Baylor men’s basketball junior point guard Manu Lecomte has been named Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Co-Newcomer of the Week, as voted on by a panel of media members and announced Monday by the conference office.
Lecomte is a Brussels, Belgium, native, who transferred to Baylor after playing his first two collegiate seasons at Miami (Fla.). He sat out last season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules and made his Baylor debut in Friday’s season-opening 76-61 win over Oral Roberts.
Lecomte posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 assists, while committing zero turnovers in 35 minutes. He added a team-high three steals and contributed to 53 percent of Baylor’s points through either his own scoring or assists that led to field goals for teammates. All 11 of Lecomte’s assists can be seen in this video: youtu.be/bXDYWCGbD08.
Kansas’ Frank Mason was named Big 12 Player of the Week after scoring 30 points in Kansas’ loss to Indiana, and TCU’s Jaylen Fisher shared co-Newcomer of the Week honors with Lecomte after posting 13 points and seven assists in TCU’s win over Saint Thomas.
This marks the first time a Baylor player has earned the honor since Johnathan Motley on Dec. 29, 2014. Lecomte is the 20th different Baylor player to be recognized as the league’s Newcomer of the Week in the conference’s 21-year history. Those players have won the award a combined 30 times, with 24 of those coming in the last 13 years under Scott Drew. BU players won the award six times in the league’s first eight years.
The Bears’ last four starting point guards have earned the award, first with Pierre Jackson (2012), followed by Kenny Chery (2014), Lester Medford (2015) and now Lecomte (2017).
Baylor hosts No. 5 Oregon at 2:30 p.m. CT Tuesday as part of the ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon on ESPN2. The Ducks are the highest AP-ranked non-conference opponent to ever visit Waco, and BU has an opportunity to record a win over its highest-ranked opponent in Ferrell Center history. For tickets, call the Baylor Athletics Ticket Office at 254-710-1000 or visit www.BaylorBears.com/tickets.
