Youth Movement: Duke Duo Among First-Team All-Americans as Freshmen
April 2nd, 2019 - 20:29
Duke's R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson achieved a distinction luminaries Mark Aguirre, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Patrick Ewing, Phil Ford, Tyler Hansbrough, James Harden, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Bernard King, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O'Neal, Derrick Rose, Ralph Sampson and Russell Westbrook failed to do. Barrett and Williamson, joining Kentucky tandem DeMarco Cousins and John Wall in 2009-10, became an NCAA consensus first-team All-American as a freshman. Eighteen of the 24 yearlings on the following chronological list in this rare-air category were named first-team A-A in the last 13 seasons:
| Freshman First-Team All-American | Pos. | College | Year | Freshman All-American Recognition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arnie Ferrin | F | Utah | 1944 | C1 |
| Tom Gola | C-F | La Salle | 1952 | C1 |
| Keith Lee | C | Memphis State | 1982 | C1, AP2 |
| Wayman Tisdale | F-C | Oklahoma | 1983 | AP1, C1, USBWA1, UPI2, NABC3 |
| Chris Jackson | G | Louisiana State | 1989 | AP1, UPI1, USBWA1, NABC2 |
| Kenny Anderson | G | Georgia Tech | 1990 | NABC1, AP3 |
| Kevin Durant | F | Texas | 2007 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Greg Oden | C | Ohio State | 2007 | AP1, NABC2, USBWA2 |
| Michael Beasley | F | Kansas State | 2008 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Kevin Love | C | UCLA | 2008 | AP1, USBWA1, NABC2 |
| DeMarcus Cousins | C | Kentucky | 2010 | AP1, NABC2, USBWA2 |
| John Wall | G | Kentucky | 2010 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Jared Sullinger | F-C | Ohio State | 2011 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Anthony Davis | C | Kentucky | 2012 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Jabari Parker | F | Duke | 2014 | USBWA1 |
| Jahlil Okafor | C | Duke | 2015 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| D'Angelo Russell | G | Ohio State | 2015 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Ben Simmons | F-G | Louisiana State | 2016 | NABC1, USBWA1, AP2 |
| Lonzo Ball | G | UCLA | 2017 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Deandre Ayton | C | Arizona | 2018 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Marvin Bagley III | F-C | Duke | 2018 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Trae Young | G | Oklahoma | 2018 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| R.J. Barrett | G | Duke | 2019 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Zion Williamson | F | Duke | 2019 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |