Texas University teammates P.J. Tucker and LaMarcus Aldridge have been named Player and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, highlighting the Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Awards announced Monday by league officials. Oklahoma’s Michael Neal was picked as Newcomer of the Year, while Kansas’ Brandon Rush is Freshman of the Year and KU coach Bill Self earned Coach of the Year honors on a day where the Jayhawks jumped to No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and 18th in the Coaches Poll.
“The Coach of the Year doesn’t make the season more gratifying, winning six games on the road by double digits and finishing the way we did being so young is what was so gratifying,” Self said. “This year we started 1-2 and nobody thought we had a shot.”
The All-Big 12 awards are selected by the league’s head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.
Self said that Rush, who also became the first freshman in conference history to be named to the All-Big 12 First Team, was worthy of both his honors.
“He deserves it. If you’re going to tie for the championship, I think you have to have one guy up there,” Self said. “Brandon certainly played at a level deserving of that.”
Tucker, a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team choice, is the first Longhorn to earn Big 12 Player of the Year recognition. He leads the team and ranks sixth overall in the conference in scoring (16.1), while leading the league in rebounding (9.0). He is also fourth in field goal percentage with a .531 mark. He has led UT in scoring seven times in league play and is second in the Big 12 overall with 10 double-doubles.
Aldridge wins the first defensive honor awarded by the Big 12. He is first in the Big 12 with 59 blocks overall, including 27 in conference games. He has 81 defensive rebounds in 2005-06, ranking third in the league. Aldridge can score as well, leading the Big 12 with 13 double-doubles.
Neal is the second-straight Sooner and fourth overall to win Newcomer of the Year. One of the top long-range threats in the Big 12, the junior college transfer ranks first in conference games in 3-point field goal percentage (.495) and 3-point field goals per game (3.86). He is also averaging a team-best 14.8 points in league action. He has shot 50.0 percent or better from beyond the arc 11 times this season.
Rush is the top scoring freshman in the conference with 15.1 points per game, Rush also ranks seventh with a 6.6 rebounding average. He is the fourth KU player to surpass 400 points (408) in his freshman season. The native of Kansas City, Mo. is the second Jayhawk to win freshman accolades (Jeff Boschee, 1998-99).
Self wins his first Big 12 coaching honor and the third for a Jayhawk mentor. After returning just 21.2 percent of his scoring from a year ago, Self guided KU to a share of the Big 12 regular season championship, its sixth in league annals. Starting three freshmen and two sophomores, Kansas recorded its 18th straight season with at least 22 victories.
The All-Big 12 First, Second, Third and Honorable Mention teams were also announced, while conference coaches also selected All-Defensive and All-Rookie Teams for the first time.
2005-06 PHILLIPS 66 ALL-BIG 12 MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
P.J. Tucker, Texas, F, Jr., 6-5, 225, Raleigh, N.C./Enloe
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LaMarcus Aldridge, Texas, F, So., 6-10, 237, Dallas, Texas/Seagoville
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Michael Neal, Oklahoma, G, Jr., 6-3, 191, Mesquite, Texas/Lon Morris Junior College
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Brandon Rush, Kansas, G, Fr., 6-6, 202, Kansas City, Mo./Mt. Zion Academy (N.C.)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Bill Self, Kansas
Overall Record: 276-128; 13th season Record at Kansas: 69-23; 3rd Season
All-Big 12 First Team
Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown/Previous School(s)
Richard Roby, Colorado G 6-6 195 So. San Bernardino, Calif./Lawrence Academy (Mass.)
Brandon Rush, Kansas G 6-6 202 Fr. Kansas City, Mo./Mt. Zion Academy (N.C.)
LaMarcus Aldridge, Texas F 6-10 237 So. Dallas, Texas/Seagoville
P.J. Tucker, Texas** F 6-5 225 Jr. Raleigh, N.C./Enloe
Jarrius Jackson, Texas Tech G 6-1 185 Jr. Monroe, La./Ouachita
All-Big 12 Second Team
Curtis Stinson, Iowa State G 6-3 215 Jr. Bronx, N.Y./Bronx Regional/Winchendon Prep
Cartier Martin, Kansas State F 6-8 220 Jr. Houston, Texas/Nimitz
Terrell Everett, Oklahoma G 6-4 188 Sr. Charleston, S.C./Southwest Missouri State-West Plains CC
Taj Gray, Oklahoma F 6-9 238 Sr. Wichita, Kan./Redlands Community College (Okla.)
Joseph Jones, Texas A&M F 6-9 250 So. Normangee, Texas/Normangee
All-Big 12 Third Team
Will Blalock, Iowa State G 6-0 205 Jr. Boston, Mass./East/Notre Dame Prep
Thomas Gardner, Missouri G 6-5 213 Jr. Portland, Ore./Jefferson
Brad Buckman, Texas F 6-8 235 Sr. Austin, Texas/Westlake
Daniel Gibson, Texas G 6-2 190 So. Houston, Texas/Jones
Acie Law, Texas A&M G 6-3 185 Jr. Dallas, Texas/Kimball
All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (Listed alphabetically by school)
Aaron Bruce (Baylor), Mario Chalmers & Julian Wright (Kansas), Jimmy McKinney (Missouri), Aleks Maric & Wes Wilkinson (Nebraska), Kevin Bookout & Michael Neal (Oklahoma), Mario Boggan & JamesOn Curry (Oklahoma State), Martin Zeno (Texas Tech)
Big 12 All-Defensive Team
Mario Chalmers, Kansas G 6-1 182 Fr. Anchorage, Alaska/Bartlett
Russell Robinson, Kansas G 6-1 196 So. New York, N.Y./Rice
Taj Gray, Oklahoma F 6-9 238 Sr. Wichita, Kan./Redlands Community College (Okla.)
LaMarcus Aldridge, Texas F 6-10 237 So. Dallas, Texas/Seagoville
P.J. Tucker, Texas F 6-5 225 Jr. Raleigh, N.C./Enloe
Big 12 All-Rookie Team
Curtis Jerrells, Baylor G 6-1 200 Fr. Austin, Texas/Del Valle
Mario Chalmers, Kansas** G 6-1 182 Fr. Anchorage, Alaska/Bartlett
Brandon Rush, Kansas** G 6-6 202 Fr. Kansas City, Mo./Mt. Zion Academy (N.C.)
Julian Wright, Kansas F 6-8 218 Fr. Chicago Heights, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor
Michael Neal, Oklahoma G 6-3 191 Jr. Mesquite, Texas/Lon Morris Junior College
** – Unanimous Selection
