• Complete NABC All-American Teams
Murray State sophomore
Ja Morant has been named a first-team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
It marks the eighth All-American Award for Morant, joining first-team honors from Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated and the USBWA and second-team honors from NBC Sports, Sporting News, Stadium and USA TODAY Sports.
The Associated Press All-American Team will be released next week, and a first-team selection by the organization would make Morant a consensus All-American pick.
Morant has been announced as one of four finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Naismith Trophy, and one of 15 finalists for the Wooden Award; each award is given to the National Player of the Year. He is also one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's top point guard.
Morant, the OVC Player of the Year, led Murray State to a 28-5 overall and 16-2 OVC record, a share of the OVC regular season championship and the program's second-straight and record 17th OVC Tournament Championship. He guided the Racers to an 83-64 win over No. 5 seed Marquette in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament; that marked the second-biggest win for a No. 12 seed over a No. 5 seed in tournament history.
Morant finished the season with 331 assists, the sixth-most in NCAA single-season history. He averaged 24.5 points and 10.0 assists/game making him the first player to average 20/10 in a season since the NCAA began to officially recognize assists in 1983-84.
Morant's 10.0 assists/game was 2.3 assists/game more than second place. He also ranked eighth nationally in scoring (24.5 points/game), ninth in double-doubles (20) and 82nd in steals (1.76/game). He recorded three triple-doubles (including only the ninth in NCAA Tournament history), which led the country (he was one of only two people with multiple triple-doubles in 2018-19).
Morant had 15 games this year with 20-plus points and 10-plus assists; no other player nationally has three such games.
His 18 assists in a game against UT Martin are the most by a Division I player 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.
In January Morant became the first Division I player in 20 years to record 40 points, 11 assists and five steals in a regulation game (doing so vs. SIUE). In that contest he hit 21-of-21 free throws, establishing a new OVC single-game record (just three off the NCAA mark); he was the first Division I player with 21 or more made free throws in a game without a miss in the past 20 years.
He was named MVP of the OVC Tournament after averaging 32.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists/game while hitting 55.4 percent from the field and 79.2 percent from the free throw line. He had 29 points, eight assists and six rebounds in a semifinal win over Jacksonville State, including converting a traditional three-point play in the final 10 seconds to give him team the win. He followed that with 36 pointss, seven rebounds and three assists in a title game win over Belmont. Those two wins helped MSU avenge its only two OVC losses of the season.
Morant had 17 points, 16 assists and 11 assists in the First Round NCAA Tournament win over Marquette, marked just the ninth triple-double in NCAA Tournament history (since assists became an official stat in 1983-84). The 16 assists tied a first round NCAA record and were the second-most ever in a NCAA Tournament game
2019 NABC All-America Teams
FIRST TEAM
RJ Barrett, Duke
Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga
Ja Morant, Murray State
Grant Williams, Tennessee
Zion Williamson, Duke
SECOND TEAM
Carsen Edwards, Purdue
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
Markus Howard, Marquette
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia
Cassius Winston, Michigan State
THIRD TEAM
Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech
Mike Daum, South Dakota State
Kyle Guy, Virginia
Dedric Lawson, Kansas
P.J. Washington, Kentucky
Ja Morant 2019 All-American Teams
Bleacher Report: 1st Team
NABC: 1st Team
Sports Illustrated: 1st Team
USBWA: 1st Team
NBC Sports: 2nd Team
Sporting News: 2nd Team
Stadium: 2nd Team
USA Today: 2nd Team