1979 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Members of the 1979 Consensus All-America first team. Clockwise from upper left: Larry Bird, Mike Gminski, Sidney Moncrief and David Greenwood (not pictured: Magic Johnson).

Awarded for

1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

← 1978 ·

All-Americans

· 1980 →

The consensus 1979 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams.^[1] To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The United Press International and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

1979 Consensus All-America team

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Larry Bird	F	Senior	Indiana State
Mike Gminski	C	Junior	Duke
David Greenwood	F	Senior	UCLA
Magic Johnson	G	Sophomore	Michigan State
Sidney Moncrief	G	Senior	Arkansas

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Bill Cartwright	C	Senior	San Francisco
Calvin Natt	C	Senior	Northeast Louisiana
Mike O'Koren	F	Junior	North Carolina
Jim Paxson	G/F	Senior	Dayton
Jim Spanarkel	G	Senior	Duke
Kelly Tripucka	F	Sophomore	Notre Dame
Sly Williams	F	Junior	Rhode Island

Individual All-America teams

All-America Team
	First team		Second team		Third team		Fourth Team
	Player	School	Player	School	Player	School	Player	School
Associated Press^[2]	Larry Bird	Indiana State	Mike Gminski	Duke	Joe Barry Carroll	Purdue	No fourth team
	Bill Cartwright	San Francisco	Vinnie Johnson	Baylor	Roy Hamilton	UCLA
	David Greenwood	UCLA	Reggie King	Alabama	Greg Kelser	Michigan State
	Magic Johnson	Michigan State	Ronnie Lester	Iowa	Kelly Tripucka	Notre Dame
	Sidney Moncrief	Arkansas	Calvin Natt	Northeast Louisiana	Sly Williams	Rhode Island
USBWA^[3]	Larry Bird	Indiana State	Calvin Natt	Northeast Louisiana	No third or fourth teams
	Bill Cartwright	San Francisco	Mike O'Koren	North Carolina
	Mike Gminski	Duke	Jim Paxson	Dayton
	Magic Johnson	Michigan State	Kelly Tripucka	Notre Dame
	Sidney Moncrief	Arkansas	Sly Williams	Rhode Island
NABC^[4]	Larry Bird	Indiana State	Bill Cartwright	San Francisco	Joe Barry Carroll	Purdue	Danny Ainge	Brigham Young
	Mike Gminski	Duke	Reggie King	Alabama	Darrell Griffith	Louisville	James Bailey	Rutgers
	David Greenwood	UCLA	Mike O'Koren	North Carolina	Ronnie Lester	Iowa	Calvin Natt	Northeast Louisiana
	Magic Johnson	Michigan State	Jim Spanarkel	Duke	Kyle Macy	Kentucky	Bernard Toone	Marquette
	Sidney Moncrief	Arkansas	Kelly Tripucka	Notre Dame	Jim Paxson	Dayton	Mike Woodson	Indiana
UPI^[5]	Larry Bird	Indiana State	Bill Cartwright	San Francisco	James Bailey	Rutgers	No fourth team
	Mike Gminski	Duke	Darrell Griffith	Louisville	Gene Banks	Duke
	David Greenwood	UCLA	Sidney Moncrief	Arkansas	Ronnie Lester	Iowa
	Magic Johnson	Michigan State	Mike O'Koren	North Carolina	Kelvin Ransey	Ohio State
	Jim Spanarkel	Duke	Kelly Tripucka	Notre Dame	Sly Williams	Rhode Island

AP Honorable Mention:^[6]

Mark Aguirre, DePaul
James Bailey, Rutgers
Gene Banks, Duke
Kim Belton, Stanford
Rolando Blackman, Kansas State
Roosevelt Bouie, Syracuse
Brad Branson, SMU
Michael Brooks, La Salle
Matt Brown, Army
Lawrence Butler, Idaho State
Terence Carney, Pacific
Sam Clancy, Pittsburgh
Elbert Darden, Rice
Larry Demic, Arizona
Joe DeSantis, Fairfield
Sammy Drummer, Georgia Tech
Terry Duerod, Detroit
Nikos Galis, Seton Hall
Larry Gibson, Maryland
Kim Goetz, San Diego State
Michael Gray, Nevada
Al Green, LSU
Darrell Griffith, Louisville
Brad Holland, UCLA
Cheese Johnson, Wichita State
Reggie Johnson, Tennessee
Steve Johnson, Oregon State
Albert King, Maryland
Wayne Kreklow, Drake
Jim Krivacs, Texas
Jeff Lamp, Virginia
Emmett Lewis, Colorado
Kyle Macy, Kentucky
Ollie Matson, Pepperdine
John McCullough, Oklahoma
Keith McDonald, Utah State
Mike Niles, Cal State Fullerton
Mike O'Koren, North Carolina
Jim Paxson, Dayton
Ron Perry, Holy Cross
Tony Price, Penn
Rick Raivio, Portland
Kelvin Ransey, Ohio State
Ricky Reed, Temple
Cliff Robinson, USC
Jeff Ruland, Iona
DeWayne Scales, LSU
Craig Shelton, Georgetown
Jim Spanarkel, Duke
John Stroud, Ole Miss
Londale Theus, Santa Clara
Bernard Toone, Marquette
Darnell Valentine, Kansas
Ronnie Valentine, Old Dominion
Ren Watson, VCU
Hawkeye Whitney, NC State
Herb Williams, Ohio State
Rudy Woods, Texas A&M

Academic All-Americans

On March 21, 1979, CoSIDA announced the 1979 Academic All-America team.^[7] The following is the 1978–79 Academic All-America Men's Basketball Team as selected by CoSIDA:

**Academic All-America Team**
Player	School	Class
Mike Gminski	Duke	Junior
Greg Kelser	Michigan State	Senior
Jim Krivacs	Texas	Senior
Kyle Macy	Kentucky	Senior
Jim Paxson	Dayton	Senior
Ron Perry	Holy Cross	Junior
Jim Spanarkel	Duke	Senior
Kelly Tripucka	Notre Dame	Sophomore
Darnell Valentine	Kansas	Sophomore
Kiki Vandeweghe	UCLA	Junior