Kyle Zedaker/Tennessee Athletics
A banner year isn’t possible without some banner performances. Tennessee swept the SEC Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year awards announced by the SEC close to noon on Tuesday. Admiral Schofield was also named to the All-SEC Second Team.
Leads @Vol_Hoops in scoring and has started each of the Vol's last 58 games—the longest active streak on the team.
@GrWill2 is the #SECMBB Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/vAWHwUtLIq
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) March 6, 2018
Williams’ player of the year award is the Vols’ first since Chris Lofton in 2007. He’s been the heart and soul of the Vols’ championship run. He leads Tennessee and is fourth in the SEC in scoring at 15.4 points per game and is second behind Admiral Schofield in rebounds with 5.8 per game. Of the Vols’ 30 regular season games, he scored 15 or more points in 20 of them. Don’t forget his monster jams or simple domination in the paint.
#SECMBB Plays of the Year
Dunk of the Year nominee: @Vol_Hoops' Grant Williams put him on a poster pic.twitter.com/hXzlDQ5A8E
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) March 1, 2018
How about Rick Barnes? The third-year Tennessee coach has taken the Vols from picked No. 13 by preseason SEC media to the No. 13 spot in the AP Poll and a share of the SEC regular season title. That’s with just one senior, James Daniel III, on the roster.
Led his team to a 23-7 overall record and a share of the SEC regular season title. @RickBarnesUT is the #SECMBB Coach of the Year. pic.twitter.com/h4PkRFoPGZ
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) March 6, 2018
He took largely the same team from last year’s 16-16 campaign and made them seven wins better. Seven! That includes an improvement from last year’s 8-10 conference record to the 13-5 mark this season, the first time the Vols won 13 SEC games since the 2007-08 season.
Tennessee is a No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament and is staring down a potential No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament depending on its performance in the NCAA Tournament. Barnes developed Williams into a conference player of the year, Lamonte Turner to a 3-point sharpshooter and has roster depth that built the Vols to a tournament contender.
Bringing the heat off the bench. @JontayPorter and @LTurn1 are the #SECMBB 6th Men of the Year. pic.twitter.com/3RASuSDwoj
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) March 6, 2018
Last but not least is Lamonte Turner, the Co-6th Man of the Year award alongside Missouri’s Jontay Porter. He averaged just over 10 points a game this season, but was best known for his 3-point ability, especially in the clutch. He helped the Vols beat Georgia on Saturday with two key 3-pointers late, and has done as much for pretty much the whole season.
#VolNation stand up!
Tennessee's Lamonte Turner hits the go-ahead 3-pointer with 0:25 remaining, and Admiral Schofield's ensuing dunk secured the Volunteers' 61-59 victory. pic.twitter.com/J4BhywIDpX
— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) February 7, 2018
LAMONTE TURNER YOU DEVIL pic.twitter.com/Bn347rS9gF
— Jordan Dajani (@JordanDajani) November 22, 2017
Turner notched a career-high 25 points twice this season and is easily the most electric scorer the Vols have off the bench.
AP Voters picked Goergia’s Yante Manten as SEC Player of the Year and Barnes as coach of the year. You can view those awards here.
FULL AWARDS
FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
Jaylen Barford, Arkansas
Chris Chiozza, Florida
Yante Maten, Georgia
Kevin Knox, Kentucky
Kassius Robertson, Missouri
Chris Silva, South Carolina
Grant Williams, Tennessee
Tyler Davis, Texas A&M
SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC
Collin Sexton, Alabama
Daryl Macon, Arkansas
Bryce Brown, Auburn
Jared Harper, Auburn
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kentucky
Quinndary Weatherspoon, Miss. State
Admiral Schofield, Tennessee
Jeff Roberson, Vanderbilt
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM</span
Collin Sexton, Alabama
Daniel Gafford, Arkansas
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kentucky
Kevin Knox, Kentucky
Tremont Waters, LSU
Nick Weatherspoon, Miss. State
Jontay Porter, Missouri
TJ Starks, Texas A&M
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Donta Hall, Alabama
Anfernee McLemore, Auburn
Chris Chiozza, Florida
Chris Silva, South Carolina
Robert Williams, Texas A&M
Coach of the Year: Rick Barnes, Tennessee
Player of the Year: Grant Williams, Tennessee
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Juwan Parker, Georgia
Co-Freshman of the Year: Collin Sexton, Alabama & Kevin Knox, Kentucky
Co-Sixth-Man of the Year: Jontay Porter, Missouri & Lamonté Turner, Tennessee
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Silva, South Carolina & Robert Williams, Texas A&M
