For the second consecutive season, Creighton forward Doug McDermott has been named a First Team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
McDermott is the 75th man to earn multiple First Team accolades in the
USBWA's history, and first since Ohio State's Jared Sullinger in 2011 and 2012. McDermott is the first player from a "non-BCS" league to earn repeat First Team honors since UNLV star Larry Johnson in 1990 & 1991.
A junior from Ames, Iowa, McDermott is believed to be the first player in
Creighton basketball history to earn First Team All-America honors twicefrom the same organization, and first in program history player to earn multiple First Team accolades since Paul Silas from 1961-64.
Repeat 1st-Team USBWA All-Americans, Since 1990
Doug McDermott, Creighton 2012, 13
Jared Sullinger, Ohio State 2011, 12
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina 2007, 08, 09
J.J. Redick, Duke 2005, 06
Jason Williams, Duke 2001, 02
Troy Murphy, Notre Dame 2000, 01
Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State 1998, 99
Raef LaFrentz, Kansas 1997, 98
Tim Duncan, Wake Forest 1996, 97
Jim Jackson, Ohio State 1991, 92
Shaquille O¹Neal, LSU 1991, 92
Larry Johnson, UNLV 1990, 91
McDermott's enjoyed a standout year thus far that has him live up to
preseason hype projecting him as a top candidate for National Player of the Year. He's averaging 23.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and shooting 56.1 percent from the field, 49.7 percent from three-point range and 86.0 percent at the line.
McDermott is joined on the USBWA First Team by Michigan's Trey Burke, Indiana's Victor Oladipo, Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk and Georgetown's Otto Porter.
Each of the 10 All-American selections is among the Oscar Robertson Trophy finalists. The USBWA's National Player of the Year Award will be announced on Friday, April 5, in Atlanta in conjunction with the Final Four. The Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Trophy presented by Aflac will be formally presented on Monday, April 15, at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards Gala in Oklahoma City.
In other news on Monday, Creighton men's basketball moved up one spot to 22nd in the Associated Press poll, and up three spots in the USA Today coaches poll to 21st. Both figures are CU's highest ranking since Feb. 4th.
Creighton returns to the postseason for a 16th straight season when it plays Cincinnati on Friday at 1:45 pm Central in Philadelphia in a second-round NCAA Tournament contest.
