Big 12 Basketball: Preseason Player of the Year candidates for 2018-19

By Chris Kern | Sep 29, 2018

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 23: Sagaba Konate #50 of the West Virginia Mountaineers is defended by Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree #21 of the Villanova Wildcats during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional at TD Garden on March 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

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LUBBOCK, TX – FEBRUARY 07: Lindell Wigginton #5 of the Iowa State Cyclones shoots a free throw during the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on February 7, 2018 at United Supermarket Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Iowa State 76-58. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

Lindell Wigginton

The Iowa State Cyclones had a down year last season as they finished last in the conference standings. Finishing four games behind the 9th place Texas Longhorns. They were also the only Big 12 team that wasn’t at least a candidate to make the NCAA tournament.

Lindell Wigginton was a bright spot on a team that did not do very well last year. He averaged 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. There were many people who were surprised that he decided to return to school.

Many felt he had a shot at being a first-round pick in last years draft but he must’ve felt that wasn’t the case after meeting with some teams. Some thought he still would stay in the draft anyway but he decided to come back to Iowa St and try to lead this team to the NCAA tournament while also trying to improve his stock to become a first-round draft pick.

His chances at earning the Big 12 Player Of The Year award ultimately come down to how good this team is. I expect them to be an NCAA tournament team but it’ll take more than that for him to be a player of the year candidate.

He will have big numbers next season and he’ll be one of the most exciting players in the conference. If they finish above .500 in conference play, expect Wigginton to earn some votes to win the award.

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