• Complete USBWA All-American Teams | Oscar Robertson Trophy Release
Murray State sophomore
Ja Morant has been named a first-team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
He is also one of four finalists for the USBWA's Oscar Robertson Trophy, given to the National Player of the Year. He is joined in the final four by Duke's RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson and Tennessee's Grant Williams. The Robertson Trophy will be awarded on April 5 at the Final Four in Minneapolis.
Morant, the OVC Player of the Year, has led Murray State to a 27-4 overall and 16-2 OVC record, a share of the OVC regular season championship and the program's second-straight and record 17th OVC Tournament Championship. He enters the postseason with 311 assists, which ranks 10th in NCAA single-season history.
Morant enters this week ranked first nationally in assists (10.0 - 2.3/game more than second place), eighth in scoring (24.6 points/game), 12th in double-doubles (19) and 69th in steals (1.81/game) and is one of two players nationally with multiple triple-doubles this season. The sophomore is on pace to become the first player since the NCAA began tracking assists in 1983-84 to average 20-plus points and 10-plus assists in a single season. Morant has 14 games this year with 20-plus points and 10-plus assists; no other player nationally has three such games.
His 18 assists in a game against UT Martin are the most by a Division I player this year and the second-most in OVC single-game history. His 19 double-doubles are just five off the nation's lead and he is the only player in the top 25 nationally in double-doubles under 6'6" tall.
In January Morant became the first Division I player in 20 years to record 40 points, 11 assists and five steals in a regulation game (doing so vs. SIUE). In that contest he hit 21-of-21 free throws, establishing a new OVC single-game record (just three off the NCAA mark); he was the first Division I player with 21 or more made free throws in a game without a miss in the past 20 years.
He was named MVP of the OVC Tournament after averaging 32.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists/game while hitting 55.4 percent from the field and 79.2 percent from the free throw line. He had 29 points, eight assists and six rebounds in a semifinal win over Jacksonville State, including converting a traditional three-point play in the final 10 seconds to give him team the win. He followed that with 36 pointss, seven rebounds and three assists in a title game win over Belmont. Those two wins helped MSU avenge its only two OVC losses of the season.
He is a semifinalist or finalist for all the major awards including the Wooden Award, Naismith Award and the Lute Olson Award, each given to the National Player of the Year, and the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's top point guard.
2019 USBWA All-America Teams
FIRST TEAM
R.J. Barrett, Duke
Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga
Ja Morant, Murray State
Grant Williams, Tennessee
Zion Williamson, Duke
SECOND TEAM
Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech
Carsen Edwards, Purdue
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
Markus Howard, Marquette
Cassius Winston, Michigan State
THIRD TEAM
Chris Clemson, Campbell
Mike Daum, South Dakota State
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia
Dedric Lawson, Kansas
P.J. Washington, Kentucky
Ja Morant 2019 All-American Teams
Bleacher Report: 1st Team
Sports Illustrated: 1st Team
USBWA: 1st Team
NBC Sports: 2nd Team
Sporting News: 2nd Team
Stadium: 2nd Team