Jeff Withey Named Big 12 Player of the Week

The block party continues for Jeff Withey as he notched 12 blocked shots on his way to a triple double against San Jose State last week. Withey followed that peformance up with a solid effort against Oregon State and the Jayhawk center finished the week with a 16.5 point, 8.5 rebound, 7.5 block per game average over the two game span.

Withey is now the leading shot blocker in the nation and has really established himself as the elite rim protector in the country. For Kansas this has been a huge asset because even if Withey isn't productive offensively, he's basically creating easy scoring opportunities for Kansas and eliminating those same chances for the opponent.

This marks the second consecutive week that a Jayhawk has received this honor. Travis Releford was named Big 12 player of the week following his performance in the CBE Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.

Withey will matchup next weekend with freshman center Josh Smith and the Colorado Buffaloes. Tad Boyle and the Buffaloes jumped out to a hot start this year with wins over Baylor and Murray State before earning a spot in the top 25. A loss this weekend to Wyoming might drop them out of that spot, but they are an interesting matchup for Kansas. The Jayhawks could benefit tremendously from an aggressive Jeff Withey in this one.