toddc 13,194 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Jabari Smith becomes Auburn's first All-American in 23 years ByNATHAN KING 11 minutes ago Share1 Comments Please turn off your ad blocker if you wish to view this video. The Early Edge: Best Bets for Monday, March 7th Auburn basketball has seen plenty of great players run the floor in recent history — including five NBA draft picks under Bruce Pearl. But none have earned an All-America nod in more than two decades — until star freshman Jabari Smith. Smith was named a Sporting News second team All-American on Monday morning, making him the first Auburn player honored by an NCAA-recognized All-America team since Chris Porter and Doc Robinson at the conclusion of the 1998-99 season. The possible No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft is the 12th All-American in Auburn history. "There is no college player better at pulling a 3-pointer from a standing position with a defender directly in his space," Sporting News wrote. "That may not come up a ton, but it's a nice asset for a player closely defended. Smith is one of the two or three most talented players in Division I. It sometimes feels like he could do more, but coach Bruce Pearl says Smith has been big when the Tigers needed him." Smith was the top 3-point shooter in the SEC this season at 43.6%, and he was fifth in the league in scoring at 17.1 points per game. The highest-rated recruit in program history seems to be picking up his game at the right time, too, averaging 24.8 points over the final six games of the regular season. Last week, Smith helped Auburn win two games and secure an outright SEC regular-season championship. This year's Tigers also bested Porter and Robinson's 1998-99 team for the most regular-season wins (27) and SEC wins (15) in program history. “That’s why I came here, was to win,” Smith said. “I felt like this school was going to put me in the best position to win a national championship, win the SEC, win all these accolades that we’re trying to get. I’m not surprised at all that we won it. It feels good. I just want to keep going.” The accolades aren't done for Smith, either. Sporting News was just the first of the post-regular season All-America teams, and he's set to become Auburn's first SEC freshman of the year next week. Auburn's season continues in Tampa in the SEC tournament Friday (11 a.m. CST, ESPN). The Tigers will face the winner of Florida vs. Texas A&M from the 8 vs. 9 game on Thursday. 2021-22 SPORTING NEWS ALL-AMERICA TEAM FIRST TEAM Johnny Davis, G, Wisconsin Oscar Tshiebwe, C, Kentucky Ochai Agbaji, G, Kansas Keegan Murray, F, Iowa Kofi Cockburn, C, Illinois SECOND TEAM Bennedict Mathurin, G, Arizona Jabari Smith, F, Auburn Jaden Ivey, G, Purdue Chet Holmgren, F, Gonzaga Drew Timme, C, Gonzaga THIRD TEAM EJ Liddell, F, Ohio State James Akinjo, G, Baylor JD Notae, G, Arkansas 1COMMENTS Collin Gillespie, G, Villanova Paolo Banchero, F, Duke 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81spacetiger 157 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Good to see the recognition for Jabari but the players/positions seem a bit odd. - Ist team selections has two 1st team centers. I would have guessed there would have been only 1 center, 2 forwards and 2 guards or 1 center, 1 forward and 3 guards. Maybe it would bother me less if Tshiebwe was listed as a forward since that is position the UK program lists him playing. If that were the case, Its hard for me to see Cockburn then as the best center. I've watched him play in several games this year, and while he was a BIG man he just didn't seem all the overwhelming (not to being the top center). It was funny to see lightweight guys try to move him. I was looking forward to seeing him play against Holmgren... - 2nd team selections has the Zaga guys shown as Holmgren as the forward and Timme as the center. They are both listed as forwards in their own web site. Again, another opportunity to recognize a true center because I don't think Timme was the 2nd best center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Seems like you need two guards, so this placement doesn’t affect Jabari, but Johnny Davis hasn’t been a 1st teamer in a minute imo. The other options under him don’t spark much of a contest from me though I wish it was just positionless honestly. Jabari is better than all the guards listed, even on the college level, except for Ochai. Johnny has to do more for his team, so I guess he should be higher idk. Outside of Johnny, I’d definitely have those 4 uncontested up there 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 9 minutes ago, 81spacetiger said: Good to see the recognition for Jabari but the players/positions seem a bit odd. - Ist team selections has two 1st team centers. I would have guessed there would have been only 1 center, 2 forwards and 2 guards or 1 center, 1 forward and 3 guards. Maybe it would bother me less if Tshiebwe was listed as a forward since that is position the UK program lists him playing. If that were the case, Its hard for me to see Cockburn then as the best center. I've watched him play in several games this year, and while he was a BIG man he just didn't seem all the overwhelming (not to being the top center). It was funny to see lightweight guys try to move him. I was looking forward to seeing him play against Holmgren... - 2nd team selections has the Zaga guys shown as Holmgren as the forward and Timme as the center. They are both listed as forwards in their own web site. Again, another opportunity to recognize a true center because I don't think Timme was the 2nd best center. I’d have Lidell over Timme if that was an option I think they should at least be like the NBA where it’s two guards and 3 F/C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JwgreDeux 1,279 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 A lot of these awards are heavily stats/production based. Jabari probably is about right, but no Kessler on the third team is surprising given he will likely be defensive player of the year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennypowers 1,431 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 2nd team would beat the 1st team. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKEEL75 2,566 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Seems crazy that Kessler didn't make it at least to 2nd team 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randman5000 4,226 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Wow! Huge honor. Way to go Auburn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUBwins 10,074 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 Good honor but bogus list to fit the agenda imo. In the same sentence you mention #1 overall Pick and have him 2nd team in order to put 2 centers on first team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,755 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 Auburn basketball has seen plenty of great players run the floor in recent history — including five NBA draft picks under Bruce Pearl. But none have earned an All-America nod in more than two decades — until star freshman Jabari Smith. Smith was named a Sporting News second team All-American on Monday morning, making him the first Auburn player honored by an NCAA-recognized All-America team since Chris Porter and Doc Robinson at the conclusion of the 1998-99 season. The possible No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft is the 12th All-American in Auburn history. "There is no college player better at pulling a 3-pointer from a standing position with a defender directly in his space," Sporting News wrote. "That may not come up a ton, but it's a nice asset for a player closely defended. Smith is one of the two or three most talented players in Division I. It sometimes feels like he could do more, but coach Bruce Pearl says Smith has been big when the Tigers needed him." Smith was the top 3-point shooter in the SEC this season at 43.6%, and he was fifth in the league in scoring at 17.1 points per game. The highest-rated recruit in program history seems to be picking up his game at the right time, too, averaging 24.8 points over the final six games of the regular season. Last week, Smith helped Auburn win two games and secure an outright SEC regular-season championship. This year's Tigers also bested Porter and Robinson's 1998-99 team for the most regular-season wins (27) and SEC wins (15) in program history. “That’s why I came here, was to win,” Smith said. “I felt like this school was going to put me in the best position to win a national championship, win the SEC, win all these accolades that we’re trying to get. I’m not surprised at all that we won it. It feels good. I just want to keep going.” The accolades aren't done for Smith, either. Sporting News was just the first of the post-regular season All-America teams, and he's set to become Auburn's first SEC freshman of the year next week. Auburn's season continues in Tampa in the SEC tournament Friday (11 a.m. CST, ESPN). The Tigers will face the winner of Florida vs. Texas A&M from the 8 vs. 9 game on Thursday. 2021-22 SPORTING NEWS ALL-AMERICA TEAM FIRST TEAM Johnny Davis, G, Wisconsin Oscar Tshiebwe, C, Kentucky Ochai Agbaji, G, Kansas Keegan Murray, F, Iowa Kofi Cockburn, C, Illinois SECOND TEAM Bennedict Mathurin, G, Arizona Jabari Smith, F, Auburn Jaden Ivey, G, Purdue Chet Holmgren, F, Gonzaga Drew Timme, C, Gonzaga THIRD TEAM EJ Liddell, F, Ohio State James Akinjo, G, Baylor JD Notae, G, Arkansas 33COMMENTS Collin Gillespie, G, Villanova Paolo Banchero, F, Duke ">247Sports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeroforwinger 443 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 Shouldn’t there only be one center on the 1st team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,755 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 21 minutes ago, zeroforwinger said: Shouldn’t there only be one center on the 1st team? i have no idea.that is a great question. i am betting it might be some kind of typo but i copied and pasted it just like it was posted. writers do not check their stuff out like they used to in my humble opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abw0004 10,110 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 (edited) This doesn't make sense to me. A potential overall #1 draft pick is on the All-American second team? Edited March 8, 2022 by abw0004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddc 13,194 Posted March 8, 2022 Author Share Posted March 8, 2022 Already a thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUinMS9528 1,086 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 3 hours ago, abw0004 said: This doesn't make sense to me. A potential overall #1 draft pick is on the All-American second team? I get it. It’s true that AA is about production and Draft is about potential. And I’m admittedly biased, but yeah, I think Jabari should be first team. And I think Kessler should be on there somewhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abw0004 10,110 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 5 hours ago, abw0004 said: This doesn't make sense to me. A potential overall #1 draft pick is on the All-American second team? @cole256, any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 (edited) 5 hours ago, abw0004 said: This doesn't make sense to me. A potential overall #1 draft pick is on the All-American second team? Keegan Murray has been a statistical monolith (and it’s not empty stats) plus it’s a college award. The draft part doesn’t matter, Luka Garza was top 2 for NPOTY for two straight years and nearly went undrafted iirc not egregious at all, esp if you compare the accolades non-Jabari Auburn players have gotten and the lack thereof for Iowa players Edited March 8, 2022 by Dual-Threat Rigby 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 Banchero being over Kessler (or a lot of forwards/centers) is far far more egregious than Jabari and Keegan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cole256 17,043 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 15 minutes ago, abw0004 said: @cole256, any ideas? Well Chet is second team and the guy from Duke is third and Ivey is second team and that's the top 4 guys. So I don't know but if I was him I wouldn't take it personal as all of my peers are right there with me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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