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West Virginia’s Derek Culver Earns First Team Big 12 Honors

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West Virginia forward Derek Culver (1) shoots while defended by Kansas forward David McCormack (33) and guard Marcus Garrett (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Kathleen Batten)

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham is the fourth freshman to be selected as the Big 12 player of the year by the league's coaches.

Cunningham led the Big 12's all-conference team released Monday.

The rest of the first team included guards Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell from regular-season champion Baylor, guard Austin Reaves from Oklahoma and West Virginia forward Derek Culver.

Culver, a junior from Youngstown, Ohio, averaged 14.8 points, 9.8 rebounds a game and currently has a 48.6 field goal percentage for the 10th ranked Mountaineers, who will take on Cunningham's Cowboys in this year's Big 12 Tournament during the opening round.

Oklahoma State beat the Mountaineers last week without the standout Cunningham suited up.

The last freshman picked by Big 12 coaches as the league's top player was Marcus Smart, also from Oklahoma State, in 2013.

The others were Michael Beasley from Kansas Sate in 2008, a year after Kevin Durant from Texas was player of the year.

Baylor's Scott Drew was selected as the Big 12 coach of the year for the second season in a row.

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