KJ Adams Jr. (player) of Kansas and Sir’Jabari Rice (newcomer) of Texas earned their first Big 12 men’s basketball weekly awards after helping their teams to a pair of exciting conference victories.
Adams led the Jayhawks to a comeback victory over Oklahoma (79-75) with a career-high 22 points on 8-for-13 (.615) shooting with six rebounds, two blocked shots and one steal. It was the first 20-point game of his career. In the win against No. 14/14 Iowa State (62-60), Adams made the game-winning shot with 10 seconds remaining. He finished the contest with 15 points on 6-for-9 (.667) shooting with six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot. For the week, Adams averaged 18.5 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting .635 percent from the field. The sophomore forward has scored in double figures in 10 straight games after failing to reach double figures in the first seven games of the season.
Rice led Texas to a pair of home wins last week against No. 17/17 TCU (79-75) and Texas Tech (72-70). In the two games, Rice averaged 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists while making 16-of-19 (.842) free throws in 25.5 minutes per game. Against TCU, Rice had 15 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes. He scored all 15 of his points in the second half and sealed the victory by grabbing an offensive rebound and hitting a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining. In Saturday’s win against Texas Tech, the graduate guard posted 18 points, four assists, two rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 29 minutes. He tied his career high for blocks and tied his season high for free throws made. Rice had 15 points, three assists against a turnover, two blocks and a steal during 17 minutes of second-half action. He made 5 of 6 free throws in the last 20 seconds to wrap up the win.
The 12 Great Men’s Basketball Players of the Week
Player:
November 14 – Adam Flagler, BU, G, Mr.
Nov. 21: LJ Cryer, BU, G, Jr.
Nov. 28 – Markquis Nowell, K-State, G, Sr.
Dec. 5 – Jalen Wilson, KU, F, Jr.
December 12: Tre Mitchell, WVU, F, Mr.
December 19: Marcus Carr, UT, G, Mr.
Dec. 27 – Emanuel Miller, TCU, F, Mr.
January 2 – Marcus Carr, UT, G, Mr.
Jan. 9 – Markquis Nowell, K-State, G, Mr.
Jan. 16 – KJ Adams Jr., KU, F, So.
Newcomer:
Nov. 14 – Keyontae Johnson, K-State, F, Mr.
November 21: Gradey Dick, KU, G, p.
Nov. 28: Jaren Holmes, ISU, G, Mr.
December 5: Keyonte George, BU, G, P. and Gradey Dick, KU, G, p.
December 12 – Grant Sherfield, OU, G, Mr.
Dec. 19 – Keyontae Johnson, K-State, F, Mr.
Dec. 27 – Nae’Qwan Tomlin, K-State, F, Jr. and Grant Sherfield, OU, G, Sr.
January 2: Keyonte George, BU, G, P.
Jan. 9 – Keyontae Johnson, K-State, F, Mr.
January 16 – Sir’Jabari Rice, UT, G, Gr.