Arizona Wildcats Basketball: Stanley Johnson Named to the USBWA All-Freshman Team

Arizona Wildcats Basketball: Stanley Johnson is named to the USBWA All-Freshman team!

March 12, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Stanley Johnson (5) and forward Brandon Ashley (21) celebrate against the California Golden Bears during the second half in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Conference tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Wildcats defeated the Golden Bears 73-51. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona’s freshman forward Stanley Johnson was one of five finalists named to the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-Freshman Team. This is the third year a freshman team has been selected and honored.

According to CBSSports.com, CBS teamed up with the USBWA, which is in charge of deciding the Tisdale Award, and awarded the USBWA All-Freshman of the Year to one of the five players on this team, this year they awarded the All-Freshman of the Year award to Jahlil Okafor out of Duke. This is the second consecutive year a Duke player has been selected for this award, last year (2014) it was Duke’s Jabari Parker and just to note, three Duke players made the list of 10 nominated (see below.)

Following is the list, in alphabetical order of the five freshmen who were honored, Johnson is the only Pac-12 player included:

F Stanley Johnson, Arizona (6-7, 245, Fr., Fullerton, Calif.)
C Jahlil Okafor, Duke (6-11, 270, Fr., Chicago, Ill.)
G D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State (6-5, 180, Fr., Louisville, Ky.)
F Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky (6-11, 250, Fr., Piscataway, N.J.)
G Melo Trimble, Maryland (6-3, 190, Fr., Upper Marlboro, Md.)

Here is the list of the five finalists who did not make the team:

G James Blackmon Jr., Indiana (6-4, 195, fr.)
G Devin Booker, Kentucky (6-6, 206, Fr.)
G Tyus Jones, Duke (6-1, 190, Fr.)
G Kelly Oubre Jr., Kansas (6-7, 200, Fr.)
F Justise Winslow, Duke (6-6, 225, Fr.)

Jan 17, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Stanley Johnson (5) shoots the ball as he is defended by Utah Utes forward Kyle Kuzma (35) and center Dallin Bachynski (31) during the second half at McKale Center. Arizona won 69-51. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Stanley Johnson has helped Arizona to a 30-3 record and the No. 2 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament. Following is a list Stanley Johnson accomplishments from the regular season according to ArizonaWildcats.com (follow @APlayersProgram on Twitter):

The first Arizona player named to the USBWA Freshman All-America Team

Arizona’s leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, Johnson is one of just two freshmen in the major college basketball conferences averaging at least 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game with marks of 14.1 points and 6.6 boards per night.

Johnson ranks 13th overall in the league in scoring, while pacing conference freshmen and ranking sixth among all Pac-12 players with an average of 1.5 steals per contest.

Johnson ranks fourth nationally among freshmen with 124 free throws made and fifth nationally among freshmen with 170 free throw attempts, both of which rank fifth on UA’s freshman charts.

Johnson ranks 10th nationally among freshman in steals average, 11th in scoring average and 15th in rebounding average.

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Johnson has scored in double figures 28 times in 31-career games, leading the Wildcats in scoring 15 times and rebounds on 12 occasions, and has posted three double-doubles

The USBWA has two more awards to announce: the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Henry Iba Award . The Oscar Robertson Trophy is for the sport’s most outstanding player, and the Henry Iba Award, given to the coach of the year.

Beardown Stanley! We wish you many more honors and deserving awards!

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