Deshaun Thomas named 1st team preseason AP All-American

As if we didn't already have expectations that "Tank" would be firing early and often, he now has some extra public encouragement to do just that. Ohio State's junior star Deshaun Thomas was named a first team All-American by the Associated Press on Monday.

Joining Thomas on the front team are a couple of Big Ten rivals Ohio State fans should be very well acquainted with. The Associated Press' preseason player of the year, Cody Zeller of Indiana, was named on 64 of 65 ballots and Michigan's Trey Burke also made the six player honor list.

Completing the group are Isaiah Canaan of Murray State, Creighton forward Doug McDermott, and C.J. McCollum of Lehigh. It goes to show the era of college basketball that we are living in such that three players from mid-major programs all graced the 1st team AP All-American team.

Thomas averaged 15.9 points per game and 5.4 rebounds to go along with it. He was Ohio State's leading scorer in the post season and is expected to only have those numbers go up with the departure of now Boston Celtics player Jared Sullinger.