June 24, 2002
Texas A&M junior Nick Anderson has been named to the Big 12 All-Star Team that will tour Scandinavia in August, the conference office said Monday.
Under the direction of Baylor head coach Dave Bliss, the Big 12 All-Star Team will consist of one player from each conference school. The 2002 all-stars have 10 upperclassmen including four seniors.
The Big 12 All-Stars will report to Dallas August 2 and practice for two days prior to their journey overseas August 5. The team will play six games in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark and return August 16.
Anderson, a 6-6 forward, averaged 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds for the Aggies last season and was a member of the Big 12 All-Freshman Team in 2000-01. He has started in 54 of his 61 games at A&M.
"We are really looking forward to representing the Big 12 Conference in international competition in an area of the world that a lot of these players will never have an opportunity to see," said Bliss who will enter his fourth season at Baylor in 2002-03 and won his 500th career game last year.
There are four seniors on the team led by two Big 12 All-Newcomer selections from 2001-02 -- Kansas State forward Pervis Pasco and Oklahoma guard Quannas White. Pasco averaged 12.1 points per game and was fourth in the league in rebounds with an 8.4 average last season. White was the starting point guard on OU's Final Four team where he averaged 7.6 points per outing last year and his 4.7 assists per game were seventh in the conference. Rounding out the seniors on the all-star squad are Texas forward Deginald Erskin and Texas Tech guard Will Chavis. Erskin is a forward who averaged 7.7 points last season which included a 12.8 ppg in the final five games during the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments. Chavis also averaged 7.7 points per game last year and was among the league leaders in three-point shooting percentage making 36-of-88 (40.9 percent, ninth) last year.
Iowa State guard Jake Sullivan and Oklahoma State forward Ivan McFarlin highlight the six juniors on the all-star squad. Sullivan was a third team All-Big 12 selection last year where he averaged 16 points - 11th in the league - and was second in the conference in three-point shooting percentage at 47.2 (60-127). McFarlin was an honorable mention all-league selection last year who was 10th in the Big 12 in rebounding with a 7.7 average. McFarlin and Pasco were two-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week honorees in 2001-02.
Colorado junior guard Blair Wilson was a member of the Big 12 All-Reserve team last season where he aveaged 12.3 points. Wilson's 42.9 three-point shooting percentage (76-177) was eighth in the conference. Missouri junior forward Travon Bryant came on strong toward the end of last season. He averaged 6.3 points and 5.4 rebounds on the season yet garnered 7.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in his final five games of the season. Rounding out the junior team members is Kansas forward Bryant Nash who played in 30 games in a reserve role for the Final Four Jayhawks last year.
Baylor sophomore Lawrence Roberts had a banner freshman season in 2001-02. The forward set the Big 12 freshman scoring record with 498 points (16.6 average) and his 8.2 rebound average is also a conference freshman best. Nebraska sophomore guard Jake Mulheisen averaged 11.7 points and was also among the conference leaders (12th) in assists at 3.8 per contest.
This will be the fifth consecutive year the Big 12 has sent a basketball all-star team abroad and the third men's basketball all-star team. Former Texas Tech head coach James Dickey guided the first men's Big 12 All-Stars to a 4-2 record in August 1998 while touring London, Paris, Belgium, and Germany. In 2000 Colorado head coach Ricardo Patton guided the second men's all-star squad to a 5-1 record while touring Austria and Germany. Women's Big 12 All-Star teams toured in 1999 and 2001.