POLISH THE HARDWARE

Big 12 coaches pick Houston guard as player of year and top defender

Big 12 coaches pick Houston guard as player of year and top defender
Jamal Shead is taking home some hardware. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images.

Houston senior point guard Jamal Shead was voted by Big 12 coaches as the conference's player of the year after helping lead the top-ranked Cougars to the regular-season title in their inaugural season in the league.

Shead, also tabbed as the top defensive player, was the only unanimous pick on the first team announced Sunday. He goes into the postseason averaging 13.2 points, 6.2 assists and 2.3 steals.

The other first-team picks were Kansas senior center Hunter Dickinson, the Michigan transfer who was also newcomer of the year, along with Iowa State sophomore guard Tamin Lipsey, Kansas guard Kevin McCullar Jr. and Texas forward Dylan Disu.

Kelvin Sampson of the Cougars (28-3) was named by his Big 12 peers as coach of the year.

Baylor guard Ja'Kobe Walter was picked as freshman of the year.

The Associated Press will release its All-Big 12 teams and individual awards Tuesday.

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Yordan Alvarez is still having issues with his hand. Composite Getty Image.

Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez has experienced a setback in his recovery from a broken right hand and will see a specialist.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Alvarez felt pain when he arrived Tuesday at the team's spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he had a workout a day earlier. Alvarez also took batting practice Saturday at Daikin Park.

He will be shut down until he's evaluated by the specialist.

“It’s a tough time going through this with Yordan, but I know that he’s still feeling pain and the soreness in his hand,” Brown said before Tuesday night's series opener at Colorado. “We’re not going to try to push it or force him through anything. We're just going to allow him to heal and get a little bit more answers as to what steps we take next.”

Alvarez has been sidelined for nearly two months. The injury was initially diagnosed as a muscle strain, but when Alvarez felt pain again while hitting in late May, imaging revealed a small fracture.

The 28-year-old outfielder, who has hit 31 homers or more in each of the past four seasons, had been eyeing a return as soon as this weekend at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now it's uncertain when he'll play.

“We felt like he was close because he had felt so good of late,” Brown said, “but this is certainly news that we didn't want.”

You can watch Brown discuss the setback in the video below.

Also Tuesday, the Astros officially placed shortstop Jeremy Peña on the 10-day injured list with a fractured rib and recalled infielder Shay Whitcomb from Triple-A Sugar Land.

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