+
sports
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017
Jackson suspended from first Big 12 tournament game
CHANDLER BOESE
@Chandler. Boese
@Chandler_Boese
Kansas freshman guard Josh Jackson is set to appear in
is set to appear in court later this month for hitting a car in a parking lot on campus, Coach Bill Self has suspended Jackson from the first game of the Big 12 Championship as a result of the incident.
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Coach Bill Self talks to freshman guard Josh Jackson on the sidelines of the game against Duke. Kansas won 77-75.
According to a clerk at the Lawrence Municipal Court, Jackson has three traffic citations: hitting an unattended vehicle, inattentive driving and improper backing. The incident occurred on Feb. 2, his court date for the charges is set for March 27.
In a news release from Kansas Athletics, Self said Jackson hit an unattended car in a parking lot and left without leaving his contact information.
knowledged his responsibility and has handled it himself, he didn't tell me about it until Monday," Self said in the release. "He should have left his contact information at the time and notified us immediately."
A clerk at the court said the incident happened on campus, in lot 103, which is located west of Self and Oswald residence halls on Daisy Hill.
Kansas is scheduled to play Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. They will play the winner of the Wednesday evening game between TCU and Oklahoma.
Jackson is also facing an unrelated misdemeanor charge for a December vandalism. His court date for that incident is set for April 12.
- Edited by Frank Weirich
Miranda Angia/KANSAN
Miranda Anaja/ KANSAN
Senior guard Frank Mason III goes up for a three-pointer. Kansas defeated Oklahoma, 73-64, on Feb. 27.
Tracking KU basketball's postseason accolades
JORDAN WOLF
@JordanWolfKU
As the college basketball postseason kicks into full gear, Kansas constantly receives countless awards and honors.
The recognition should come as no surprise. This year's Kansas team is one of the most successful in recent memory, and will likely carry the No.1 overall seed into the NCAA tournament.
Unfortunately for the sake of Jayhawk Nation's sanity, not every award is announced at once. Conference honors, nods of individual publications and the countless "official" awards are distributed across the entire postseason, with seemingly little coordination.
To better understand and fully realize the swath of accolades Kansas has received, the Kansan has compiled a comprehensive list that will be updated as the postseason progresses and more are announced. Check back here periodically to stay updated on the Jayhawks' accomplishments during awards season.
SENIOR GUARD FRANK MASON III Big 12 Player of the Year (Minimous)
(Unanimous)
AP B12 Player of the Year
All-Big 12 First Team
(Unanimous)
AP All-Big 12 First Team (Unanimous)
USA Today All-American First Team
Sporting News All-American First Team
NBC Sports All-American First Team (Unanimous)
USBWA All-District VI Team
USA Today National Player of the Year
Sporting News National Player of the Year
NBC Sports National Player of the Year
Bleacher Report National Player of the Year
USBWA District VI Player of the Year
-Wooden Award (National Player of the Year) - Announced April 7
A Master/Senior Instructor:
-Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award - Announced April 7
Finalist/Semifinalist for:
Naismith Trophy (National Player of the Year) - Four finalists announced March 19
FRESHMAN GUARD JOSH JACKSON
Senior CLASS Award
Announced during Final Four
Big 12 Freshman of the Year AP Big 12 Newcomer of the Year
Year
All-Big 12 First Team
AP All-Big 12 First Team
Big 12 All-Newcomer Team
8. 2 All-Newcomer Team (Unanimous)
(Unanimous) Sporting News All-American Second Team
Sporting News Freshman All-American
USA Today All-American Second Team
Second Team
NBC Sports All-American
Second Team
USBWA All-District VI Team
Finalist/Semifinalist for:
Naismith Trophy (Nation-
-Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award -Announced April 7
February of the Year
Four finalists announced
March 19
Player of the Year) - Announced April 7
March 19
Announced April 7
JUNIOR GUARD DEVONTE' GRAHAM All-Big 12 Second Team AP All-Big 12 Second Team
AP All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
SENIOR CENTER
All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
SENIOR CENTER
LANDEN LUCAS
— Four finalists announced March 16
Naismith Memorial Basketball
Sports Illustrated All-Glue Team
COACH BILL SELF
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Year - Four finalists announced March 16
of the Year
Finalist/Semifinalist for:
Naisim Coach of the
COACH BILL SELF
Big 12 Coach of the Year
AP Big 12 Coach of the Year
USBWA District VI Coach
of the Year
basketball Hall of Fame — Announced April 7
Maicke: Westbrook is absolutely the NBA MVP
Associated Press
Associated Press Oklahoma City Thunder guard sucker Westbrook goes up for a shot between Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J McCollum and forward A-faroug Aminu in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game.
MIKE MAICKE
MIKE MAICKE
@MJ_Maicke
A couple weeks ago, Houston's James Harden was being touted as the favorite to win the award by the majority of broadcasters, analysts and even Las Vegas. Yesterday, it was San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard who was the surefire MVP after the horrible clown show that is SportsNation irresponsibly wore an egregious bias on their sleeve, as a banner was held the entire 30 minutes saying "Kawhi for MVP."
Recently, I can't tell if people are just not educated about what it means to be the MVP, or if everyone on major sports networks are just trying to rile-people up with their hipster takes about who is truly the most valuable player.
Don't get me wrong, I love Leonard. He's a pivotal part of the team that I've been picking to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals since October. He's a fantastic defender and arguably the best two-way player in the league, and any other year he'd have a damn good case for MVP.
But not this year, not with Westbrook doing what hasn't been done since 1961.
It's an age-old ambiguity.
What exactly is the "Most Valuable Player?" Should
This isn't called the "most outstanding player;" the word "value" is in there for a reason. So while James, Leonard and Harden are all fantastic and important to their teams, they simply don't have the comparative "value" to their teams that Russell Westbrook has.
we just give it to Cleveland's LeBron James every year because he's still the best player on the planet?
They simply don't have the comparative 'value' to their teams that Russell Westbrook has."
The supporting cast around James, Harden and Leonard is so drastically better than what Westbrook has to deal with in Oklahoma City. In fact, I'd say that the average fan couldn't name another player on the team after Durant left.
That's what makes Westbrook's 10 assists per game so remarkable. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get an assist on the Thunder nowadays?
The Houston Rockets lead the NBA in three-point shots made, the Cavaliers are
second. Westbrook and the Thunder come in at 26. I'm saying this because Westbrook does not have the luxury of simply driving, having the defenders collapse on him, then kicking it out to an effective shooter like Harden and James do.
Most of the assists that Westbrook gets are results of his unbelievable athleticism and vision, not the result of the general manager bringing a lot of shooters to the team.
Averaging a triple-double on such a mediocre team is the most impressive individual feat that we've seen in our generation. With 32 points and just over 10 rebounds and assists per game, Westbrook's player efficiency rating clocks in at 30.22, which is absurdly high.
Leonard, Harden and James are all fantastic players, but when you hypothetically take them away from their respective teams, they would suffer a fraction of what OKC would suffer if Westbrook was gone.
Remember, it's the most "valuable" player, and Westbrook adds more value to his team than anyone in the league.
Edited by Frank Weirich