Ochai Agbaji Leads Big 12 Players on Wooden Top 50 Watch List
Ochai Agbaji is one of seven Big 12 players men’s players on the Wooden Award Top 50 Watch List, the award given to the nation’s best college basketball player.
The Wooden Award committee released the watch list on Tuesday, the day the regular season started. Agbaji was in New York City playing with the Jayhawks in the Champions Classic against Michigan State.
Agbaji is one of four returning starters for the Jayhawks this season. He was All-Big 12 Honorable Mention last season after averaging 14.1 points per game and leading the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made per game (2.6).
Agbaji’s teammate, forward David McCormack, also made the list. The reigning Big 12 Most Improved Player was also All-Big 12 Second Team. He set a career-high in scoring, averaging 13.4 points per game, along with grabbing 6.1 rebounds per game.
A third Jayhawk, guard Remy Martin, made the list. Martin was a three-time All-Pac 12 selection at Arizona State who led the Pac-12 last season with 19.1 points per game. He also averaged 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The Big 12’s coaches named Martin the Preseason Player of the Year and to the All-Big 12 Preseason First Team.
Two Baylor players made the list. Forward Matthew Mayer and guard Adam Flagler move into the starting lineup this season.
Flagler averaged 9.1 points and 2.3 rebounds coming off the bench for the defending national champion Bears. He was Baylor’s best 3-point shooter (43.4 percent) and an 87 percent foul shooter. Flagler was the 2019 Big South Freshman of the Year award at Presbyterian after he averaged 15.9 points per game.
Mayer averaged 8.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and one assist per game for the national champion Bears, coming primarily off the bench. He scored a season-high 19 points against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament. He doubled his scoring average from 2019-20 to 2020-21. He shot nearly 40 percent from the 3-point line and nearly 50 percent from the floor.
Texas guard Marcus Carr made the list, along with Texas Tech guard/forward Terrence Shannon Jr. Carr was the leading scorer for Minnesota last season and flirted with the NBA before transferring to the Longhorns.
Shannon also declared for the NBA but returned to play for first-year head coach Mark Adams. Shannon won’t play in the Red Raiders’ home opener on Tuesday night as the program works to ensure that Shannon’s NBA declaration didn’t run afoul of NCAA rules.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
**Want to win a $20 gift card? Go sign up here and join our conversation! The best poster each week wins a gift card to your favorite establishment!**
