Morant Named Associated Press First Team All-America

Murray State's Ja Morant became a consensus All-America Tuesday when he was named to the Associated Press All-America First Team.

To be a consensus All-America by the NCAA standard, points are granted from the All-America selections of the Associated Press, USBWA, NABC and Sporting News. Morant ended up as a first team pick for all but the Sporting News. He's the third consensus All-America in Ohio Valley Conference history following Clem Haskins in 1967 and Jim McDaniels in 1971, each from Western Kentucky.

Morant becomes the Racers' fourth All-America selection in the last eight years and he follows Isaiah Canaan (2012), Cameron Payne (2015), Jonathan Stark (2018).

Morant's stardom rose quickly in the 2018-19 season and he captured the attention of the basketball world by becoming the first player since the NCAA made the assist an official stat in the 1983-84 season to average 20 points and 10 assists.

He was the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and led the Murray State Racers to the NCAA Tournament where they scored their 28^th win of the season with a first round victory over Marquette. Morant posted just the ninth triple-double in NCAA Tournament play with 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds.

He finished the season with 331 assists, the sixth-most in NCAA single-season history. His 331 assists and 808 points are both Murray State single-season records and he set the MSU career assist record in only two seasons.

Morant had 15 games this season with 20-plus points and 10-plus assists; no other player nationally had three such games. In January, he became the first NCAA D-I player in 20 years to record a game of 40 points, 11 assists and five steals in a regulation game. His 18 assists in a game against UT Martin are the most this year and the second-most in OVC single-game history. His 20 double-doubles are just four off the nation's lead and he is the only player in the top 25 nationally in double-doubles under 6'6" tall.

Morant is thought to be the Racers' first AP First Team selection, but incomplete records cannot confirm it.

MSU All-America Selections
All Teams Included (1^st, 2^nd, HM)
Etheridge McKeel 1938
Bob Salmons 1941
Joe Fulks 1943
Garrett Beshear 1951
Bennie Purcell 1952
Howie Crittenden 1956
Stewart Johnson 1966
Dick Cunningham 1968
Jeff Martin 1989
Popeye Jones 1991
Popeye Jones 1992
Marcus Brown 1994
Cuthbert Victor 2004
Isaiah Canaan 2012
Cameron Payne 2015
Jonathan Stark 2018
Ja Morant 2019

2019 Associated Press All-America Team
First Team
Zion Williamson, Duke, 6-7, 285, freshman, Spartanburg, S.C.
Grant Williams, Tennessee, 6-7, 236, junior, Charlotte, N.C.
RJ Barrett, Duke, 6-7, 202, freshman, Mississauga, Ontario
Ja Morant, Murray State, 6-3, 175, sophomore, Dalzell, S.C.
Cassius Winston, Michigan State, 6-1, 185, junior, Detroit, Wisc.

Second Team
Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga, 6-8, 230, junior, Toyama, Japan
Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech, 6-6, 195, sophomore, Lubbock, Texas
Markus Howard, Marquette, 5-11, 175, junior, Chandler, Ariz.
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin, 6-10, 237, senior, Milan, Ill.
Carsen Edwards, Purdue, 6-1, 200, junior, Atascocita, Texas

Third Team
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia, 6-7, 225, junior, Philadelphia, Pa.
Dedric Lawson, Kansas, 6-9, 235, Memphis, Tenn.
Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga, 6-8, 215, junior, Phoenix, Ariz.
PJ Washington, Kentucky, 6-8, 228 sophomore, Dallas, Texas
Kyle Guy, Virginia, 6-2, 175, junior, Indianapolis, Ind.

Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)
Keith Braxton, St. Francis (Pa.); Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan; Tookie Brown, Georgia Southern; Chris Clemons, Campbell; RJ Cole, Howard; Jeremy Combs, Texas Southern; Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati; Mike Daum, South Dakota State; Jordan Davis, Northern Colorado; Cameron Delaney, Sam Houston State; Lamine Diane, Cal State Northridge; Daniel Gafford, Arkansas; Jon Axel Gudmundsson, Davidson; Rapolas Ivanauskas, Colgate; Ty Jerome, Virginia; Cameron Johnson, North Carolina; Anthony Lamb, Vermont; Fletcher Magee, Wofford; Caleb Martin, Nevada; CJ Massinburg, Buffalo; Garrison Mathews, Lipscomb; Luke Maye, North Carolina; Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky; Sam Merrill, Utah State; Jaylen Nowell, Washington; Miye Oni, Yale; Shamorie Ponds, St. John's; Myles Powell, Seton Hall; Admiral Schofield, Tennessee; Marial Shayok, Iowa State; B.J. Stith, Old Dominion; Matisse Thybulle, Washington; Jake Toolson, Utah Valley; Marques Townes, Loyola of Chicago; Tremont Waters, LSU; Coby White, North Carolina; Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra; Cameron Young, Quinnipiac.

2019 Consensus All-America Selections
First Team
*R.J. Barrett, Duke
Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga
Ja Morant, Murray St.
*Grant Williams, Tennessee
*Zion Williamson, Duke
* Unanimous

Second Team
Jarett Culver, Texas Tech
Carsen Edwards, Purdue
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
Markus Howard, Marquette
Cassius Winston, Michigan St.

Third Team
Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga
Mike Daum, South Dakota St.
Kyle Guy, Virginia
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia
Dedric Lawson, Kansas
P.J. Washington, Kentucky

Others Receiving Votes
Chris Clemons, Campbell

Murray State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Isaiah Canaan

Ja Morant

Jonathan Stark

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