Graves, Cotton honored on collegeinsider.com's Preseason Mid-Major All-America Team
Oct. 31, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Indianapolis, Ind. -- Two members of the Horizon League's preseason honor roll were honored Wednesday (Oct. 31), earning spots on the collegeinsider.com Preseason Mid-Major All-America Team. Butler University senior guard A.J. Graves---the League's preseason Player of the Year---and University of Detroit Mercy senior guard Brandon Cotton were tabbed for the publication's 25-member squad.
Graves was recognized on collegeinsider.com's Mid-Major All-America Team at the end of last season, after helping the Bulldogs to a League-record 29 victories (29-7 overall, 13-3 in the League) and a spot in the NCAA Championship's Sweet 16. Graves averaged 16.9 points per game, including a total of 37 points in victories over Old Dominion University and the Universiy of Maryland in the national tournament. He finished second in the nation with a .948 free-throw percentage while canning a League-best 98 three-point field goals.
Graves adds the latest honor to a personal trophy case that also features the Most Valuable Player award from the NIT Season Tip-Off last November. The Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America pick leads Butler into the 2007-08 campaign as the favorite to win the Horizon League Championship in March. Earlier this month, he was one of 50 players named to the "Watch List" for the John R. Wooden Award, presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club to "The Outstanding College Basketball Player in the United States."
Cotton earned Second-Team All-League notice for the third consecutive year last winter and is the League's top returning scorer after averaging 18.1 points per game for the Titans. He finished third on the loop scoring charts and posted 14 games of 20 or more points with 26 double-figure performances. He leads all active League players with 1,464 points in his UDM career.
The Mid-Major All-America Team is comprised of players from 21 conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon League, Ivy League, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot League, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit League, Sun Belt and West Coast. Four players---Davidson College sophomore guard Stephen Curry, Gonzaga University junior forward Josh Heytvelt, Virginia Commonwealth University junior guard Eric Maynor and Rider University senior forward Jason Thompson---were tabbed as Preseason All-America selections and were not considered for the Mid-Major honor list.
The collegeinsider.com honor teams are selected as one group, rather than assembling first, second, third and subsequent teams. Division I coaches and NBA scouts are included in the selection process, with the collegeinsider.com staff making final decisions. For more information on these and other awards presented by the publication, log on to www.collegeinsider.com.
The Wooden Award Watch List puts Graves in the company of such notable players as University of North Carolina junior forward Tyler Hansbrough, University of Kansas junior guard Brandon Rush, Michigan State University senior guard Drew Neitzel and Georgetown University senior center Roy Hibbert. For more information on the Wooden Award, log on to www.woodenaward.com.
Graves and the Bulldogs start the 2007-08 campaign Thursday (Nov. 1) against Saint Joseph's College in the first of two exhibition contests prior to the official season-opener Nov. 9 at Ball State. Detroit hosts Albion College in exhibition play on Friday (Nov. 2), eight days before starting the regular season at home against Kent State University on Nov. 10.
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Note: A list of the collegeinsider.com preseason All-America honorees and the Wooden Award candidates can be found in the PDF version of this release.
