Baylor junior forward Johnathan Motley was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, as voted on by a panel of media members and announced Monday by the conference office.
Motley became the first player in program history to earn the Big 12’s Player of the Week award four times. He was previously recognized on Feb. 22 last season and on Nov. 28 and Dec. 9 this season. Motley’s three awards this season tie LaceDarius Dunn (2010) for most by a BU player in a single season.
A Houston native, Motley averaged 23.5 points, 14.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks in 33.0 minutes per game while leading Baylor to wins vs. Texas and at TCU.
He posted 32 points and 20 rebounds in Tuesday’s win over Texas, becoming the first player to post a 30-20 game in Big 12 play since Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin in 2009. Motley’s 20 rebounds tied the most in a Big 12 game in program history, and he became the fourth different BU player to post a 30-20 game. He had 23 points and 14 rebounds in the second half alone. In Saturday’s win at TCU, Motley had 15 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
With five double-doubles in his last eight games, Motley leads the Big 12 with seven double-doubles on the season, and his 12 career double-doubles are most among all active Big 12 players. For the season, Motley ranks seventh in the Big 12 with 15.7 points per game, second with 9.6 rebounds per game, ninth with a .514 field goal percentage and 10th with 1.2 blocks per game. His efforts have led the Bears to their best 19-game start in program history at 18-1. Baylor is also 6-1 in Big 12 play for the first time in the league’s 21-year history.
Motley’s three honors this season, combined with Manu Lecomte earning the same award on Dec. 5, give the Bears a school-record-tying four Big 12 Player of the Week honors in the same season. BU players also earned four honors in 2008, 2010 and 2014. Baylor has had 18 different players recognized a total of 33 times, and 16 of those 33 honors have come in the last five seasons.
Texas’ Jarrett Allen was named Newcomer of the Week after averaging 19.5 points and 14.5 rebounds in losses at Baylor and at Kansas.
The No. 5-ranked Bears host Texas Tech at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday on ESPNEWS. BU then travels to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT (ESPN2) and then heads to Lawrence, Kan., to face No. 2 Kansas on Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. CT (ESPN).
