Kansas' Frank Mason, Josh Jackson, Bill Self Earn Big 12 Awards | Zagsblog
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Thursday / March 28.
  • Kansas’ Frank Mason, Josh Jackson, Bill Self Earn Big 12 Awards

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    For the first time in Big 12 history, three schools have captured all of the major men’s basketball postseason awards. Frank Mason III (Player of the Year), Bill Self (Coach) and Josh Jackson (Freshman) of Kansas have been recognized, with West Virginia’s Jevon Carter (Defensive Player) and Tarik Phillip (Sixth Man) also earning honors. Manu Lecomte of Baylor is the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

    Mason, a leading candidate for national player of the year who is averaging 20.5 points, is the first Kansas player to lead the Big 12 in scoring since 2004-05. He was also first in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.493) while ranking fourth in assists (5.1 apg).

    Jackson is the top-scoring freshman in the Big 12 with 16.4 points per game. Along with Mason, he is a candidate for both the Naismith and Wooden Awards after earning a combined nine weekly league awards (two player, seven newcomer) during the 2016-17 campaign.

    Carter leads the Big 12 with 85 steals and is the third player in conference history to be a three-time member of the All-Defensive Team. He ranks sixth nationally in steals and is third all-time in school history for thefts in a season. Carter is the first WVU player to earn the conference defensive award since the school joined the Big 12.

    Phillip came off the bench 10 times in conference play and 17 times overall and was fourth on the Mountaineer squad with 9.3 points per contest. He was second for WVU in both assists (100) and steals (61), with the thefts total ranking third in the Big 12 overall.

    Lecomte burst onto the scene in his first year at Baylor, starting 29 games and ranking second on the team with 12.4 points per outing. He led the Bears’ squad with 115 assists and placed second with 25 steals.

    Self guided the Jayhawks to the Big 12 regular season title, matching UCLA for the most consecutive conference crowns in college basketball history. He captured the regular season championship by four games en route to earning his fifth Big 12 coaching accolade.

    The All-Big 12 first, second, third and honorable mention teams were also announced, along with the all-defensive and all-newcomer teams. Mason and Monté Morris of Iowa State moved up to the first team from the second team a season ago. Carter is the first non-Kansas player to earn defensive team membership three times since the squad was first recognized in 2005-06.

    The official All-Big 12 awards are selected by the league’s head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.

    PLAYER OF THE YEAR

    Frank Mason III, Kansas**

    DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

    Jevon Carter, West Virginia

    NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

    Manu Lecomte, Baylor

    FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

    Josh Jackson, Kansas**

    SIXTH MAN AWARD

    Tarik Phillip, West Virginia

    COACH OF THE YEAR

    Bill Self, Kansas

    All-Big 12 First Team                               Pos.          Ht.          Wt.           Cl.          Hometown/Previous School(s)                                                      

    Johnathan Motley, Baylor**                      F            6-10        230          Jr.          Houston, Texas/North Shore

    Monté Morris, Iowa State**                       G             6-3          175           Sr.          Flint, Mich./Beecher

    Josh Jackson, Kansas                              G             6-8         207          Fr.          Detroit, Mich./Prolific Prep [Calif.]

    Frank Mason III, Kansas**                         G            5-11          190          Sr.          Petersburg, Va./Massanutten Military Academy

    Jawun Evans, Oklahoma State                 G             6-1          185          So.         Dallas, Texas/Kimball

    All-Big 12 Second Team                           Pos.          Ht.          Wt.           Cl.          Hometown/Previous School(s)                                                      

    Nazareth Mitrou-Long, Iowa State           G             6-4         208          Sr.          Mississauga, Ontario/St. Martin

    Devonte’ Graham, Kansas                         G             6-2          185           Jr.          Raleigh, N.C./Brewster Academy [N.H.]

    Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma State              G/F           6-6          215           Jr.          Rowlett, Texas/Rowlett

    Vladimir Brodziansky, TCU                       F            6-11         220          Jr.          Prievidza, Slovakia/Canarias Basketball Academy

    Jevon Carter, West Virginia                      G             6-2         200          Jr.          Maywood, Ill./Proviso East

     

    All-Big 12 Third Team                              Pos.          Ht.          Wt.           Cl.          Hometown/Previous School(s)                                                      

    Manu Lecomte, Baylor                               G            5-11          175           Jr.          Brussels, Belgium/Athene des Pagodes/Miami (Fla.)

    Deonte Burton, Iowa State                        G             6-4         250          Sr.          Milwaukee, Wis./Vincent

    Wesley Iwundu, Kansas State                  F             6-7         205          Sr.          Houston, Texas/Westfield

    Jarrett Allen, Texas                                    F            6-11         235          Fr.          Round Rock, Texas/St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

    Keenan Evans, Texas Tech                       G             6-3          175           Jr.          Richardson, Texas/Berkner

    Nathan Adrian, West Virginia                    F             6-9         235          Sr.          Morgantown, W. Va./Morgantown

    All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (Listed alphabetically by school)                                                                                                                                     

    Ishmail Wainright (Baylor), Matt Thomas (Iowa State), Landen Lucas (Kansas), D.J. Johnson (Kansas State), Kameron McGusty (Oklahoma), Phil Forte (Oklahoma State), Jaylen Fisher (TCU), Kenrich Williams (TCU), Zach Smith (Texas Tech)

     

    Big 12 All-Defensive Team                      Pos.          Ht.          Wt.           Cl.          Hometown/Previous School(s)                                                      

    Jo Lual-Acuil, Baylor                                  F            7-0         220          Jr.          Melbourne, Australia/Kingsway Christian College

    Ishmail Wainright, Baylor                          G             6-5         235          Sr.          Kansas City, Mo./Montrose Christian [Md.]

    Vladimir Brodziansky, TCU                       F            6-11         220          Jr.          Prievidza, Slovakia/Canarias Basketball Academy

    Nathan Adrian, West Virginia                    F             6-9         235          Sr.          Morgantown, W. Va./Morgantown

    Jevon Carter, West Virginia                      G             6-2         200          Jr.          Maywood, Ill./Proviso East

     

    Big 12 All-Newcomer Team                     Pos.          Ht.          Wt.           Cl.          Hometown/Previous School(s)                                                      

    Manu Lecomte, Baylor                               G            5-11          175           Jr.          Brussels, Belgium/Athene des Pagodes/Miami (Fla.)

    Jo Lual-Acuil, Baylor                                  F            7-0         220          Jr.          Melbourne, Australia/Kingsway Christian College

    Josh Jackson, Kansas**                           G             6-8         207          Fr.          Detroit, Mich./Prolific Prep [Calif.]

    Kameron McGusty, Oklahoma                  G             6-5          170          Fr.          Katy, Texas/Sunrise Christian Academy [Kan.]

    Alex Robinson, TCU                                   G             6-1          180          So.         Fort Worth, Texas/Timberview/Texas A&M

    Jarrett Allen, Texas**                                 F            6-11         235          Fr.          Round Rock, Texas/St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

    ** – Unanimous Selection                          

    Ties in the voting created additional spots on the All-Big 12 Third Team and Big 12 All-Newcomer Teams

    Written by

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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