Jones named Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year

Following an up-and-down season, in which they endured a mini COVID-19 outbreak, and battled through winning and losing streaks, Bahamian Kai Jones and the Texas Longhorns celebrated the recognition of six players with the naming of the 2020-21 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball teams on Monday.

The Bahamian was right in the mix, receiving honorable mention for the all-conference teams, but more importantly, becoming the first Longhorns men’s basketball player to earn the conference’s Sixth Man Award since the honor began in 2006-07.

The sophomore forward had a progressive season for the Longhorns, averaging 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He finished tied for second on the team in blocks (19), tied for third in rebounding, was fourth in steals (22) and sixth in scoring while averaging 22.7 minutes per game. Jones shot 56.5 percent from the field (70-for-124) and 36.7 percent mark (11-for-30) from three-point range – both career highs. In fact, he had career high numbers almost across the board. Jones reached double figures in scoring 10 times in his first 23 games, and helped the Longhorns to a 10-1 win/loss record out of the gate.

The Longhorns struggled at the beginning of conference play, but eventually ended up 17-7, 11-6 Big 12 Conference, ending the regular season with three straight wins and as winners in six of their last eight. The Longhorns ended the regular season as the number 13 ranked team in the nation, third in the Big 12 Conference.

The Longhorns will go into the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship later this week as the third seeded team and open up against the sixth seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 

quarterfinals on Thursday. That game will be played at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and will get underway at 9:30 p.m. It will be televised nationally by ESPN or ESPN2. The semifinals are set for Friday and the championship game will be played on Saturday.

As mentioned, Jones was one of just six players to receive postseason honors by the Big 12 Conference on Monday. 

Redshirt junior guard Andrew Jones earned second team honors, while senior guard Matt Coleman III and junior guard Courtney Ramey both claimed third team recognition. Freshman forward Greg Brown, Jones and senior forward Jericho Sims each garnered honorable mention accolades. In addition, Brown earned a spot on the five-person All-Newcomer Team and the five-person All-Freshman Team.

On Sunday, in their final regular season game, Jones had a number of highlight-reel dunks and finished with 10 points, two rebounds, two steals and a block in 23 minutes of action as the Longhorns cruised by the Texas Christian University (TCU) Horned Frogs, 76-64. Jones shot 5-for-9 from the field and missed his only three-point attempt.

Four of Jones’ made baskets came on dunks – a 

couple of which involved plays by him on both ends of the court. With the score tied at 11, he picked off a pass, showed off his dribbling skills by quickly heading down the court in which he criss-crossed a defender twice, and then split two defenders before rising for a two-handed jam. Moments later, Jones recorded a block on the defensive end, sprinted down the court and received an assist from Andrew Jones for a powerful two-handed alley-oop jam in transition. Jones had another dunk at the 5:04 mark of the first half, coming from the baseline and rising for a two-handed jam on an assist from Matt Coleman III to give the Longhorns a 25-22 lead. His final dunk was a thing of beauty, catching a pass from Courtney Ramey and rising for a two-handed alley-oop dunk at the 13:36 mark of the second half to give the Longhorns a 47-38 lead. Jones’ final basket came on a layup with 12 minutes remaining in the game to give the Longhorns a 54-43 lead. The lead never dipped below eight points the rest of the way.

A total of five players scored in double figures for the Longhorns on Sunday. Andrew Jones paced them with a game-high 16 points and added five rebounds and three assists. Coleman dropped in 14 points, and Ramey and Sims scored 13 points apiece for the Longhorns. Jones was the next highest scorer for them with 10.

Junior guard RJ Nembhard paced the Horned Frogs with 13 points, freshman guard Mike Miles had a dozen and sophomore forward Kevin Easley scored 11 off the bench.

Jones and the Longhorns are now preparing for their Big 12 Championship quarterfinal matchup against the Red Raiders on Thursday.

The official All-Big 12 awards were selected by the league’s head coaches. The coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players.

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