Kansas junior guard Brandon Rush and sophomore forward Darrell Arthur on Tuesday were announced as two of six members of the 2007-08 Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Preseason honors were voted on by the league’s head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.

Rush, who entered his name as an early-entry candidate for the 2007 NBA Draft last summer, opted to return to school following a torn ACL suffered in the weeks leading up to the Draft. He led the Jayhawks in scoring as a sophomore, averaging 13.8 points per game, and among all regular contributors, was the team’s top three-point marksman, shooting the long ball at a 43.1 percent clip. He led the Jayhawks in threes made, too, with 75.

Arthur, spurred by a fast start to his freshman season, finished the 2006-07 campaign averaging 9.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He also led the Jayhawks in blocked shots, registering 56 swats as a frosh. This summer, teammates have lauded his added aggressiveness around the basket, making him one of the nation’s most hyped candidates to be a breakout star this winter.

Rounding out the preseason squad are Texas A&M junior senior forward Joseph Jones, Nebraska senior center Aleks Maric, Baylor junior guard Curtis Jerrells and Texas sophomore guard D.J. Augustin.

Augustin, who a year ago formed a deadly freshman duo with Seattle Sonics top pick Kevin Durant, was selected as the Big 12’s Preseason Player of the Year.

KU rivals boast both the conference’s Preseason Newcomer of the Year (Missouri junior foward DeMarre Carroll, a Vanderbilt transfer) and Preseason Freshman of the Year (K-State’s Michael Beasley, the top prospect in last year’s high school senior class).

For more on this story, read tomorrow’s Journal-World and log back onto KUSports.com.