Dallas ? Oklahoma senior forward Taj Gray has been named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, Big 12 officials announced Monday.
Kansas University freshman forward Julian Wright was tabbed as the conference’s Freshman of the Year while OU guard Michael Neal and Oklahoma State forward Mario Boggan shared Preseason Newcomer of the Year accolades. Players honored in preseason voting were selected by the league’s head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
Wright is one of several top freshmen for Kansas this season. The 6-8, 218-pound Chicago native was named to the McDonald’s All-America team his senior year of high school and was also a first-team all-state choice. Wright averaged 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists as he led Homewood-Flossmoor to two regional and sectional championships.
Previous KU Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year honorees include Nick Collison in 2000 and David Padgett, who was co-Freshman of the Year with Drew Lavender of Oklahoma in 2004. Kansas’ Jeff Boschee was the 1999 Big 12 Freshman of the Year at season’s end.
In addition to Gray, the following players were announced to the preseason All-Big 12 team — Curtis Stinson (Iowa State), JamesOn Curry (Oklahoma State), Daniel Gibson and P.J. Tucker (Texas). Stinson (second team) and Gibson (third) earned All-Big 12 postseason honors last season.
Honorable Mention candidates included Aaron Bruce (Baylor), Kevin Bookout (Oklahoma), Terrell Everett (Oklahoma), LaMarcus Aldridge (Texas), Brad Buckman (Texas), Joseph Jones (Texas A&M), Jarrius Jackson (Texas Tech), and Martin Zeno, (Texas Tech).
Gray, a 6-9, 238-pound native of Wichita, was an All-Big 12 First Team choice last season and the league’s Newcomer of the Year. He was the first OU player in Big 12 history to lead the conference in field goal shooting, hitting at a .557 clip. The senior led the Sooners in scoring (14.6), rebounding (8.2) and blocks (59) while finishing third on the team in steals (40). He was a member of the United States squad that competed in the FIBA U21 World Championships this past summer and has also been named to the 2005-06 Preseason Wooden Award watch list.
Neal was a NJCAA All-America First Team choice a year ago. He averaged 16.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals, leading his team to a 25-5 record. Boggan posted 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, shooting 57.9 percent. He earned All-America Honorable Mention recognition from the NJCAA and led his team to a 33-4 record.
