Michigan State University Athletics
Valentine Named USBWA All-American
3/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Denzel Valentine was named first-team All-America by the United States Basketball Writers Association of America on Monday. Valentine is the first Spartan to be selected as a USBWA All-American since Draymond Green in 2012.
The Lansing native is just the ninth player in Spartan history to be named to the USBWA first-team joining Johnny Green (1959), Earvin "Magic" Johnson (1979), Scott Skiles (1986 â€" 2nd Team), Shawn Respert (1995 â€" 1st Team), Mateen Cleaves (1998 â€" 1st Team, 1999 â€" 1st Team), Morris Peterson (2000 â€" 2nd Team), Jason Richardson (2001 â€" 2nd Team) and Draymond Green (2012 â€" 1st Team).
The Big Ten player of the year is on pace to become the first player to average 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists since assists were recognized as an official statistic by the NCAA in 1983-84. Valentine also became the first player to lead the Big Ten in scoring and assists in all games since Iowa's Andre Woolridge in 1996-97.
The senior has recorded two triple doubles, 11 double-doubles and leads the Big Ten with 3.4 made three-pointers per game this season, while also pacing the conference in overall scoring (19.4 ppg) and assists (7.6 apg).
Joining Valentine on the first team are Malcolm Brogdon of Virginia, Buddy Hield of Oklahoma, Brice Johnson from North Carolina and Ben Johnson of LSU. The second team includes Kris Dunn of Providence, Georges Niang of Iowa State, Jakob Poeltl of Utah, Tyler Ulis of Kentucky and Jarrod Uthoff of Iowa.
The postseason honors are quickly accumulating for Valentine. He has been named National Player of the Year by USA TODAY Sports and NBC Sports. This latest All-America honor goes with his first-team accolades from the Sporting News, USA TODAY Sports, and Sports Illustrated. He was voted Big Ten Player of the Year and was a unanimous First-Team All-Big Ten selection. He followed by leading MSU to a Big Ten Tournament championship and earning Most Outstanding Player honors. In addition, he was named the USBWA All-District V player of the Year.
