WVU’s Oscar Tshiebwe, Derek Culver Nab Preseason All-Big 12 Hoops Honors

West Virginia men’s basketball big men Oscar Tshiebwe and Derek Culver were both honored on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, the league announced Wednesday.

Tshiebwe was one of six players named to the All-Big 12 team. The 6-foot-9 sophomore led the Mountaineers in scoring and rebounding as a true freshman last season. He averaged 11.2 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game and also led the conference with 4.1 offensive rebounds per game.

For the second preseason in a row, Culver was tabbed as a Preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention. The 6-foot-10 junior finished second to Tshiebwe on the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 10.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He finished third in the conference with 5.9 defensive rebounds per game.

Baylor’s Jared Butler was named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year. Butler averaged 16 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game last season.

Texas Tech’s Marcus Santos-Silva was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham was named the Preseason Freshman of the Year. Santos-Silva transferred to TTU from VCU, where he averaged 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last season. Cunningham, a point guard from Arlington, Texas, was the nation’s top recruit in the Class of 2020.

The league also announced that the Big 12 preseason poll will be released Thursday.

West Virginia announced its Big 12 conference schedule and four non-conference home games earlier this week.