KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Texas Tech star Jarrett Culver has been voted Big 12 Player of the Year, a first for the program, and coach Chris Beard repeated as Coach of the Year after the Red Raiders shared the regular-season conference title with Kansas State.
Culver finished in the Big 12 top 10 for scoring (third at 18.4 points per game), assists (sixth at 3.6 apg), rebounds (10th at 6.e rpg).
The Big 12 announced its awards Sunday, including a Defensive Player of the Year honor for Wildcats senior guard Barry Brown and a Newcomer of the Year honor for Kansas junior Dedric Lawson.
Culver, Brown, and Lawson — who led the conference in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.1 points and 10.6 rebounds — also made the All-Big 12 first team as unanimous selections. Kansas State senior Dean Wade and Iowa State senior Marial Shayok rounded out the first team.
Texas forward Jaxson Hayes was voted Freshman of the Year and headlined the All-Big 12 second team — which also included Baylor's Makai Mason, TCU's Desmond Bane, Texas Tech's Matt Mooney, and West Virginia's Derek Culver.
Oklahoma's Kristian Doolittle was picked as the Most Improved Player. He was joined on the All-Big 12 third team by Kansas freshman Devon Dotson, Sooners teammate Christian James, TCU's Alex Robinson, and Texas Tech's Davide Moretti.
Iowa State's Lindell Wigginton won the Big 12's Sixth Man Award. He was an All-Big 12 honorable mention along with two more K-State players, Xavier Sneed and Kamau Stokes.
