ARIZONA WILDCATS BASKETBALL

All-Pac-12 teams include Arizona bigs, ASU’s Cambridge Jr.

Mar 7, 2023, 11:13 AM

Oumar Ballo #11 of the Arizona Wildcats high fives Azuolas Tubelis #10 after scoring against the Mo...

Oumar Ballo #11 of the Arizona Wildcats high fives Azuolas Tubelis #10 after scoring against the Morgan State Bears during the second half of the NCAAB game at McKale Center on December 22, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Arizona Wildcats forward Azuolas Tubelis and center Oumar Ballo made the 2023-23 All-Pac-12 First Team, while rival Arizona State saw guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. land on the second team.

The Pac-12 released the full first and second teams, the all-freshman squad, all-defensive team and individual awards for men’s basketball on Tuesday.

Tubelis, a strong candidate for Pac-12 Player of the Year, fell short with first-place UCLA’s best player, Jaime Jaquez Jr., taking home the award. Jaquez averaged 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

For Arizona, Tubelis averaged 19.9 points, 9.2 boards and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 58% from the floor.

Ballo followed Arizona’s starting center from last season, Christian Koloko, as the most improved player in the conference.

Ballo averaged 13.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists with 1.3 blocks per game as the starter. He played in 37 games off the bench last season, averaging 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

ASU’s Cambridge averaged 13.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. It was his first season at Arizona State after transferring from Nevada.

An honorable mention for the Sun Devils was center Warren Washington Jr., another Nevada transfer, who received at least three votes for the All-Pac-12 Defensive Team.

Arizona guard Courtney Ramey received at least three votes to make an All-Pac-12 team, while Wildcats freshman point guard Kylan Boswell received an honorable mention for the freshman team.

Ballo was an honorable mention for the defensive team as well.

Pac-12 men’s basketball individual awards

Player of the year: Jaime Jaquez Jr., Sr., G/F, UCLA

Defensive player of the year: Jaylen Clark, Jr., G, UCLA

Freshman of the year: Adem Bona, F, UCLA

Most improved player: Oumar Ballo, R-Jr., C, ARIZONA

Sixth man: Reese Dixon-Waters, So., G, USC

Coach of the year: Mick Cronin, UCLA

2022-23 All-Pac-12 Teams

FIRST TEAM

NAME SCHOOL POS. YR. HOMETOWN
Oumar Ballo Arizona C R-Jr. Koulikoro, Mali
Tyger Campbell*** UCLA G R-Jr. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Branden Carlson Utah C Sr. South Jordan, Utah
N’Faly Dante Oregon C Sr. Bamako, Mali
Tristan da Silva Colorado F Jr. Munich, Germany
Boogie Ellis USC G Sr. San Diego, Calif.
Mouhamed Gueye Washington State F So. Dakar, Senegal
Jaime Jaquez Jr.** UCLA G/F Sr. Camarillo, Calif.
Drew Peterson** USC G 5th Libertyville, Ill.
Ąžuolas Tubelis** Arizona F Jr. Vilnius, Lithuania

SECOND TEAM

NAME SCHOOL POS. YR. HOMETOWN
Keion Brooks Jr. Washington F Sr. Fort Wayne, Ind.
Desmond Cambridge Jr. Arizona State G 5th Nashville, Tenn.
Jaylen Clark UCLA G Jr. Riverside, Calif.
Spencer Jones Stanford F Sr. Roeland Park, Kan.
KJ Simpson Colorado G So. West Hills, Calif.

HONORABLE MENTION (receiving at least three votes): TJ Bamba, WSU; Adem Bona, UCLA; Courtney Ramey, ARIZ; Will Richardson, ORE.

Pac-12 Freshman Team

NAME SCHOOL POS. HOMETOWN
Amari Bailey UCLA G Chicago, Ill.
Adem Bona UCLA F Ebonyi, Nigeria
Keyon Menifield Washington G Flint, Mich.
Jordan Pope Oregon State G Oakley, Calif.
Tre White USC G Dallas, Texas

HONORABLE MENTION (receiving at least three votes): Kylan Boswell, ARIZ; Grant Newell, CAL.

Pac-12 Defensive Team

NAME SCHOOL POS. YR. HOMETOWN
Adem Bona UCLA F Fr. Ebonyi, Nigeria
Jaylen Clark** UCLA G Jr. Riverside, Calif.
Kobe Johnson USC G So. Milwaukee, Wisc.
Braxton Meah Washington C Jr. Fresno, Calif.
Joshua Morgan USC F R-Jr. Sacramento, Calif.

HONORABLE MENTION (receiving at least three votes): Marco Anthony, UTAH; Oumar Ballo, ARIZ; Mouhamed Gueye, WSU; Warren Washington, ASU.

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