Akinjo Earns Preseason All-Conference Honors; Team Picked Fifth in Preseason Poll
SAN FRANCISCO - On Thursday, the Pac-12 Conference released its annual preseason all-conference teams as well as its preseason poll as voted on by 23 media members from around the league. Arizona was represented on the all-conference team by junior guard James Akinjo, who earned honorable mention status. As a team, the Wildcats were selected to finish fifth in the conference.
Akinjo is a native of Oakland, California and is eligible to play immediately for the Wildcats after transferring in from Georgetown. With the Hoyas, he was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2018-19 after averaging 13.4 points and 5.2 assists per game and being named player of the week four times.
2020-21 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Preseason Media Poll
1. UCLA (9) - 251 points
2. Arizona State (5) - 246
3. Oregon (7) - 241
4. Stanford (1) - 209
5. Arizona - 173
6. USC (1) - 154
7. Colorado - 149
8. Utah - 131
9. Washington - 85
10. California - 65
11. Washington State - 54
12. Oregon State - 36
2020-21 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Preseason Media All-Conference Teams
FIRST TEAM
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | School |
| Timmy Allen | Jr. | F | Utah |
| Matt Bradley | Jr. | G | California |
| Oscar da Silva | Sr. | F | Stanford |
| Chris Duarte | Sr. | G | Oregon |
| Remy Martin | Sr. | G | Arizona State |
| Evan Mobley | Fr. | F | USC |
| Will Richardson | Jr. | G | Oregon |
| Chris Smith | Sr. | G | UCLA |
| Ziaire Williams | Fr. | F | Stanford |
| McKinley Wright IV | Sr. | G | Colorado |
SECOND TEAM
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | School |
| Isaac Bonton | Sr. | G | Washington State |
| Tyger Campbell | R-So. | G | UCLA |
| Josh Christopher | Fr. | G | Arizona State |
| Ethan Thompson | Sr. | G | Oregon State |
| Alonzo Verge Jr. | Sr. | G | Arizona State |
HONORABLE MENTION (received votes from four-or-more members of the media): James Akinjo (Jr., ARIZ), Evan Battey (Jr., COLO), Quade Green (Sr., WASH), Jalen Hill (R-Jr., UCLA), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (So., UCLA).