Deshaun Thomas named Sporting News 1st-team All-American

Ohio State basketball’s forward Deshaun Thomas has another 2012 preseason honor on his resume.

The junior was named a preseason first-team All-American selection by The Sporting News Monday.

Thomas joins the likes of Creighton junior forward Doug McDermott, Indiana sophomore forward Cody Zeller, North Carolina sophomore forward James Michael McAdoo, and Lehigh senior guard C.J. McCollum on the Sporting News’ first team.

It’s Thomas’ second preseason first-team honor this year as he was named to the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook’s All-American team on Aug. 29.

Thomas, a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., is one of three returning starters from a Buckeyes’ squad that went 31-8 during the 2011-12 season that ended in New Orleans at the Final Four.

En route to a national semifinal loss to Kansas, Thomas amassed 96 amassed points in the Buckeyes’ five games in the NCAA tournament.

Over the course of 39 games, Thomas averaged 15.9 points per game and 5.4 rebounds for OSU.

After former Buckeyes’ big man Jared Sullinger declared for the 2012 NBA Draft and former guard William Buford graduated, Thomas elected to come back to Columbus for a third year.

“We have a great team returning next season and I want to be a part of another championship run,” Thomas said in a released statement in April. “My family, my coaches and I looked at my future as a professional, but I love being a Buckeye and want to continue my education and development as a player and as a person at Ohio State.”

Thomas and the Buckeyes are scheduled to open their 2012-13 campaign with an exhibition game against Walsh on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Schottenstein Center.