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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ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 12: Dedric Lawson #1 of the Memphis Tigers shoots a foul shot during a semifinal game of the 2016 AAC Basketball Tournament against the Tulane Green Wave at Amway Center on March 12, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)[/caption] /

Dedric Lawson

Dedric Lawson is the favorite to win this award out of all of these candidates. He sat out last season after transferring from Memphis but he spent the year practicing with the team so he’ll know the system and be ready to dominate from the get-go.

Lawson was a star during both of his seasons in Memphis and was one of the best big men in the country during his sophomore campaign. He averaged 19.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. His 2.1 blocks and 1.3 steals per game leads to him being one of the best two-way players in America.

The biggest concern for him might be his decrease in three-point percentage from his freshman to his sophomore season. It dropped from 35% to 27%. This Kansas team doesn’t have the shooters they’ve had in past years so they’ll need him to be able to step up and knock down open looks.

Next. Preseason Big 12 Rankings for 2018-19. dark

Lawson is thought of as the best player, on the best team in the conference. If the Jayhawks win the conference by multiple games it will be hard for the award to go to a non-Jayhawk. Expect Lawson, at the very least, to earn a spot on the All-Big 12 first team.

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