By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Baylor head coach Scott Drew dealt with injury after injury after injury this season. And through all that, the most decorated coach in school history still found a way to get his 2021-22 team to share the Big 12 title.
The Bears saw forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua go down to a season ending knee injury. Their leading scorer LJ Cryer was basically unavailable for the last month of the season due to his foot injury. Their point guard James Akinjo had bruised tailbone. Their 3-point specialist Adam Flagler had to fight a through a nagging knee injury.
Yet Drew continued to push the right buttons. On Sunday evening the Big 12 named him Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season.
Baylor also cleaned up more honors. Point guard James Akinjo was named to the all-conference first team. Tchamwa Tchatchoua was one of three who shared co-Defensive Player of the Year honors. Freshman Jeremy Sochan was named the conference’s 6th man of the Year.
Kendall Brown and Sochan were unanimous selections on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team, Akinjo was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team and Tchamwa Tchatchoua was honored on the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.
Baylor finished the season winning its last five (26-5, 14-4) and earned a share of the conference title with Kansas with a 75-68 victory over Iowa State in the regular season finale. The Bears likely will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when the field is announced Sunday.
Sochan is the third Baylor player to win the award in the last five seasons and the sixth BU player named Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year since 2009, joining LaceDarius Dunn (2009), Quincy Acy (2011), Taurean Prince (2015), Terry Maston (2018) and Devonte Bandoo (2020).
Everyday Jon’s Big 12 co-Defensive Player of the Year honor was shared when there was a three-way tie in voting between Tchamwa Tchatchoua, OSU’s Moussa Cisse and WVU’s Gabe Osabuohien. Tchamwa Tchatchoua’s selection marks a second-straight year the Bears have had a Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honoree after Davion Mitchell became the first conference Defensive Player of the Year in program history a season ago.
Baylor athletics contributed to this report.
Publisher
Baylor head coach Scott Drew dealt with injury after injury after injury this season. And through all that, the most decorated coach in school history still found a way to get his 2021-22 team to share the Big 12 title.
The Bears saw forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua go down to a season ending knee injury. Their leading scorer LJ Cryer was basically unavailable for the last month of the season due to his foot injury. Their point guard James Akinjo had bruised tailbone. Their 3-point specialist Adam Flagler had to fight a through a nagging knee injury.
Yet Drew continued to push the right buttons. On Sunday evening the Big 12 named him Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season.
Baylor also cleaned up more honors. Point guard James Akinjo was named to the all-conference first team. Tchamwa Tchatchoua was one of three who shared co-Defensive Player of the Year honors. Freshman Jeremy Sochan was named the conference’s 6th man of the Year.
Kendall Brown and Sochan were unanimous selections on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team, Akinjo was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team and Tchamwa Tchatchoua was honored on the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.
Baylor finished the season winning its last five (26-5, 14-4) and earned a share of the conference title with Kansas with a 75-68 victory over Iowa State in the regular season finale. The Bears likely will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when the field is announced Sunday.
Sochan is the third Baylor player to win the award in the last five seasons and the sixth BU player named Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year since 2009, joining LaceDarius Dunn (2009), Quincy Acy (2011), Taurean Prince (2015), Terry Maston (2018) and Devonte Bandoo (2020).
Everyday Jon’s Big 12 co-Defensive Player of the Year honor was shared when there was a three-way tie in voting between Tchamwa Tchatchoua, OSU’s Moussa Cisse and WVU’s Gabe Osabuohien. Tchamwa Tchatchoua’s selection marks a second-straight year the Bears have had a Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honoree after Davion Mitchell became the first conference Defensive Player of the Year in program history a season ago.
Baylor athletics contributed to this report.
