The Associated Press recognized Denzel Valentine as a unanimous selection to its All-America First Team. Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield was also a unanimous selection, as both Valentine and Hield received 65 first-team votes from the national media panel that selects the weekly poll. Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis, North Carolina’s Brice Johnson and Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon round out the first team.
Valentine averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists in becoming the only player in NCAA history to average 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists since the assist became an official statistic in 1983-84. He is the first player to lead the Big Ten in overall scoring and assists since Iowa’s Andre Woolridge in 1997.