Big 12 Basketball: Who is the 2017-18 preseason Player of the Year?

The 2017-18 preseason Player of the Year was selected for the Big 12. Who earned the coveted honor?

The 2016-17 Big 12 preseason Player of the Year was not the same player who finished the season as the Player of the Year in the Big 12.

Iowa State’s Monte Morris was expected to take home the honor at the end of the season but was unable to surpass the eventual winner, Kansas Jayhawks’ Frank Mason III.

Morris led the Iowa State Cyclones in scoring and assists with 16.4 and 6.2 per game respectively and was a major reason this team was able to eventually win the Big 12 Tournament over the West Virginia Mountaineers and secure a spot in the Big Dance. Sure, they would lose to the Purdue Boilermakers in the second round, but Morris had a phenomenal season.

However, he was upstaged by the Big 12 regular season title winners, as Mason III led the Jayhawks with 20.9 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, and 5.2 assists per game. This rounded, excellent stat line, as well as the fantastic run of Kansas, led to Mason receiving the award of Morris.

That being said, Kansas’ Devonte’ Graham, the player who was chosen to be the 2017-18 preseason Player of the Year in the Big 12, has a better chance of finishing the season by winning the aforementioned award due to the fact that he is on the favored team in the Big 12.

Next: Check out the rest of the Big 12 preseason awards

Graham was the third leading scorer on Kansas at 13.4 points per game last season and is expected to step up in a big way next season.