Lavender Named Big 12 Mens Basketball Player of the Week

Oklahoma freshman point guard Drew Lavender became the first freshman and the shortest player in the seven-plus-year history of the Big 12 Conference to earn Phillips 66 Player of the Week honors on Tuesday.

Lavender, a 5-7, 155-pounder who is the shortest Sooner since the mid 1940s, won the award after averaging 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in wins over No. 16 Purdue (47-45) and Prairie View A&M (83-56). He led the Sooners in scoring in both games and hit a game-winning seven-footer against the Boilermakers with 1.1 seconds left. Twelve of his game-high 14 points versus Purdue came after halftime. Against Prairie View A&M, Lavender handed out a career-high seven assists to go along with his 13 points.

For the week, the Columbus, Ohio, native shot .500 from the field (11-for-22) and .500 from three-point range (3-for-6).

Lavender is averaging 10.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game on the season. The Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year has led the Sooners in assists in each contest. The last OU freshman to average at least 10.3 points per game in a season was Jeff Webster (18.3 in 1990-91).

The Player of the Week honor is the second straight for Oklahoma. Jason Detrick earned the award last week for his performances against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Michigan State.

The Sooners are 7-0 and ranked No. 8 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today national polls. OU plays again on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. when it hosts Jackson State.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Lavender Named Big 12 Mens Basketball Player of the Week

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