Foster Named to Big 12 Second Team, Newcomer Team

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:

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.

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

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.

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.

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:

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.