Two Kansas Jayhawks make first-team all-Big 12 in vote of league’s hoops coaches

Kansas Jayhawks seniors Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar are first-team all-Big 12 in men’s basketball, the league announced Sunday.

Dickinson, who played his first three seasons of college basketball at Michigan, also was selected as the league’s newcomer of the year in a vote of the conference’s coaches.

Houston’s Jamal Shead, on the first team (as the only unanimous selection) with McCullar, Dickinson, Tamin Lipsey of Iowa State and Dylan Disu of Texas, is the league’s player of the year.

The all-Big 12 second team consists of: RayJ Dennis, Baylor; L.J. Cryer, Houston; Keshon Gilbert, ISU; Emanuel Miller, TCU; and Max Abmas, UT.

The third team is: Baylor’s Jalen Bridges and Ja’Kobe Walter; Texas Tech’s Pop Isaacs and Darrion Williams; and Houston’s J’Wan Roberts.

KU’s KJ Adams, Johnny Furphy and Dajuan Harris were honorable mention all-league. Arthur Kaluma and Tylor Perry of Kansas State were honorable mention all-conference,

KU’s Harris was named to the league’s all-defensive team for the third straight year, along with Lipsey, Shead, Yves Missi of Baylor and John Newmann of Cincinnati.

Dickinson was joined on the all-newcomer team by Dennis, Gilbert, Abmas and Tech’s Williams.

Furphy of KU was joined on the all-freshman team with Walter and Missi of Baylor, Joseph Tugler of Houston and Milan Momciloic of Iowa State.

Houston’s Kelvin Sampson is Big 12 Coach of the Year.

In other awards, Shead not only was player of the year in the league but also defensive player of the year. BU’s Walter was freshman of the year, BYU’s Jaxson Robinson the sixth man award winner and Disu of Texas most improved player.

It’s the fourth time in Big 12 history a KU player has been named the league’s newcomer of the year. Dickinson joins Malik Newman (2018), Dedric Lawson (2019) and David McCormack (2021).

Furphy is the fifth KU player to be named to the Big 12 all-freshman team that started in 2019. He joins Devon Dotson (2019), Christian Braun (2020), Adams (2022) and Gradey Dick (2023). The Big 12 all-defensive team started in 2006 and Harris’ inclusion marks the 23rd time a Jayhawk has been named to that five-player squad.

KU (22-9, 10-8) will open play in the Big 12 tournament as the No. 6 seed. The Jayhawks will meet either West Virginia or Cincinnati at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Cincy and West Virginia will meet at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

K-State is the No. 10 seed and will face No. 7 Texas at 6 p.m. Wednesday at T-Mobile Center.