Kane named Newcomer of the Year; others honored

The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State athletics communications. 

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State men’s basketball players were well-represented on the 2013-14 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Awards, as announced by the Big 12 Conference today.

Seniors Melvin Ejim and DeAndre Kane took home individual awards as voted upon by the league’s coaches. Ejim was named the Big 12’s Player of the Year, while Kane took home the newcomer of the year honors.

Three Cyclones earned spots on the all-conference teams. Ejim and Kane took home first-team honors while sophomore Georges Niang was named to the third team.

Ejim is the first Cyclone to take home the league’s top honor since Jamaal Tinsley in 2001. He is the third Iowa Stater to earn the honor from the Big 12 (Marcus Fizer, 2000) and just the sixth player in school history to be named a conference player of the year.

The Toronto, Ontario, native averaged 18.2 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game, both of which rank second in the Big 12. His 51.3 percent field goal percentage is third in the conference. Ejim scored a Big 12 record 48 points against TCU earlier this season. Ejim has posted nine double-doubles this season and is the Big 12’s active leader with 31 in his career.

Kane is the third consecutive Cyclone to earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors, joining Royce White (2012) and Will Clyburn (2013).

Kane has been a stat-sheet stuffer for the Cyclones, averaging 17.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game after transferring from Marshall this season. Kane has scored 20 or more points in 13 games, including a stellar performance against Baylor early in the conference season in which he had 30 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and five steals. Kane has earned six weekly honors from the Big 12 Conference. 

After being named to the All-Rookie team last season, Niang averaged 16.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Cyclones as a sophomore. Niang scored in double-figures 25 times this season, including nine games with 20 or more points. He tallied a career-high 27 points in ISU’s win against Oklahoma.