New Texas A&M basketball coach Billy Kennedy will only get one year in the Big 12 before the Aggies move on to the SEC, but he will have the services of junior forward Khris Middleton, named to the preseason All-Big 12 team yesterday.
Middleton, a 6'7 210 forward from South Carolina, emerged as a star last season. A first-team All-Big 12 player last year, he averaged 14.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
He was projected as a borderline first-round draft pick, but elected to return to school instead.
Texas guard J'Covan Brown, Baylor forward Perry Jones III, also named preseason player of the year, Kansas forward Thomas Robinson and Missouri guard Marcus Denmon were the other players chosen by a ballot of the Big 12's basketball coaches.
Under former coaches Billie Gillispie, now at Texas Tech, and Mark Turgeon, now at Maryland, Texas A&M has become a basketball power, making the NCAA Tournament the last six seasons after a 19-year drought.