Ben Simmons, Antonio Blakeney earn SEC honors

Simmons named Freshman of the Year/First Team All-SEC; Blakeney All-Freshman team

By CODY WORSHAM
Tiger Rag Editor

Two Tigers earned SEC postseason honors, as voted by the league’s coaches, the conference announced Tuesday.

Ben Simmons was named SEC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-SEC, and he joined fellow frosh Antonio Blakeney on the All-Freshman team.

Simmons is the fourth Tiger to earn Freshman of the Year honors, joining Brandon Bass (2004), Glen Davis (2005), and Tyrus Thomas (2006). In 31 games for the Tigers, he’s averaged 19.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game, the only player in league history to finish in the top five in those four categories.

Blakeney heated up in conference play, improving on his season-long averages of 12.5 points per game and 34.7 percent shooting from 3 to 14.2 points on 37.7 percent 3-point shooting in league games only.

First-team and second-team All-SEC honorees, All-Freshman team, All-Defensive team, along with Player, Coach and Freshman, Defensive, Sixth-Man and Scholar-Athlete of the Year were chosen by the league’s 14 coaches. Ties were not broken.

A complete list of the 2016 SEC Men’s Basketball postseason awards follows:

First Team All-SEC
Retin Obasohan, Alabama – G, 6-2, 210, Sr., Antwerp, Belgium
Jamal Murray, Kentucky – G, 6-4, 207, Fr., Kitchener, Ontario
Tyler Ulis, Kentucky – G, 5-9, 160, So., Chicago, Ill.
Ben Simmons, LSU – F, 6-10, 240, Fr., Melbourne, Australia
Stefan Moody, Ole Miss – G, 5-10, 179, Sr., Kissimmee, Fla.
Michael Carrera, South Carolina – F, 6-5, 214, Sr., Anzoátegui, Venezuela
Jalen Jones, Texas A&M – G/F, 6-7, 220, Sr., Dallas, Texas
Damian Jones, Vanderbilt – C, 7-0, 245, Jr., Baton Rouge, La.

Second Team All-SEC
Moses Kingsley, Arkansas – F, 6-10, 230, Jr., Abuja, Nigeria
Dorian Finney-Smith, Florida – F, 6-8, 220, Sr., Portsmouth, Va.
J.J. Frazier, Georgia – 5-10, 155, G, Jr., Glennville, Ga.
Yante Maten, Georgia – 6-8, 240, F, So., Pontiac, Mich.
Kevin Punter Jr., Tennessee – G, 6-2, 190, Sr., Bronx, N.Y. A
lex Caruso, Texas A&M – G, 6-5, 186, Sr., College Station, Texas
Danuel House, Texas A&M – G, 6-7, 212, Sr., Fresno, Texas
Wade Baldwin IV, Vanderbilt – G, 6-3, 194, So., Belle Mead, N.J.

SEC All-Freshman Team
KeVaughn Allen, Florida – G, 6-2, 183, Fr., Little Rock, Ark.
Jamal Murray, Kentucky – G, 6-4, 207, Fr., Kitchener, Ontario
Antonio Blakeney, LSU – G, 6-4, 190, Fr., Sarasota, Fla.
Ben Simmons, LSU – F, 6-10, 240, Fr., Melbourne, Australia
Quinndary Weatherspoon, Mississippi State – G, 6-4, 202, Fr., Canton, Miss.
Kevin Puryear, Missouri – F, 6-7, 236, Fr., Blue Springs, Mo.
Tyler Davis, Texas A&M – C, 6-10, 265, Fr., Plano, Texas
DJ Hogg, Texas A&M – F, 6-8, 216, Fr., Plano, Texas

SEC All-Defensive Team
Retin Obasohan, Alabama – G, 6-2, 210, Sr., Antwerp, Belgium
Moses Kingsley, Arkansas – F, 6-10, 230, Jr., Abuja, Nigeria
Tyler Ulis, Kentucky – G, 5-9, 160, So., Chicago, Ill.
Sindarius Thornwell, South Carolina – G, 6-5, 215, Jr., Lancaster, S.C.
Alex Caruso, Texas A&M – G, 6-5, 186, Sr., College Station, Texas
Luke Kornet, Vanderbilt – F, 7-1, 240, Jr., Lantana, Texas

SEC Coach of the Year: Billy Kennedy, Texas A&M

SEC Player of the Year:  Tyler Ulis, Kentucky

SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year:  Retin Obasohan, Alabama

SEC Freshman of the Year:  Ben Simmons, LSU

SEC Sixth-Man of the Year: Duane Notice, South Carolina

SEC Defensive Player of the Year:  Tyler Ulis, Kentucky