For the third consecutive season, a Kansas Jayhawk brought home the District VI hardware for player of the year, given out by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
Kansas junior Dedric Lawson followed Devonte’ Graham and Frank Mason III in winning the USBWA honor after averaging 19.1 points and 10.6 rebounds for the Jayhawks during his first season at KU.
Lawson, who transferred to Kansas after two seasons at Memphis, sat out the 2017-18 season and has started all 31 games for the Jayhawks during their 23-8 season so far.
A Naismith Trophy semifinalist and member of the Wooden Award’s final ballot, Lawson has posted four straight double-doubles and led the Big 12 Conference with 20 double-doubles this season.
His scoring average currently ranks as the third highest in the 16-year Bill Self era at Kansas, ranking just behind Mason’s mark of 20.9 during the 2016-17 season and Wayne Simien’s 20.3-point average in 2004-05, and just ahead of Sherron Collins in 2008-09 (18.9), Thomas Robinson in 2011-12 (17.7), Marcus Morris in 2010-11 (17.2), Graham in 2017-18 (17.3) and Andrew Wiggins in 2013-14 (17.1).
Lawson, who earned all-Big 12 first team honors from the coaches and Associated Press earlier this week, posted 15 games of 20 or more points and also led KU with 33 blocks.
He was joined on the 11-man all-District VI team by teammate Devon Dotson, a freshman point guard from Charlotte, who averaged 11.7 points and 3.5 assists in 31 starts for the Jayhawks during the regular season.
Kansas State coach Bruce Weber was named the District VI coach of the year and the rest of the all-District VI squad included: Ty-Shon Alexander (Creighton), Barry Brown Jr. (Kansas State), Tyler Cook (Iowa), Mike Daum (South Dakota State), Christian James (Oklahoma), Nick McGlynn (Drake), James Palmer (Nebraska), Marial Shayok (Iowa State) and Dean Wade (Kansas State).
The USBWA’s District VI includes players and coaches in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
No. 17 Kansas opens postseason play at approximately 8 p.m. Thursday night against Texas in the Big 12 tournament at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. The Jayhawks are the tournament’s third seed, ending a 10-year run of taking the top seed into the Big 12 tourney.
