Yves Missi Named Big 12 Men's Basketball Newcomer of the Week

WACO, Texas – Baylor freshman center Yves Missi was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, announced by the league office on Monday afternoon.

Missi had a monster week, averaging 19 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in a win over No. 23 Texas Tech and a three-point loss at No. 4 Kansas.

Missi began the week with a dominating showing against the No. 23 Red Raiders, scoring 17 points and pulling down seven rebounds. The freshman also scored some style points with three highlight-reel dunks that brought the Foster Pavilion crowd to its feet on multiple occasions. Additionally, the center had a career night at the line, hitting seven free throws on eight attempts.

Entering the week as a 53% free throw shooter, Missi showed his continued improvement from the charity stripe on Saturday against Kansas, setting a new career high for a second-straight game, netting nine of his 12 attempts. Those nine points helped him finish with 21 points, his second-career 20-point game and his second in the last five games. He also added a game-high eight rebounds and two more blocks to maintain his place as the league's second-best shot-blocker with 1.7 per contest.

He finished the week shooting 16-for-20 (.800) from the line, and over the last five games, Missi has driven his scoring average up from 9.5 to 11 points per game.

The freshman is BU’s third weekly award winner this year, joining Ja’Kobe Walter, who won Player of the Week on Nov. 13, 2023, and RayJ Dennis, who collected conference Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 27, 2023.

Missi and the Bears will return to the court Tuesday night as they host Oklahoma at 8 p.m., with Rich Hollenberg and Chris Spatola on the call for ESPN2. John Morris and Pat Nunley will have the radio call on the Baylor Sports Media Network via ESPN Central Texas and Centexsportsfan.com on 1660 AM and 92.3 FM.

2023-24 SEASON HONORS

JALEN BRIDGES

• Preseason All-Big 12 (Honorable Mention)
• Julius Erving Preseason Top-20
• NIT Season Tip-Off All-Tournament Team

RAYJ DENNIS

• Preseason All-Big 12 (Honorable Mention)
• NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament MVP
• Big 12 co-Newcomer of the Week (11/27)

YVES MISSI

• Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (2/12)

JA’KOBE WALTER

• Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year
• Jerry West Award Preseason Top-20
• Big 12 Player of the Week (11/13)
• NABC Player of the Week (11/14)
• Wooden Award Preseason Top-50
• NIT Season Tip-Off All-Tournament Team
• Wooden Aw
• ard Midseason Top-25
• Jerry West Award Top-10

BAYLOR'S BIG 12 NEWCOMERS OF THE WEEK

1997 

• Leon Morris (12/30), Fr.

2000 

• Terry Black (11/30), Jr.

2001 

• Chad Elsey (12/18), Jr.

2002 

• Lawrence Roberts (11/26), Fr.
• John Lucas III (12/10), Fr.
• John Lucas III (1/7), Fr.

2005 

• Aaron Bruce (12/27), Fr.
• Tim Bush (1/3), Jr.

2006 

• Curtis Jerrells (2/13), Fr.

2007 

• Tweety Carter (12/18), Fr.

2008 

• LaceDarius Dunn (11/26), Fr.
• LaceDarius Dunn (3/10), Fr.

2009 

• Quincy Acy (11/24), Fr.

2010 

• Ekpe Udoh (11/30), Jr.
• Ekpe Udoh (1/4), Jr.
• Ekpe Udoh (2/15), Jr.

2011 

• Perry Jones III (11/22), Fr.
• Perry Jones III (1/17), Fr.
• Perry Jones III (2/28), Fr.

2012 

• Brady Heslip (12/26), So.
• Pierre Jackson (1/16), Jr.
• Pierre Jackson (2/4), Jr.
• Pierre Jackson (3/4), Jr.

2013 

• Isaiah Austin (11/12), Fr
• Isaiah Austin (12/17), Fr.

2014 

• Kenny Chery (12/9), Jr.
• Kenny Chery (2/17), Jr.

2015 

• Lester Medford (12/8), Jr.
• Johnathan Motley (12/29), Fr.

2017 

• Manu Lecomte (11/14), Jr.
• Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (12/19), Jr.
• Manu Lecomte (1/3), Jr.
• Manu Lecomte (2/13), Jr.

2019 

• Makai Mason (1/28), Sr.
• Jared Butler (2/25), Fr.

2020 

• MaCio Teague (1/13), Jr.
• MaCio Teague (2/10), Jr.

2021 

• Kendall Brown (12/20)
• James Akinjo (1/10)
• James Akinjo (2/14)
• Kendall Brown (3/7)

2022 

• Keyonte George (12/5)
• Keyonte George (1/2)

2023

• RayJ Dennis
• Yves Missi (2/12)