2019 Forward Jordan Mitchell Talks Recruitment; Recovery from Injury
By JACOB POLACHECK Jordan Mitchell, the 6-foot-7 small
By JACOB POLACHECK Jordan Mitchell, the 6-foot-7 small
The return of guard Andrew Jones bodes well for Shaka Smart’s club entering the 2017-18 season.
Jones will join the No. 9-ranked recruiting class in the nation per ESPN.com, highlighted by 6-foot-11 Mohamed Bamba who signed last week.
Bamba is projected as the No. 4 pick in 2018 per DraftExpress.com, while Jones is at No. 20.
Texas finished 11-22 last season, 4-14 in the Big 12. They lost leading scorer Tevin Mack to transfer (Alabama) and second-leading scorer Jarrett Allen to the NBA Draft
Jones elected to withdraw his name for the upcoming 2017 NBA Draft and return for his sophomore season. He recently participated in the NBA Draft Combine and attended several individual and group workouts for selected NBA teams.
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.
By JOHN RABY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Esa Ahmad broke out of a shooting slump with a career-high 27 points to lead No. 18 West Virginia to an 85-69 victory over No. 2 Kansas on Tuesday night.
The Mountaineers (16-4, 5-3 Big 12) beat Kansas (18-2, 7-1) for the fourth straight time in Morgantown and snapped the Jayhawks’ 18-game winning streak.
Ahmad led West Virginia in scoring over the first two months of the season but entered Tuesday’s game with four straight games in single digits. He scored West Virginia’s first eight points against Kansas and finished 10 of 17 from the field.
By DENIS P. GORMAN
NEW YORK (AP) – Obi Enechionyia and his Temple teammates beat two Top 25 teams to win the NIT Season Tip-Off.
“It’s a confidence boost,” Enechionyia said Friday after he had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Temple to an 81-77 upset of No. 19 West Virginia in the championship game.
“We beat two ranked teams this weekend. Any time you can do that, it’s huge for a team,” Enechionyia added. “Knowing that we can beat anyone, I think that’s big for us.”
Enechionyia scored 18 points in the first half for Temple (4-2) but it was his free throw with 1 second left that sealed the championship for the Owls.
