INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) Two repeat members, the four top freshmen in the nation and a record-setting trio from top-ranked and unbeaten Gonzaga headline the 2020-21 U.S. Basketball Writers Association's All-America Team. The 15-man team includes two of the country's top shooters, the third-leading scorer, seven players who were their conference players of the year and four players who were USBWA district players of the year.
The first team features its two returning All-Americans, senior center Luka Garza of Iowa and junior guard Jared Butler of Baylor, two sensational guards in Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois and freshman phenom Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State, and forward Corey Kispert of Gonzaga, which sets a new standard with three All-America selections in a single season on the 15-man roster. The USBWA All-America team has featured two teammates 28 times, but never three players from one school until this season.
Among the first-team selections, Dosunmu, Garza and Kispert are the finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, presented to the national player of the year by the USBWA. The winner of the award will be announced on Thurs., April 1 in a virtual event in conjunction with the Final Four in Indianapolis, the hometown of Oscar Robertson.
The USBWA has named an annual All-America team since its founding season of 1956-57 and a national player of the year since the 1958-59 season. This is the third straight year that the USBWA has honored 15 players on three All-America teams; it had previously honored 10 players on a first and second team beginning in the 1984-85 season, except for a 15-man team in the 1997-98 season. The USBWA named its national player of the year award in honor of the legendary Oscar Robertson in the 1997-98 season. "The Big O" won the USBWA's first two national player of the year awards.
The Big Ten's five All-Americans leads all conferences and Gonzaga's three teammates on the first and second team hand the West Coast Conference the second-best conference total. The Big 12 and Pac-12 had two apiece, and the American Athletic Conference, Big East and Conference USA each had one representative. There are four seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and four freshmen on the team.
Garza, a first-team All-America choice in the 2019-20 season as well, is the repeat District VI Player of the Year and repeated as the Big Ten's Player of the Year, only the third player in conference history to win the award in consecutive seasons. In the regular season Garza led the nation in total points (642), 30-point games (7) and field goals made (240) and was 13th in double-doubles (12). Garza, one of three finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, is Iowa's career scoring leader and is only the second Hawkeye to earn USBWA All-America status (Jarrod Uthof in 2015-16), but gives the Hawkeyes an All-American in three of the last six seasons. Iowa (21-8) is a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and faces Grand Canyon in the first round Saturday.
Butler returns to the All-America team coming off a third-team selection in 2019-20. The District VII Player of the Year for the second straight season was also a unanimous All-Big 12 first-team selection for a second consecutive season after leading the Big 12 in steals (2.1), 3-point percentage (.444) and 3-pointers made (2.73), and was second in assists (114) and third in scoring (17.1) and field goal percentage (.488). Butler is Baylor's second player to earn USBWA All-America status and the school's third honoree in the last five seasons (also Jonathan Motley in 2016-17).. Baylor (22-2) is the No. 1 seed in the South Region and faces Hartford Friday in the first round.
Kispert is the District IX Player of the Year and the top shooter among a trident of All-Americans at Gonzaga, the first school to place three members on the full All-America team. The West Coast Conference Player of the Year and Oscar Robertson Trophy finalist leads the league in scoring at 19.3 points per game, shooting 55 percent from the field and is second in the WCC making 2.72 treys per game while shooting 44.7 percent, also fifth in the nation. He leads the league in free throw shooting as well at 89.4 percent. Kispert has scored in double-digits in all but one game for Bulldogs, the No. 1 seed in the West Region who face either Norfolk State or Appalachian State in the first round Saturday. Gonzaga is 120-10 in games he's appeared in. Kispert is Gonzaga's 11th overall All-American and its sixth in the last three seasons, including second-teamers Drew Timme and Jalen Suggs on this year's team. The Zags have had at least one All-American in three straight seasons (five in that span) and in four of the last six.
Dosunmu, the District V Player of the Year and an Oscar Robertson Trophy finalist, was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection as the league's second-leading scorer and its assists leader. He has scored in double figures in 41 straight games the third-longest active streak in the NCAA · and is averaging 20.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. He is the only player in the NCAA over the last 11 seasons to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and five assists and has 25 double-doubles and two triple-doubles this season in leading Illinois (23-6) to its first NCAA Tournament since the 2012-13 season. Dosunmu and second-teamer Kofi Cockburn are Illinois' fifth and sixth USBWA All-American selections and its first since 2006. The Big Ten Tournament champions are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region having won 14 of their last 15 and open Friday against Drexel. This is the first time for the Big Ten to have two first-team All-Americans since 2014-15.
Cunningham is just the fourth player in Big 12 history to sweep the Big 12's Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards. He's the second-highest-scoring freshman at 20.2 points per game and a nine-time Big 12 Player of the Week. Cunningham's size and ball skills make him a matchup terror and has keyed Oklahoma State's (20-8) surge into the NCAA Tournament. According to Stats Perform, only two other power conference players over the last 20 seasons can match his all-around stat line of 20.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game none of those players can match Cunningham's 3-point clip of 41.2 percent. Cunningham is Oklahoma State's fifth All-American and its first since 2012-13 (Marcus Smart). The Cowboys face Liberty in the first round Friday. This is the second time in four seasons for the Big 12 to have two first-team All-Americans (Kansas' Devonte Graham and Oklahoma's Trae Young in 2017-18).
Gonzaga underclassman teammates Suggs, a freshman, and Timme, a sophomore, highlight the second team along with two more of the country's elite freshmen. Suggs, a top point guard, leads the WCC in steals per game (2.0) and is fourth in assists (4.48) and field goal percentage (50.5). Timme, a power forward, was second in the WCC in scoring (18.9), shooting a league-leading 65.4 percent from the field, fourth in the nation. He scored in double digits in 24 of Gonzaga's 26 games with a team-high 11 20-point games. USC's Evan Mobley became the first player to win the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year all in the same season. Mobley, averaging 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.9 blocks per game, is the only Division I player to be averaging at least 16.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 assists. He is USC's first All-American since 2002 (Sam Clancy Jr.) and fifth overall.
Another top freshman, Michigan's Hunter Dickinson, was the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year and the first Michigan freshman to be an all-league pick in 43 seasons. A seven-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree, Dickinson leads the Wolverines in scoring (14.4), rebounding (7.8), double-doubles (5) and 10-plus rebounding games (5). Dickinson is Michigan's first All-American since 2013 (Trey Burke) and 16th overall. Illinois' Kofi Cockburn is second in the nation with 16 double-doubles this season and is trying to become the Illini's first player since 1973 to average a double-double in a season. His current averages are 17.6 ppg and 9.6 rpg. He scored a game-high 26 points to Garza's 21 points in Illinois' 82-71 win over Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
From the third team, Western Kentucky's Charles Bassey is the first Conference USA player to earn All-America honors and the Hilltoppers' third overall. Bassey, the C-USA Player of the Year, is second nationally in double-doubles with 16, fourth in blocks (3.1) and sixth in rebounds (11.5). Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis is fourth in the Big Ten in scoring (19.1), second in rebounding (9.0) and fifth in field goal percentage (51.5) as the Hoosiers' first All-American since 2013. Oregon's scoring leader, Chris Duarte (17.3, fourth in Pac-12), leads his league with 2.5 treys per game and is second in steals. The last time the Pac-12 had two All-Americans was the 2016-17 season and before that was 2005-06. Villanova's Collin Gillespie was the Big East Co-Player of the Year after averaging 14.0 points and dishing out 4.9 assists per game. He leads the Big East with a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio and is Villanova's second All-American of the last four seasons (Jalen Brunson, 2017-18). Houston's scoring leader, Quentin Grimes, was the American Athletic Conference's Player of the Year and was second in the AAC (18.0) and eighth in rebounding (6.0). He is Houston's first All-American since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984 and its seventh overall.
Following is the complete 2020-21 USBWA All-America Team:
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
Related links:
• USBWA All-America Team | All-Time USBWA All-Americans (.pdf)
• Oscar Robertson Trophy