Michigan State University Athletics
Valentine Named To Preseason All-Big Ten Team
10/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State senior guard Denzel Valentine has been named to the 2015-16 Preseason All-Big Ten Team, the conference announced on Wednesday afternoon. Valentine was one of four unanimous selections to the 10-member team, chosen by the conference's media voting panel.
Valentine was a third-team All-Big Ten selection as a junior, averaging 14.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists, standing as the only player to rank in Top 15 in the Big Ten in all three categories, and ranking second on the team in all three categories. He was a USBWA All-District V selection and was voted Co-Team MVP. He earned a spot on the NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team as MSU advanced to the 2015 Final Four, where he would lead MSU in scoring with 22 points against Duke in the National Semifinal. Valentine has totaled seven career double-doubles and ranks tied for seventh in MSU history with 161 made 3-pointers, including 102 last year, marking the third-best single-season total for a Spartan.
Maryland's Melo Trimble was voted the Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year. Joining Valentine and Trimble on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team are Indiana's Jame's Blackmon Jr. and Yogi Ferrell, Iowa's Jarrod Uthoff, Maryland's Jake Layman, Michigan's Caris LeVert, Purdue's A.J. Hammons, and Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig. Valentine, Trimble, Hammons and Hayes were the four unanimous selections.
