Instant Success: Big 12 Boasts Two Freshmen Among First-Team Choices

March 16th, 2013 - 20:40

In 2003-04, Oral Roberts (16-11 record) became the first school in 73 years to boast two freshmen as all-conference first-team selections in the same season when guard Ken Tutt (20.7) and forward Caleb Green (17.3) combined for 38 points per game. After a fresh pair of first-teamers subsequently surfaced at Ohio State in 2006-07 and Kentucky twice in a three-year span in 2009-10 and 2011-12, it occurred again this year in the Big 12 with Ben McLemore (Kansas) and Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State). Following is a chronological list of leagues to feature a pair of freshmen earning first-team acclaim:

Conference Season First-Team All-League Pair of Freshmen
Rocky Mountain 1930-31 John Kimball (Wyoming) and Les Witte (Wyoming)
Southwest 1945-46 Al Madsen (Texas) and Jackie Robinson (Baylor)
Mid-American 1946-47 Ralph "Buckshot" O'Brien (Butler) and Al Rubenstein (Cincinnati)
West Coast Athletic 1975-76 Winford Boynes (San Francisco) and Clint Richardson (Seattle)
Big Ten 1977-78 Magic Johnson (Michigan State) and Mike McGee (Michigan)
Metro 1981-82 Keith Lee (Memphis State) and John Williams (Tulane)
Southeastern 1989-90 Allan Houston (Tennessee) and Shaquille O'Neal (Louisiana State)
North Atlantic 1992-93 Eddie Benton (Vermont) and Malik Rose (Drexel)
Metro 1994-95 Danny Fortson (Cincinnati) and Lorenzen Wright (Memphis)
Atlantic Coast 1995-96 Antawn Jamison (North Carolina) and Stephon Marbury (Georgia Tech)
Mid-Continent 2003-04 Caleb Green (Oral Roberts) and Ken Tutt (Oral Roberts)
Atlantic Sun 2006-07 James Florence (Mercer) and Jonathan Rodriguez (Campbell)
Big Ten 2006-07 Mike Conley Jr. (Ohio State) and Greg Oden (Ohio State)
Southern 2006-07 Nick Aldridge (Western Carolina) and Stephen Curry (Davidson)
Pacific-10 2007-08 James Harden (Arizona State), Kevin Love (UCLA) and O.J. Mayo (Southern California
Southeastern 2009-10 DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky) and John Wall (Kentucky)
Southeastern 2011-12 Bradley Beal (Florida), Anthony Davis (Kentucky) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Kentucky)
Big 12 2012-13 Ben McLemore (Kansas) and Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State)

NOTE: Three of the OVC's 10-man all-league team in 1954-55, three of the MAAC's 12-man all-conference squad in 1981-82, and three of the Pacific-10's 10-man all-league squad in 1999-2000 were freshmen.