KU’s Wilson, K-State’s Johnson, Nowell Named AP All-Americans

Posted on March 14, 2023

Just ahead of March Madness tipping off in a couple of days, the Associated Press has released its selections for the AP All-American basketball team.

Consisting of three five-man teams, AP All-Americans are the select few players in the country that are recognized as the nation’s best, and is a prestigious honor for athletes at the D-I level.

20% of the list resides in the Big 12, and all three players selected are from the Sunflower State as Kansas’ Jalen Wilson (First-Team) and Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell (Third-Team) and Keyontae Johnson (Third-Team) were selected to the list.

Wilson was a carryover starter from Kansas’ 2022 National Championship team, and blossomed in an expanded role, increasing his points per game from 11.1 to 20.1 this season. The Big 12 Player of the Year led the conference in points and rebounds in 2022-23 and has been a lightning rod for one of the NCAA Tournament’s top-seeded Jayhawks.

Meanwhile, K-State’s star duo has been the center of an amazing season in Manhattan. The Wildcats were picked to finish dead-last in the Big 12 this season, but raced to a third-place finish with a 23-9 (11-7 Big 12) record and earned a No. 3 seed in the Big Dance. Johnson (17.7 ppg) and Nowell (16.8 ppg) rank as one of the top-scoring duos in the country at 34.5 points per game and have been a handful for opposing defenders all season.

Johnson and Nowell are the first duo in school history to earn the honor of AP All-Americans.

Here’s a look at the complete 2023 AP All-American Basketball Team.