Agbaji named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week
IRVING, Texas – Kansas freshman Ochai Agbaji (OCH-eye, uh-BAH-gee) averaged 17.0 point and 8.5 rebounds in his first two career starts and has been named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week in a vote by a media panel which covers the league, the conference announced Monday.
Agbaji pulled his redshirt prior to the TCU game (1/9) and is coming off his first double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in Kansas’ 79-63 win over No. 16 Texas Tech (2/2). The Texas Tech performance came after his first-career start at Texas (1/29), where the Kansas City, Missouri, guard posted a career-high 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds and two steals. In just eight games, Agbaji is averaging 22.5 minutes, 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and is shooting 54.3 percent from the floor.
Agbaji becomes the fourth different Jayhawk to be named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week this season, a feat already claimed seven times in 2018-19 for Kansas. Redshirt-junior forward Dedric Lawson has been the league newcomer of the week four times (12/3, 12/17, 1/14, 1/28), while Quentin Grimes was named on Nov. 12 and Devon Dotson on Dec. 31. Including KU’s five Big 12 Player of the Week honors this season, the Jayhawks have amassed 12 league weekly accolades in 2018-19, which is more than any other league team. The program record for Big 12 weekly awards is 13 earned during the 2016-17 campaign.
No. 11/12 Kansas (16-5, 5-3) hits the road for the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at Kansas State (16-5, 6-2), Tuesday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. (Central) on ESPN. Kansas State and Baylor currently hold a half-game lead in the Big 12 race with 6-2 league records. Kansas and Iowa State are tied for second at 6-3.
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