Josh Jackson named Big 12 player of the week

By Matt Tait Dec 27, 2016

Nick Krug

Kansas guard Josh Jackson (11) dunks against UNLV during the first half, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Kansas freshman Josh Jackson has added a new accolade to his growing list.

The 6-foot-8 guard from Detroit, who ranks second on the team in scoring through the first 12 games of the 2016-17 season, on Tuesday was named the Big 12 player of the week for his role in helping the Jayhawks roll over UNLV in Las Vegas last Thursday night.

Jackson scored 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting and added nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

Already a two-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honoree this season, Jackson is the first Jayhawk to be selected as both player and newcomer of the week in the same season since Ben McLemore in 2012-13.

Jackson joins senior guard Frank Mason III in receiving Big 12 Player of the Week honors this season. Mason already has earned the accolade twice (Nov. 16 and Dec. 12).

Jackson leads all Big 12 freshmen with 15.6 points per game so far and has led KU in scoring in each of the last two games and three times overall this season. Jackson’s 6.5 rebounds per game average is first on the KU team and ninth in the Big 12.

No. 3 Kansas (11-1) on Friday will travel to TCU (11-1) in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

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49991Josh Jackson named Big 12 player of the week

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.