February 10, 2003
Texas A&M freshman Antoine Wright is the Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season. The forward/guard averaged tied a career high with 25 points against No. 3 Texas last Saturday and averaged 18 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games last week.
Kansas senior Kirk Hinrich has been named Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week for the second time this season. The guard averaged 26 points in two victories for KU last week. Both honors are chosen by a media panel.
Wright tied his career with 25 points while making 5-of-9 from three-point range, and added seven rebounds in a 95-87 loss to No. 3-ranked Texas on Saturday. In two games last week, the San Bernardino, Calif., forward/guard averaged 18 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
For the season Wright is averaging 16.7 points and 7.6 rebounds and could challenge the Big 12 freshman record in both categories. He's also made 53 three-pointers and needs 26 to tie the Big 12 freshman mark. Wright has made at least two three-pointers in 11 straight games and has scored in double figures in 18 straight contests. He's had at least five rebounds in all but two games.
Wright earns Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors for the fourth time this season, which ties for the second most in the seven-year history of the league. Aggie Clifton Cook holds the single-season rookie of the week record with being named five times during the 1998-99 campaign. Iowa State's Marcus Fizer was a four-time honoree in 1997-98 as well.
Hinrich put together perhaps his best back-to-back games of the year in wins over No. 21 Missouri 76-70 at home and on the road at Kansas State 82-64. The Sioux City, Iowa, guard led the team with 26 points per game for the week on an unbelievable 72.4 percent shooting from the field and 54.5 percent from beyond the arc. Hinrich also averaged 4.0 boards, 6.5 assists and 2.5 steals for the week. Hinrich tallied team-highs of 24 points and eight assists against Missouri, shooting 10-of-13 from the field. He also had a game-high four steals against the Tigers. Hinrich came back on Saturday to record a game-high 28 points (just one off his career high) on 11-of-16 shooting from the field to go with five boards and five assists. Hinrich has led KU in scoring 16 times this year and boasts 10 games with 20+ points. He has earned the honor twice this season and four times in his career.