Houston's Kelvin Sampson is The Associated Press Big 12 coach of the year for the second year in a row and Cougars guard LJ Cryer is the league’s top player after another regular-season conference title for the second-ranked program.
Texas Tech sophomore JT Toppin was named the newcomer of the year Tuesday and was a unanimous pick on the AP All-Big 12 first team. The New Mexico transfer is the only Big 12 player who ranks top three in both scoring (18.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.3 rpg).
Joining Cryer and Toppin as AP first-team picks were 7-foot-2 Kansas graduate center Hunter Dickinson, BYU junior Richie Saunders and West Virginia senior Javon Small.
Houston has won the Big 12 regular-season title in both seasons since joining the league after winning back-to-back American Athletic Conference titles. The Cougars (27-4) set Big 12 and school records by winning 19 conference games.
Cryer is averaging 15.3 points a game and is the league's top 3-pointer shooter making 43.1% (93 of 216) of his long-range shots. The 6-foot-1 Texas native has started all 68 games for Houston the past two seasons after beginning his college career with three years at Baylor, where he was part of two other Big 12 regular-season titles and as a freshman was on their 2021 national championship team.
It is the second year in a row for a Cougar to be the AP Big 12 player of the year. Jamal Shead, now in the NBA with Toronto, took the honor last season.
A pair of Baylor newcomers, graduate transfer forward Norchad Omier and freshman guard VJ Edgecombe, were second-team picks along with UCF junior Keyshawn Hall, Arizona senior guard Caleb Love, and Iowa State senior guard Curtis Jones.
The AP's individual awards and All-Big 12 honors were determined through voting by media members covering the league.
First team
u-F JT Toppin, Texas Tech, 6-9, 225, So., Dallas.
G LJ Cryer, Houston, 6-1, 200, Gr., Katy, Texas.
C Hunter Dickinson, Kansas, 7-2, 265, Gr., Alexandria, Virginia.
G/F Richie Saunders, BYU, 6-5, 196, Jr., Riverton, Utah.
G Javon Small, West Virginia, 6-3, 190, Sr., South Bend, Indiana.
u-unanimous pick
Second team
G VJ Edgecombe, Baylor, 6-5, 180, Fr, Bimini, Bahamas.
G/F Keyshawn Hall, UCF, 6-7, 235, Jr., Cleveland.
G Caleb Love, Arizona, 6-4, 205, Sr., St. Louis.
G Curtis Jones, Iowa State, 6-4, 195, Sr., Minneapolis.
G/F Norchad Omier, Baylor, 6-7, 244, Gr., Bluefields, Nicaragua.
Individual honors
Coach of the year – Kelvin Sampson, Houston.
Player of the year – LJ Cryer, Houston.
Newcomer of the year – JT Toppin, Texas Tech.
Voting panel
AP All-Big 12 voting panel: Brice Cherry, Waco Tribune-Herald; David Collier, KAMC-TV, Lubbock, Texas; Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald, Provo, Utah; Joseph Durate, Houston Chronicle; Rob Gray, The Cedar Rapids Gazette; Henry Greenstein, Lawrence Journal-World; Sean Keeler, The Denver Post; Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel; Bruce Pascoe, Arizona Daily Star; Pat Rooney, Boulder Daily Camera; Mick Shaffer, KSHB 41-TV, Kansas City; Tyler Waldrep Tulsa World; Sean Walker, KSL.com.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll
