The preseason AP All-America team is once again loaded with veteran bigs with Edey leading the way as a unanimous pick
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The Associated Press on Monday released its 2023-24 AP preseason All-America men’s basketball team led once again by a talented bunch of big men at the back end of their college careers. The team included just one unanimous selection this year in reigning AP Player of the Year Zach Edey of Purdue but features several other prominent bigs from blueblood schools led by Hunter Dickinson of Kansas, Armando Bacot of North Carolina and Kyle Filipowski of Duke. Marquette’s Tyler Kolek — the only player listed shorter than 6-foot-11 — earned recognition as the only guard on the preseason All-America team.
Kolek’s inclusion and the recognition of four other bigs continued a trend on the preseason AP All-America team in college basketball after a similar result last year when only Houston guard Marcus Sasser broke through among four other bigs. The team also once again highlights the youth (or lack thereof) among the top stars in the sport, with four seniors on the team and the only non-senior, Kyle Filipowski, a second-year player. It marks the second time in as many years that the AP All-America team does not include a freshman, which previously did not happen in nine consecutive seasons prior.
Another theme of note: Four of the five players on the AP’s preseason All-America team are prominent pieces of teams that were recently named in the top five of the preseason AP Top 25 poll. Those players represent the No. 1 (Kansas), No. 2 (Duke), No. 3 (Purdue) and No. 5 (Marquette) teams in the rankings. No. 19 North Carolina, last year’s preseason No. 1, is also represented. CBS Sports released its preseason All-America teams with the same five players on the first team last week.
2023-24 preseason AP All-America team
The Associated Press’ 2023-24 preseason All-America men’s basketball team, with school, votes from a 60-member national media panel, height, weight, class and key 2022-23 statistics:
| Player (votes) | Ht, Wt | Class | Key stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Edey, Purdue (60) | 7-4, 300 | SR | 22.3 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 2.1 blocks, 60.7 fg pct, 1.5 apg |
| Tyler Kolek, Marquette (53) | 6-3, 195 | SR | 12.9 ppg, 7.5 apg, 1.8 steals, 47.1 fg pct |
| Hunter Dickinson, Kansas (41) | 7-2, 260 | SR | 18.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.8 blocks, 56.0 fg pct |
| Kyle Filipowski, Duke (33) | 7-0, 248 | SO | 15.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 16 double-doubles, 1.31 steals, 44.1 fg pct |
| Armando Bacot, UNC (32) | 6-11, 240 | GR | 15.9 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.4 apg, 55.4 fg pct |
Others receiving votes: Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M, 13; Max Abmas, Texas, 13; Boo Buie, Northwestern, 12; Tyson Walker, Michigan State, 7; Johni Broome, Auburn, 7; Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, 5; Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois, 5; Boogie Ellis, Southern Cal, 3; Justin Moore, Villanova, 3; Tyrese Proctor, Duke, 3; DaRon Holmes II, Dayton, 2; Tristan de Silva, Colorado, 1; Tolu Smith, Mississippi State, 1; Dillon Jones, Weber State, 1; Jahmir Young, Maryland, 1; Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga, 1; Tucker DeVries, Drake, 1.
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