The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Quartet from Men’s Basketball claims spots on Preseason All-Big 12 Awards
10.12.2023 | Men's Basketball
Abmas earns spot on Preseason All-Big 12 Team, while Disu, Hunter and Mitchell named honorable mention.
IRVING, Texas — A quartet of University of Texas Men's Basketball players were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Awards teams for the upcoming 2023-24 season, the Big 12 Conference office announced Thursday. Graduate guard Max Abmas was tabbed to the five-person Preseason All-Big 12 Team, while graduate forward Dylan Disu, junior guard Tyrese Hunter and sophomore forward Dillon Mitchell were each named Preseason Honorable Mention All-Big 12.
The awards and teams are chosen by head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes. Disu, Hunter and Mitchell were three of the 11 selections as Preseason Honorable Mention All-Big 12.
Abmas enters the year as the NCAA Division I active career scoring leader (2,562 points) and career scoring average leader (20.8 ppg). He played and started 123 career games and registered 2,562 points (20.8 ppg), 395 assists (3.2 apg), 408 rebounds (3.3 rpg) and 140 steals (1.1 spg) in 4,280 minutes (34.8 mpg) over the last four seasons at Oral Roberts University. He converted 38.8-percent (420-1083) from three-point range and 88.1-percent (460-522) from the free throw line during his time at ORU. Abmas was a three-time honorable mention All-America selection (The Associated Press) and twice named Summit League Player of the Year (2021 and 2023). As a senior in 2022-23, he averaged 21.9 ppg, 4.0 apg and 4.4 rpg in 36.1 mpg and ranked ninth in Division I in scoring and fifth in free throw percentage (.919). As a sophomore in 2020-21, Abmas guided Oral Roberts to the NCAA Sweet 16 while leading Division I in scoring (24.5 ppg) and ranking second nationally in three-point field goals made per game (3.6). He earned his BS in Mathematics from ORU in Spring 2023 and is pursuing a graduate certificate in Strategic Communication.
Disu returns for his third season in the UT program and has played in 111 career games (84 starts) during his first four years of college at Vanderbilt (2019-21) and Texas. He has registered career totals of 908 points (8.2 ppg), 579 rebounds (5.2 rpg) and 118 blocks (1.1 bpg) in 2,370 minutes (21.3 mpg). As a senior in 2022-23, Disu played and started in 36 of UT's 38 games and led the squad and ranked second in the Big 12 in blocks (46, 1.3 bpg). He also ranked second on the team in rebounding (4.4 rpg) and fifth in scoring (8.8 ppg) in 19.0 mpg. In UT's five postseason games in which he was healthy, Disu averaged a team-best 17.8 ppg and a team-high 9.0 rpg in 25.8 mpg while converting 72.2-percent (39-54) from the floor and 84.6-percent (11-13) from the free throw line. He was named Most Outstanding Player in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, averaging a team-best 14.7 ppg and 8.3 rpg in 25.5 mpg while hitting 73.9-percent (17-23) from the floor. Disu posted a season-high 28 points (14-20 FG) and 10 boards in 31 minutes against Penn State in the NCAA Second Round, setting the school's NCAA Tournament single-game mark for most field goals made (14) by topping the previous mark of 11 shared by Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and Albert Burditt. He earned his BA in Human Dimensions of Organizations in Spring 2023 and is currently in the Sport Management Graduate Program.
Hunter returns for his second season in the UT program and has played and started all 73 career games during his first two years of college at Iowa State (2021-22) and Texas. He has registered career totals of 777 points (10.6 ppg), 268 assists (3.7 apg) and 236 rebounds (3.2 rpg) in 2,273 minutes (31.1 mpg). As a sophomore in 2022-23, Hunter played and started all 38 games and ranked second on the team in minutes (30.3 mpg), third in assists (96), fourth in scoring (10.3 ppg) and fifth in steals (31). Over the final 11 games of the season, he averaged 11.7 ppg while hitting 40.4-percent (21-52) from three-point range.
Mitchell returns for his second season in the UT program. He played and started all 38 games as a freshman last year and led the team in field goal percentage (.636, 75-118). Mitchell ranked third on the team in rebounding (3.9 rpg), second in offensive rebounds (52) and fifth in blocks (12) while averaging 4.3 points in 17.5 minutes per contest. He reached double figures in scoring six times and double digits in rebounds twice. Mitchell also earned a spot on the 2023 Big 12 Academic All-Rookie Team.
The Big 12 Men's Basketball preseason poll will be announced Friday, Oct. 13. Texas tips off the 2023-24 season with the Orange-White Scrimmage on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. Central inside Gregory Gymnasium in the heart of the UT campus.
The Longhorns host an exhibition contest against St. Edward's University on Monday, Oct. 30. Tip is set for 7 p.m. Central at Moody Center, and the game will be televised by Longhorn Network. Texas opens the regular season with a home game against Incarnate Word. Tip is set for 7 p.m. Central at Moody Center, and the contest will be televised by Longhorn Network.
Preseason Player of the Year: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Preseason Newcomer of the Year: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Preseason Freshman of the Year: Ja'Kobe Walter, Baylor
Preseason All-Big 12 Team
L.J. Cryer (Houston), Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), Dajuan Harris Jr. (Kansas), Emanuel Miller (TCU), Max Abmas (TEXAS)
Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
Jalen Bridges (Baylor), RayJ Dennis (Baylor), Ja'Kobe Walter (Baylor), Jamal Shead (Houston), Kevin McCullar Jr. (Kansas), Arthur Kaluma (Kansas State), Tylor Perry (Kansas State), Dylan Disu (TEXAS), Tyrese Hunter (TEXAS), Dillon Mitchell (TEXAS), Jesse Edwards (West Virginia)
