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
