KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sophomore center Wayman Tisdale of league champion Oklahoma and seniors Carl Henry of Kansas and Jay Humphries of Colorado today headed up United Press International's 1984 All-Big Eight basketball team.
The 6-foot-9 Tisdale was a unanimous choice for the second straight season and, if he doesn't turn pro prematurely, is in line to join Darnell Valentine of Kansas as the only players in Big Eight history to earn all-league honors four consecutive years.
Henry and Humphries were both first-time selections and they were joined on the first team by sophomore center Dave Hoppen of Nebraska and junior forward Barry Stevens of Iowa State.
Named to the second-team were Oklahoma State forwards Joe Atkinson and Raymond Crenshaw, Oklahoma's freshman guard Tim McCalister, Kansas State center Eddie Elder and Colorado forward Alex Stivrins.
Tisdale led the Big Eight in both scoring and rebounding for the second straight year, averaging 26.6 points and 9.8 rebounds for the 27-3 Sooners. He set a Big Eight record with 61 points in a December game against Abilene Christian and topped 30 points on 11 other occasions.
'I remember guys like Walt Bellamy, Jerry Lucas and Terry Dischinger,' Iowa State coach Johnny Orr said. 'I thought those guys were really good. But they are second rate compared to Tisdale. Those guys were all great players in their day but Tisdale is unreal. He's as good a player as I've seen.'
Henry led the league runnerup Jayhawks in scoring with an average of 16.5 points per game. He had 25 points in games against Iowa State and Oklahoma State, 23 points in games against Houston, Nebraska and Kansas State and on four occasions rebounded in double figures.
Humphries ranked ninth in the Big Eight in scoring with an average of 15.4 points per game, third in assists with 157 and first in steals with 98. He had high games of 31 points against Rockhurst, 12 assists against Oklahoma State, 8 steals against Cal-Irvine and 8 rebounds against Wyoming.
'I can't imagine a better all-around guard in our league,' Colorado coach Tom Apke said, 'and a lot of the pro scouts have told me he's one of the top two point guards in the country. He is a tremendously exciting and gifted player. We're going to have a tough time replacing him.'
Hoppen and Tisdale were the only two Big Eight players to score in double figures in every one of his team's games this season. Hoppen was third in the league in scoring with an average of 20 points per game, posting career highs of 28 points against Kansas and 14 rebounds against Augustana.
Stevens was second in the Big Eight in scoring with an average of 22.6 points per game, helping Iowa State post its first winning season (16-11) in six. He had games of 37 points against Arizona, 34 points against Vanderbilt and 11 rebounds against Kansas.
