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College basketball preseason All-American team: Winston, Wiseman headliners

ByMike Phillips|
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates a basket against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates a basket against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

The AP Preseason All-America team has been announced, and it features four notable returnees along with one of the nation’s most intriguing freshmen.

College basketball is right around the corner, and we already have the preseason top 25 out, with Michigan State topping the polls. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that their leader, senior point guard Cassius Winston, was one of five players named to the AP’s Preseason All-America team. He was also the only consensus pick to make the first-team.

Winston, who is a clear favorite for the National Player of the Year Awards, is joined by. three other returning stars of the college basketball world and one freshmen phenom.

Seton Hall’s Myles Powell and Marquette’s Markus Howard are poised for some epic battles in the Big East this season, and their performances last season made them clear cut choices for the All-America team.

The other returning star to make the roster is Louisville’s Jordan Nwora, who averaged 17 points and seven rebounds for the Cardinals a year ago. Louisville may well be the ACC’s best team entering the year and Nwora is without a doubt their best player.

The last spot went to Memphis center James Wiseman who was the nation’s top high school recruit last season. Wiseman is the centerpiece for an absolutely loaded class Penny Hardaway landed for the Tigers this season, and they could well be a national title threat if everything gels quickly.

Following Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett as preseason All-Americans last year, the trend of having top freshmen named All-Americans before playing a game is a growing trend. Don’t be surprised if Wiseman and another freshman makes their way onto the All-American team at the end of the year.

It is fair to wonder if Wiseman was the right choice for that final spot. It is surprising to see Duke’s Tre Jones, who was the glue for the Blue Devils’ superb squad a year ago, or a dominant big man like Utah State’s Neemias Queta get snubbed. Those two, along with any other snubs, will now have plenty of motivation to prove the voters wrong.

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