2011-12 SEASON REVIEW Robinson was the 2012 Big 12 Player of the Year, while Withey was the conference’s defensive player of the year. Taylor and Robinson were unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selections, while Withey was a third-team all-conference choice and a member of the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. Self was named co-Big 12 Coach of the Year along with Iowa State’s Fred Hoiberg. Conference coaches were not allowed to vote for their own schools in their selections. Kansas' regular starters for 2011-12 were (from left to right): Travis Releford, Jeff Withey, Thomas Robinson, Elijah Johnson and Tyshawn Taylor.
Included are 49 times when the Jayhawks have appeared in the AP Top 10. After finishing No. 2 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll released April 3, KU has been ranked in each of the last 68 coaches polls with 53 appearances in the Top 10. Kansas Wins March Awards Prior to the 2012 NCAA Tournament Kansas had already earned a couple of national titles in March. On March 14, the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) and the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced KU the winner of the inaugural Naismith Student Section of the Year Award. The title came with a $5,000 cash award, which Kansas Athletics directed to the university’s general scholarship fund. A formal presentation of the award will take place at a home men’s basketball game at the beginning of the 201213 season. The Naismith Awards Board of Selectors chose the Kansas basketball student section for the award from a field of eight finalists. An original field of some 80 entries was narrowed to eight by two rounds of public Facebook votes. Selection criteria included the student section’s name and attendance, as well as photos, video, a write-up submitted by the nominating school, as well as a weighted score based on the public vote. The contest was launched nationally Nov. 15. KU led the way into the final round of scoring with the highest vote tally throughout the first and second rounds of the public vote.
Robinson’s honor was the seventh time that a Kansas men’s basketball student-athlete has been named Big 12 Player of the Year. Robinson joined former Jayhawk greats Raef LaFrentz (1997 and 1998), Drew Gooden (2002), Nick Collison (2003), Wayne Simien (2005) and Marcus Morris (2011) in earning Big 12 Player of the Year honors. It marked the 14th time in school history a Jayhawk was named his conference’s player of the year. Withey joined Mario Chalmers (2007 and 2008) and Cole Aldrich (2010) in earning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Self was named the top coach for the third time in the last four seasons and fourth time overall after leading KU to its school-record eighth consecutive Big 12 regular season crown. He also earned Big 12 Coach of the Year accolades in 2006, 2009 and 2011 and his four Big 12 Coach of the Year honors are more than any other mentor in the 16-year history of the league. Conference Titles With its eighth-straight Big 12 regular-season championship in 2012 and Gonzaga not winning the 2012 West Coast title, Kansas is now the nation's active consecutive conference regular-season champion leader. Kansas' 55 conference regularseason titles are first among NCAA Division I schools.
On March 13, Inside Higher Ed declared KU the champion of the 2012 “Academic NCAA Tournament,” which is based on the Academic Progress Rates of the 68 teams in the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. KU also won that competition in 2010 and reached the “Final Four” in 2011. Kansas on 2012 All-Big 12 Teams Kansas junior Thomas Robinson, senior Tyshawn Taylor, junior Jeff Withey and head coach Bill Self highlighted the 2012 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball accolades as selected by the head coaches.
2011-12 Kansas Accolades
TEAM -Finished the season ranked No. 2 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the Associated Press Poll -NCAA Runner-Up -NCAA Midwest Region Champions -Big 12 Conference regular-season champions BILL SELF -Naismith Coach of the Year -Naismith Coach of the Year Finalist -Sporting News National Coach of the Year -Dick Vitale's National Coach of the Year -co-Big 12 Coach of the Year CHRISTIAN GARRETT -Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Spring 2012) -Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Spring 2012) -Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Fall 2011) -Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall 2011) JORDAN JUENEMANN -National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court -Academic All-Big 12 First Team -Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Spring 2012) (4.0 GPA) -Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Spring 2012) (4.0 GPA) -Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Fall 2011) -Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall 2011) TRAVIS RELEFORD -Big 12 Player of the Week (1/9) THOMAS ROBINSON -Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Spring 2012) -Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Spring 2012) -NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team -Consensus All-America First Team -AP All-America First Team -John R. Wooden Award All-American -NCAA Midwest Region MOP and All-Tournament Team -NABC All-America First Team -Nasmith Men's College Player of the Year Finalist -NABC All-District Team -USBWA All-America First Team -John R. Wooden Award Finalist -USBWA District VI Player of the Year -USBWA All-District VI -Sporting News All-America First Team -ESPN.com National Player of the Year -ESPN.com All-America First Team -Big 12 Player of the Year (Big 12 & AP) -All-Big 12 First Team (Big 12 & AP) -Dick Vitale's All-Solid Gold First Team -Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year Midseason Watch List -Big 12 Player of the Week (2/27) -Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List -John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Candidate -Dick Vitale's No. 1 Midseason National Player of the Year (1/4) -Big 12 Player of the Week (1/2)
Jeff Withey, the 2012 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, blocked a school and Big 12 season record 140 shots in 2011-12. Withey also had an NCAA Tournament record 31 blocked shots in KU's run to the NCAA title game.
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