Kentucky’s Oscar Tschiebwe and Gonzaga’s Drew Timme unanimously selected as preseason All-Americans

Oscar Tschiebwe was the men’s consensus basketball player of the year last season, a feat usually followed by a jump to the NBA.

Kentucky’s big man decided to take a different route. He’s coming back – and maybe he’s even better this season.

“He’s a better passer. He’s a better dribbler. He has a better feeling. He talks,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “Offensively, he knows the pieces better. And he is authentic.’

Tshiebwe was a unanimous roster along with Gonzaga big man Drew Timme in The Associated Press preseason All-America team that was released Monday. They were joined by North Carolina forward Armando Bacot Marcus Sasser and Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis on the team selected by a 59-person media panel voting for the weekly AP Top 25.

Tshiebwe is the ninth national player of the year at AP — Bill Walton and Ralph Sampson did it twice — to return for another season, according to Sportradar, and the first since Tyler Hansbrough came back to lead North Carolina to a national title. in 2009.

The fourth-place Wildcats hope Tshiebwe can do the same for them.

The 6-foot-9, 260-pound forward from Congo led the nation in rebounding with 15.1 per game, averaging 17.4 points. He shot 60 percent of the field, had 60 steals and 55 blocks, and finished the season with 16 consecutive double-doubles en route to a school record of 28.

Rather than take his game to the NBA, Tshiebwe chose to return when the projections let him go into the second round of the 2022 draft.

“They (NBA scouts) want my game to be expanded a little bit,” said Tshiebwe, who started his career in West Virginia. “They want me to make one or two three-pointers. They want me to catch the ball, drive and finish, and get better at dribbling.”

Gonzaga’s Drew Timme (L) was also a unanimous selection as an AP preseason All-American

Timme made a similar decision – two years in a row. The 6-10 senior has been one of the top big men in the country each of the past two seasons, leading the Zags on deep NCAA runs, including a trip to the national title game in 2021. He was a runner-up All-American team for the second straight season a year ago after averaging 18.4 points and 6.8 rebounds.

Timme still had areas of his game he wanted to work on before moving to the NBA and hoped for another shot at winning a national title with the second-ranked Zags. The NCAA’s name, image, and likeness matches made it an easier decision, plus college life is a lot of fun.

“We have the opportunity to do something special, I wanted to get my degree, there are things I want to work on, I want to build further,” said Timme. “It was a culmination of a lot of things, but I really enjoy being a student.”

UNC’s Armando Bacot reached the national title game with the Tar Heels last season

Bacot also has the chance to do something special with the Tar Heels.

The 6-11 forward tied the NCAA record with 31 double-doubles last season and became the first to have six in the same NCAA tournament as he led North Carolina to the game for the national title. The Tar Heels lost to Kansas but are No. 1 in the AP Preseason Top 25 and are among the favorites to win it all with Bacot back.

“I’m not going a day where we don’t say, man, we can’t wait to get to that,” Bacot said of winning a national title. “Maybe that’s not the best approach, but I mean, we’re human.”

Sasser was a key cog in the Cougars’ first Final Four run since the Phi Slama Jama days two years ago, averaging 13.7 points while playing a menacing defense.

Houston guard Marcus Sasser hopes to reach his 2nd Final Four in 3 seasons with the Cougars

The dynamic 6-foot-2 guard got off to a strong start last season but was limited to 12 games after breaking a bone in his left foot. He was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the season and a big reason why the Cougars are ranked #3 in the AP preseason poll.

“It puts a target on your back every night, but it also motivates me on the job every day to get out there and work harder,” Sasser said.

Jackson-Davis was a preseason All-American last season, leading the Hoosiers in scoring (18.3) and rebounding (8.1). The 6-foot-9 forward also helped Indiana reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years, but the run ended with a first-round loss to Saint Mary’s.

With Jackson-Davis back, the No. 13 Hoosiers the favorites to win the Big Ten and hope to make a deep run in March.

“I think I’ve laid the stone for my individual legacy, being an All-American and doing all those things, but it doesn’t really matter if you don’t win anything here,” he said. “Winning is a big thing here, so winning a National Championship and winning a Big Ten title are my two main goals this year.”

After years of obscurity, Trayce Jackson-Davis hopes to bring Indiana back to national relevance