University of Colorado freshman guard Isaiah Johnson was named co-Big 12 Conference Player and Newcomer of the Week for men’s basketball games played during the week of March 2-8, according to a March 9 announcement.
The recognition highlights Johnson’s strong performance in recent games, underscoring his impact as a first-year player. He shared both awards with Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou. The two were also joined by BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright and Kansas’ Tre White on the Big 12 Starting Five, an honor voted on by a media panel covering the conference.
Johnson averaged a conference-best 25.0 points per game last week, along with 4.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in matchups against Utah and No. 2 Arizona. He shot over 54 percent from the field and nearly 95 percent from the free throw line. Against Arizona, he recorded his ninth game this season with at least 20 points, scoring a team season-high of 28 points while making seven out of fourteen shots from the field and ten out of eleven free throws. In the game against Utah, Johnson scored 22 points on six-of-ten shooting from the field and made all eight free throw attempts. He also contributed four assists and three steals against Utah, as well as five assists against Arizona.
During the Arizona game, Johnson became Colorado’s freshman season scoring leader with a total of 526 points, surpassing Alec Burks’ previous record of 512 set in the 2009-10 season. This marks Johnson as Colorado’s first Big 12 Player of the Week since Alec Burks received the honor on February 8, 2011.
The Big 12 Starting Five is a new weekly award that recognizes standout performances across the conference; Johnson is Colorado’s second honoree this season after Bangot Dak earned it on February 23.
In addition to these honors, Johnson received honorable mention to the All-Big 12 Team for the current season. He ranks third among freshmen in Big 12 scoring at an average of seventeen points per game—fifteenth nationally—and holds eleventh place in free throw percentage and thirteenth in overall scoring within the conference rankings. If he maintains his pace, he will become just the eighth freshman to lead Colorado in scoring for an entire season.
