GP2 On Lute Olson Player of the Year Watch List
November 09, 2015 | Men's Basketball
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State senior men's basketball player Gary Payton II was named to the 2015 Lute Olson Preseason Player of the Year Watch List on Monday.
The Lute Olson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I player who has played at least two seasons. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible for the preseason Watch List.
The award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 780 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.
2015-16 Lute Olson Preseason All-America Team
Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova
Ron Baker, Wichita State
D.J. Balentine, Evansville
DeAndre' Bembry, Saint Joseph's
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
Kyle Collilnsworth, BYU
Kris Dunn, Providence
Jack Gibbs, Davidson
Perry Ellis, Kansas
A.J. English, Iona
Kahlil Felder, Oakland
Yogi Ferrell, Indiana
Trey Freeman, Old Dominion
Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
Demetrius Jackson, Notre Dame
Damian Jones, Vanderbilt
Stefan Moody, Mississippi
Nic Moore, SMU
Monte Morris, Iowa State
Georges Niang, Iowa State
Marcus Paige, North Carolina
Gary Payton II, Oregon State
Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Florida State
Melo Trimble, Maryland
Tyler Ulis, Kentucky
Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
Fred VanVleet, Wichita State
Tyrone Wallace, California
Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga
A native of Seattle, Wash., Payton II has received numerous preseason accolades heading into his senior campaign. He was on the cover of the Sporting News, named a Second Team All-American by Athlon Magazine and selected to the All-Pac-12 First Team by Lindy's Magazine. He was also tabbed as the favorite to be named Pac-12 Player of the Year by Dick Vitale, Sports Illustrated and Athlon, and repeat as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year by Athlon and Lindy's.
He was also named one of 20 NCAA Division I student-athletes named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List for the nation's top point guard, and ranked the 26th best college basketball player by FOXSports.com, 34th by NBCSports.com and 38th by ESPN.com and CBS Sports.
Payton II earned numerous awards last season after transferring to Oregon State from Salt Lake Community College. He was voted the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Defensive Team, and selected to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District-IX and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District 20 Teams.
He became just the second player in Oregon State history to lead the team in scoring, rebounding and steals (Lester Connor, 1981-82), and had a steal in all 31 games, the second-longest streak in school history, trailing only his father, the legendary Gary Payton, who had a steal in 37 consecutive games from February1989 to March1990.
Payton II finished the season with 95 steals, tied for the third most in Pac-12 single-season history, the second most in Oregon State single-season history and the most by a junior in school history. He finished second in the nation in steals at 3.06 per game (Corey Walden, Eastern Kentucky, 3.09).
The lefty guard also had seven double-doubles and posted just the second triple-double in school history with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against Grambling State. His father recorded the only other triple-double on Nov. 26, 1988 when he had 20 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists against Portland at Gill Coliseum.
