kansas State
G 6' 2"
200 FR
DeAndre Kane
Iowa State
G 6' 4"
200 SR
Isaiah Taylor
Texas
G 6' 1"
170 FR
Andrew Wiggins*
Kansas G 6' 8"
200 FR
* - unanimous selection

Jon's Snap Observation: There's one guy on this team that played regular old high-school ball. One. And I have this fear that this is probably the future of high-level college basketball. I can't quibble with the selections; they're all perfectly deserving. It would've been nice to see Wesley Iwundu make it, but if we're honest, he doesn't deserve to be ahead of any of these guys. However... I don't know whether the Big 12 includes received votes for All-Newcomer and/or All-Defensive selections in the honorable mention pool. If so, then I am rightly disappointed that Wesley didn't get a honorable mention nod.

BIG 12 ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
PLAYER SCHOOL POS HT WT CLASS
Isaiah Austin
Baylor
C 7' 1"
225 SO
Joel Embiid*
Kansas C 7' 0" 250 FR
Demarcus Holland
Texas G 6' 2"
185 SO
Cameron Ridley
Texas C 6' 9" 285 SO
Marcus Smart*
Oklahoma State
G 6' 4"
220 SO
Juwan Staten
West Virginia
G 6' 1"
190 JR
* - unanimous selection

Jon's Snap Observation: Want to make the All-Defensive team? Be a little guy who steals the ball a lot, be a big guy who utterly jams the space under the rim, or be a guy who earns your team dickety points a game by falling down. I don't know that any Wildcat could or should have cracked this list, although... no, I'd have put Will Spradling here ahead of Staten, I think.

All-Big 12 Teams
ALL-BIG 12 THIRD TEAM
PLAYER SCHOOL POS HT WT CLASS
Cameron Clark
Oklahoma
F 6' 7" 211 SR
Jaye Crockett
Texas Tech
F 6' 7"
210 SR
Perry Ellis
Kansas F 6' 8"
225 SO
Cory Jefferson
Baylor F 6' 9"
220 SR
Georges Niang
Iowa State
F 6' 7" 240 SO

Jon's Snap Observation: The only conclusion I can draw here is that lots of guys tried to vote G-G-F-F-C and just couldn't, which resulted in one forward on each of the top two teams and a third team with nothing but. I cannot raise objections to either Spradling or Gipson falling short of this list.

ALL-BIG 12 SECOND TEAM
PLAYER SCHOOL POS HT WT CLASS
Markel Brown
Oklahoma State
G 6' 3"
190 SR
Joel Embiid*
Kansas C 7' 0" 250 FR
Marcus Foster
Kansas State
G 6' 2"
200 FR
Buddy Hield
Oklahoma G 6' 4"
208 SO
Jonathan Holmes
Texas F 6' 8" 240 JR

Jon's Snap Observation: Meanwhile, the league's best center doesn't make it to the first team. This is a pretty strong second team, I'd say. Would you like to go into the NCAA tournament with this as your starting five? I'd take that. I'd take that in a heartbeat.

ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM
PLAYER SCHOOL POS HT WT CLASS
Melvin Ejim*
Iowa State
F 6' 6"
220 SR
DeAndre Kane
Iowa State
G 6' 4"
200 SR
Marcus Smart
Oklahoma State
G 6' 4"
220 SO
Juwan Staten
West Virginia
G 6' 1"
190 JR
Andrew Wiggins*
Kansas G 6' 8"
200 FR
* - unanimous selection

Jon's Snap Observation: First, can't help but notice that 40% of the top two teams are foreign. More pertinently, can't help but notice that 40% of the first team is Canadian. Also 40% is transfers. Indeed, the only player to make the first team who was recruited out of a normal high school... is the guy we all hate. We should probably give him credit for that, if nothing else.

Conference Awards:
AWARD RECIPIENT SCHOOL
Big 12 Sixth-Man Award
Tyler Neal
Phil Forte
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Big 12 Freshman of the Year Andrew Wiggins
Kansas
Big 12 Newcomer of the Year
DeAndre Kane
Iowa State
Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
Joel Embiid
Kansas
Big 12 Player of the Year
Melvin Ejim
Iowa State
Big 12 Coach of the Year
Rick Barnes
Texas

Jon's Snap Observation: Starting to wonder if the Big 12 Coach of the Year award now goes to the guy everyone laughed at before the year started who completely failed to be a complete failure. It's the fourth time Barnes has earned the honor, along with a fifth trophy he won from the CAA when he was at George Mason. It would have been nice if Nino Williams had pulled down the sixth man award, and I can't help but wonder if the fact that he supplanted Shane Southwell in the starting lineup late in the year impacted the voting. Then again, my sunglasses are purple, so I could be over-estimating Nino's impact off the bench over the course of the season, and it's hard to combat a hobbit with a laser sight only effective from 19 feet out.

Thoughts? Comments? Rants? How do you feel about the teams and awards? Let us know.