California Men’s Basketball’s Junior Forward Jaylon Tyson was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team on the eve of the Pac-12 Tournament. The transfer from Texas Tech averaged 19.6 points (3rd in the conference) and 6.8 rebounds (8th in the conference).
Tyson – one of 10 players voted onto the All-Pac-12 First Team by the conference's coaches – is the first Golden Bear to earn a first-team selection since Ivan Rabb in 2016-17. The full list of 2023-24 Pac-12 men's basketball awards can be viewed on Pac-12.com.
The Plano, Texas, native established himself as one of the nation's most dynamic players in his first season at Cal, as he enters the Pac-12 Tournament as the only major-conference player averaging at least 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Tyson – one of 10 players shortlisted nationally for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award – finished the regular season ranked third in PPG and eighth in RPG among Pac-12 players, and totaled eight double-doubles, five of which were 20-point, 10-rebound performances.
Tyson's 2023-24 campaign ranks among Cal's greatest in terms of scoring. His 17 20-point games are the most by a Golden Bear since Jerome Randle (17) in 2009-10, and his 589 total points are the 12th most by a Cal player in a single season. Tyson is just four points shy of 10th on the program's single-season scoring list.
Congratulations to Jaylon on a fantastic season and accolade in just his first season in Berkeley!
I hope this is true and Jaylon gets drafted into a good situation. Wish we could have enjoyed him longer, but not at the expense of his NBA career aspirations. Still a little disappointing that Rabb stayed an extra, mostly pointless, year and hurt his career prospects as a result. The program is stronger if our guys can find spots at the next level, even if that means we don't get to enjoy them for as long as we'd like.
What are the chances that he returns for one more season?