Denmon named to All-America second team

Published Mar. 12, 2012 11:38 a.m. ET

foxsports

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The national awards continue to roll in for the Mizzou basketball team as senior Marcus Denmon has been named to the US Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-America Second Team, as announced Monday (March 12). In all, the USBWA honored 10 student-athletes as All-Americans with five first team selections and five second-team selections. The second-team All-America nod for Denmon is the first for Mizzou since Melvin Booker was named to the second team in 1993-94.

In all, Denmon is the fifth Tiger to earn USBWA All-America honors, joining the likes of Willie Smith (1976), Doug Smith (1990), Anthony Peeler (1992) and Booker (1994). The honor for Denmon is just another in a long line of postseason accolades for the Tigers’ leading scorer. He has already been named first team All-Big 12 by the league’s coaches and by the Associated Press while being named a second team All-American by The Sporting News and earning a spot as one of 15 finalists for the John Wooden Award.

Denmon enters NCAA Tournament play as the team’s leading scorer at 17.6 points per game (third in the Big 12) while averaging 5.1 rebounds per game and 2.1 assists per game. He has ascended to sixth on Mizzou’s all-time career scoring list with 1,755 career points and needs just five points to pass Arthur Johnson for fifth-place all-time at Mizzou. Denmon has connected on 41-percent of his 3-point attempts this season while his 95 makes from distance are the second-most ever by a Tiger senior and the fourth-most by any Tiger in a single season.

The Kansas City native is also shooting a Big 12-best .898 from the free throw line, a mark that ranks sixth nationally this season. He is 18th in the Big 12 in rebounding despite being listed at just 6-3 and he also ranks eighth in the Big 12 in shooting (.461), third in steals (1.6), eighth in 3-point shooting (.409), second in 3-point field goals made (2.8), 12th in defensive rebounding (4.1) and third in minutes played (34.5).

Mizzou will open NCAA Tournament play this Friday in Omaha as the West Region’s No. 2 overall seed.