JT Toppin was named player and newcomer of the year to headline the Texas Tech basketball team's all-Big 12 honors.

The panel voted Texas Tech's impact transfer, J.T. Toppin, as the Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Year. Houston's Kelvin Sampson and Texas Tech's Grant McCasland shared the honor of Big 12 Coach of the Year.

A few weeks ago, while preparing to be the sideline reporter on an Arizona State-Texas Tech game, I was asked by a producer whom I believed should be the Big 12 Player of the Year. I had to think for a second.