Preseason All-Big 12 First and Second-Team Predictions

It is Big 12 week here at On3, and we keep the content rolling with the 2023-24 basketball season previews.

Big 12 Basketball Preseason Power Rankings | The Top Ten Impact Transfers in the Big 12 | Top Ten Impact Freshmen in the Big 12

Let’s predict and discuss the first and second-team All-Big 12 performers.

First Team

G Max Abmas (Texas)

Class: GR
Height/Weight: 6-1/170
2022-23 Stats: 34 Starts, 21.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 steals, 37.3% 3P

The Buzz: Max Abmas comes back home to Texas after forging a college career at Oral Roberts that has him as NCAA Division 1’s active leading scorer with 2,561 career points. The 6-foot-1 guard will be entering a Texas starting lineup with many expectations. The Longhorns lost three of its top four minute-earners from a team that finished second in the Big 12 and made a run to the Elite Eight. Abmas has averaged 20.8 points for his career and knocked down 3.4 threes per contest at a 38.8 percent clip. While he will not be asked to replicate those numbers, he will be asked to be an offensive catalyst in Rodney Terry’s up-tempo style.

G DaJuan Harris (Kansas)

Class: RS-Sr.
Height/Weight: 6-2/170
2022-23 Stats: 36 starts, 8.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.2 steals, 40.5% 3P

The Buzz: DaJuan Harris is one of the best point-of-attack players in the country. The lead guard is the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, with his ability to dictate play on that end. He is also the league’s returning assist man. Not only did his 6.2 assists per game lead the Big 12, his 224 assists finished fifth in Division 1. The former NCAA Champion is the straw that stirs the drink for the pre-season top-five team.

G LJ Cryer (Houston)

Class: Sr.
Height/Weight: 6-1/190
2022-23 Stats: 31 Starts, 15.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 41.5% 3P

The Buzz: LJ Cryer enters the 2023-24 campaign as one of the Big 12 Conference’s premier shooters. The 6-foot-1 guard is a career 42.5 percent three-point shooter on 348 attempts. Cryer is more than just a spot shooter from deep; he can get to the basket and has shown an array of pull-up jump shots and floaters in the mid-range. The National Champion is also a good defender and a solid secondary passer. Cryer could be the focal point of a team with top-10 aspirations.

G Tylor Perry (Kansas State)

Class: GR
Height/Weight: 5-11/185
2022-23 Stats: 36 Starts, 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals, 41.3% 3P

The Buzz: The reigning Conference USA Player of the Year, Tylor Perry, enters Manhattan, Kansas, with the hopes of carrying over Jerme Tang’s year one run to year two. Perry transferred from North Texas, one of the country’s slowest-paced teams. Perry averaged 17.3 points for a team that scored just 64.5 per contest. This year, he will play for a coach in Jerome Tang, who gives his players a lot more freedom. Year one for Tang was so impressive, with a third overall finish in the Big 12 and a run to the Elite Eight; there are some cautious expectations for year two. Perry will need to be very good for the Wildcats to live up to those expectations.

C Hunter Dickinson (Kansas)

Class: Sr.
Height/Weight:
2022-23 Stats: 34 Starts, 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 56.0% FG

The Buzz: Hunter Dickinson has been one of the most dominant forces in college basketball over the last couple of seasons. In his three years of college basketball, the 7-foot-2 center has collected awards, including Big Ten Freshman of the Year, second-team Consensus All-American, and first-team All-Big Ten honors. He comes to play for a coach in Bill Self, who has a very good track record with centers and a team that has high expectations for the season. Dickinson is averaging 17.2 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting 57.0 percent from the field for his career. He could be the central figure for a pre-season top-five predicted team.

Second Team

G Jamal Shead (Houston)

Class: Sr.
Height/Weight: 6-1/200
2022-23 Stats: 37 Starts, 10.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.7 steals

The Buzz: While Houston loses Marcus Sasser (NBA Draft) and Tramon Mark (transfer/Arkansas), the Cougars return Jamal Shead. Shead is the same guard that led Houston to an Elite Eight run the previous year after Sasser and Mark were both hurt earlier in the season. Shead is a veteran. In his three seasons, he has started 71 games and accumulated 93 wins and a 9-3 record in the NCAA Tournament. Not only does he bring leadership to the table, but he is also the reigning American Athletic Conference (AAC) Defensive Player of the Year. His 200 assists last season finished tenth in Division 1. In a season that Houston is transitioning into a Power Five conference, a lot will be placed on Shead’s shoulders. 

G RayJ Dennis (Baylor)

Class: GR
Height/Weight: 6-2/180
2022-23 Stats: 35 Starts, 19.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.5 steals, 36.6% 3P

The Buzz: Baylor lost all three of its starting guards, accounting for 45.9 of the team’s 77.0 points per contest. Enter RayJ Dennis, a graduate transfer from Toledo. Dennis comes in after taking a massive step in production before last season, becoming the MAC Player of the Year and leading the conference in points and assists. Baylo guards have found a good amount of success over the past decade. Scott Drew needs Dennis to step right in and be ready. 

G Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State

Class: So.
Height/Weight: 6-1/200
2022-23 Stats: 33 Starts, 7.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.2 steals, 48.2% FG

The Buzz: Tamin Lipsey started every game as a freshman last year, earning Big 12 All-Freshman honors while finishing second in the conference in steals (2.2) and fifth in assists (4.4). Lipsey is an extension of Iowa State head coach TJ Otzelberger on the floor. He is a tough defender with natural instincts and toughness. He plays with his head up and is a true team-first guy. With the Cyclones losing four starters off last year’s team, Lipsey will be looked on as a leader. Expect a year one to year two jump for the point guard and a group of talented players surrounding him.

F Emanuel Miller (TCU)

Class: GR
Height/Weight: 6-7/215
2022-23 Stats: 31 Starts, 12.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 50.5% FG, 39.2% 3P

The Buzz: Emanuel Miller led TCU in rebounding last season (6.5) and is the team’s leading returning scorer (12.3). He is a skilled forward, able to do some things on the block with his size and length, but also stretches the floor and uses his skill and touch. The pre-season talk is with Jamie Dixon looking to use Miller more on the perimeter this year. TCU lost all-everything guard Mike Miles, but they brought in a talented portal class and should have interesting depth heading into the season. 

C Jesse Edwards (West Virginia)

Class: GR
Height/Weight: 6-11/240
2022-23 Stats: 32 Starts, 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 1.4 steals, 59.2% FG 

The Buzz: Jesse Edwards is a unique defender, given his size, length, and the way he moves. The 6-foot-11 post player from Amsterdam, Netherlands, led the ACC in blocks (2.7) last season while finishing sixth in Division 1. Uniquely enough, Edwards was the only player in the top ten of blocked shots nationally who also averaged over a steal per game (1.4). Edwards enters a situation with West Virginia that has some talent but also has some questions. Edwards steadily averaged a double-double last season.