Iowa’s Morgan Johnson has been selected to the All-Big Ten preseason coaches’ team. The honor was announced at Big Ten basketball media day on Thursday.

The senior center was the only Hawkeye selected to the preseason team by the coaches of the conference.

The selection was made, in part, because of the numbers she put up a year ago. Johnson averaged nearly 15 points per contest and made just under 55 percent of her shots a year ago. Those stats were good enough to garner a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2012.

Head coach Lisa Bluder had plenty of positive comments for the press during media day. She said she is thrilled each time she comes to practice, because she loves coaching hard workers.

“She is exuberant every day in practice,” Bluder said. “She just brings a joy and a level of effort that our freshmen need to learn from.”

Iowa’s regular season will kick off with the Preseason WNIT on Nov. 9, when the Hawkeyes will play Northern Illinois in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

— by Cody Goodwin