Baylor MBB’s Butler and Mitchell Named to Naismith Midseason Team
WACO, Texas – Baylor junior guards Davion Mitchell and Jared Butler have been named to the Midseason Team for the 2021 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Thursday.
Butler and Mitchell were among 30 players named to the Midseason Team and joined West Virginia’s Derek Culver, Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham and Texas Tech’s Mac McClung to give the Big 12 Conference five players on the team. Baylor is one of four programs with multiple players on the Midseason Team, joining Gonzaga, Illinois and Villanova.
Butler leads the Big 12 in steals per game (2.4), 3-point percentage (.446) and 3-pointers made per game (2.7), ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (17.0), third in field goal percentage (.493), third in assists per game (5.2) and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89). He’s on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 watch list, the Cousy Award top 10 and one of 15 players on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list.
Mitchell leads the conference in field goal percentage (.541) and assists per game (5.8), ranks second in steals per game (2.1), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2), sixth in 3-pointers made per game (2.3) and 14th in scoring (13.7). He joins Butler and Mark Vital to give the Bears three players on the 15-player Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list. Both Mitchell and Butler have won Big 12 Player of the Week honors this season.
Baylor is ranked No. 2 nationally after matching the best start in program history at 17-0, including a 9-0 record in Big 12 play. The Bears have three remaining regular-season games scheduled, with the first two at home against Oklahoma State (Feb. 20) and Iowa State (Feb. 23) and the third on the road at Kansas (Feb. 27). The Big 12 Conference is working with teams to reschedule games which have been postponed.
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2021 JERSEY MIKE’S NAISMITH TROPHY MEN’S MIDSEASON TEAM
Jose Alvarado, Georgia Tech
Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky
Jared Butler, Baylor
Marcus Carr, Minnesota
Justin Champagnie, Pittsburgh
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois
Derek Culver, West Virginia
Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State
Oscar de Silva, Stanford
Hunter Dickinson, Michigan
Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois
Luka Garza, Iowa
Collin Gillespie, Villanova
Quentin Grimes, Houston
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
Herbert Jones, Alabama
Carlik Jones, Louisville
Corey Kispert, Gonzaga
Cameron Krutwig, Loyola-Chicago
E.J. Liddell, Ohio State
Sandro Mamukelashvili, Seton Hall
Mac McClung, Texas Tech
Davion Mitchell, Baylor
Evan Mobley, USC
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova
Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga
Cameron Thomas, LSU
Drew Timme, Gonzaga
Trevion Williams, Purdue
Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton
2020-21 BAYLOR MBB HONORS
Jared Butler
Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List
Naismith Trophy Midseason Team (1 of 30)
Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List (1 of 15)
Cousy Award Top 10
Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List
NCAA National Player of the Week (Jan. 25)
Naismith Trophy Player of the Week (Jan. 25)
Big 12 Player of the Week (Jan. 25)
Preseason All-America Team (Associated Press)
Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year
Preseason All-Big 12 Team (unanimous)
No. 5 on CBS Sports Top 101 Players in College Basketball
No. 2 on The Athletic’s Top 20 Guards in College Basketball
Davion Mitchell
Naismith Trophy Midseason Team (1 of 30)
Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List (1 of 15)
Big 12 Player of the Week (Feb. 1)
No. 67 on CBS Sports Top 101 Players in College Basketball
No. 10 on The Athletic’s Top 20 Guards in College Basketball
MaCio Teague
Jerry West Award Top 10
Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List
Preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention
No. 24 on CBS Sports Top 101 Players in College Basketball
No. 12 on The Athletic’s Top 20 Wings in College Basketball
Mark Vital
Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List (1 of 15)
Preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention
Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List
No. 71 on CBS Sports Top 101 Players in College Basketball