From K-State Athletics
Seniors Barry Brown, Jr., and Dean Wade were among 40 players selected to the watch list for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award, as announced by CollegeInsider.com (November 27).
The Lute Olson Award, which is named for the legendary head coach at Long Beach State, Iowa and Arizona, is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I player by CollegeInsider.com. The 40-player list does not include current freshman and transfer, who are not eligible for the preseason watch list.
K-State was among just three schools nationally to have at least two players on the watch list, joining Gonzaga (2) and Virginia (2). In addition, Brown and Wade were among four Big 12 players selected to the list, including Iowa State’s Lindell Wigginton and West Virginia’s Sagaba Konate.
The 2019 Lute Olson Award will be presented at the CollegeInsider.com awards event in April in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the site of the Final Four.
Brown and Wade’s inclusion on the list continues to add to a long list of preseason accolades, as each were selected to Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List, while Wade was named a candidate for the John R. Wooden Award and NABC Player of the Year. Each were selected to their respective positional player of the year lists (Brown for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year and Wade for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year).
The Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, Wade is off to an impressive start to his senior season, pacing the Wildcats in scoring (16.2 ppg.), rebounding (8.5 rpg.), assists (3.8 apg.) and minutes (32.5 mpg). He played a key role in the Wildcats’ first regular-season tournament since 2011 at the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, averaging 17.3 points on 61.8 percent shooting with 6.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in wins over Eastern Kentucky, Penn and Missouri. He has scored in double figures in all six games to start the season.
Wade recently became just the fourth Wildcat to record at least 1,000 career points, 500 career points and 200 career assists, joining Rolando Blackman, Ed Nealy and Wesley Iwundu.
A Preseason All-Big 12 selection, Brown also is enjoying a strong start to his senior season, averaging 15.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 steals in 32.5 minutes per game. He was one of five players selected as Paradise Jam Tournament All-Stars after scoring 19 points in the tournament final over Missouri.
With his 16-point effort in the win over Lehigh on Saturday, Brown moved into ninth place all-time in scoring with 1,377 points. He also became the second Wildcat with 200 career steals with 4 steals against the Mountain Hawks, moving to within eight of the all-time record of 2010 held by Jacob Pullen (2007-11).
No. 12/10 K-State (6-0) begins a two-game road trip this weekend, as the Wildcats travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on BIG EAST foe Marquette (4-2) at 1:30 p.m., CT on Saturday. The game will air nationally on FS1.
