Voters snub seniors
North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough and Kansas State’s Michael Beasley were unanimous selections to the Associated Press men’s All-America basketball team Monday. For the first time, no senior was chosen.
Beasley and Kevin Love of UCLA made it two straight years there were two freshmen chosen. Sophomore D.J. Augustin of Texas and junior Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis rounded out the first-team selections, shutting out the seniors.
The AP started choosing All-America teams after the 1947-48 season, and for the next six decades there was at least one member of the senior class on every first team.
Until this group.
Hansbrough, a junior and the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, and Beasley, the Big 12 player of the year and third freshman to lead the country in rebounding, were named on all 72 ballots by the same national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. The voting was done before the NCAA tournament.
Hansbrough was a second-team selection last year.
Gonzaga University junior guard Jeremy Pargo received honorable mention.
The 6-9 Hansbrough and Beasley joined Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph’s and Emeka Okafor of Connecticut in 2004, and J.J. Redick of Duke and Adam Morrison of Gonzaga in 2006 as unanimous tandems.
Hansbrough, Love and Douglas-Roberts have led their teams into the Final Four.
Notre Dame sophomore center Luke Harangody was sixth in the voting and was joined on the second team by seniors Shan Foster of Vanderbilt, D.J. White of Indiana and Roy Hibbert of Georgetown, and college basketball’s newest star, Davidson sophomore guard Stephen Curry.
Tulsa 73, Bradley 68: Jerome Jordan scored 18 points, including two clinching free throws, to lead the Golden Hurricane (24-13) to a victory over the Braves (20-16) in the first game of a best-of-three series in the College Basketball Invitational finals at Tulsa, Okla.
The second game will be at Bradley on Wednesday.
Tulsa won despite 17 turnovers, 59.5 percent shooting from the line (22 of 37) and 5-of-19 shooting on 3-pointers.