Gators earn Coach Player of the Year honors

Birmingham, Ala. -- The Southeastern Conference unveiled its men's basketball coaches postseason awards Tuesday to cap off another exciting season of SEC basketball.

Florida's Billy Donovan earned SEC Coach of the Year honors.

"I am extremely humbled to be named SEC Coach of the Year by my peers," Donovan said. "This league has outstanding coaches and a number of deserving candidates to win the award. I'm fortunate and blessed to have a great group of players, assistant coaches and staff - this honor is more a reflection of their work and effort than anything that I have done."

Voted on by his fellow coaches, Donovan became the second coach in UF history to win the award (Lon Kruger - 1992, 1994) after leading the Orange and Blue to its fifth SEC Championship in school history.

Donovan, who owns two national titles and four SEC titles, possesses the second-best winning percentage (.710) through 500 games in league history (Kentucky's Adolph Rupp, .842). The dean of SEC coaches is currently third all-time in wins as an SEC coach (355).

In addition, Florida senior forward Chandler Parsons was selected SEC Player of the Year by the league's coaches.

After averaging 11.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game, Parsons is the only Gator in the 79-year history of the SEC to pick up the honor.

Kentucky's Terrence Jones took the SEC Freshman of the Year award and Mississippi State's Riley Benock earned SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. Sam Muldrow of South Carolina was picked as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year while Tennessee's Brian Williams earned SEC Sixth Man of the Year honors.

This is the first SEC Coach of the Year honor for Donovan, who led the Gators to a 13-3 mark in league play and a 24-6 overall record. Donovan currently has the third-most wins by an SEC coach with 355, trailing only Kentucky's Adolph Rupp (876) and LSU's Dale Brown (448).

Parsons garnered SEC Player of the Year honors in leading Florida to a 24-win season and the SEC championship. He becomes the first Florida player to be named SEC Player of the Year by the league's coaches. The versatile senior averages 11.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

Jones led the SEC in rebounding (9.2 rpg) in league games while ranking fifth in scoring with 17.1 points per game. He led the SEC with 11 double-doubles on the season.

Benock earned the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, sporting a 3.97 grade-point average in Kinesiology.

Muldrow's 3.9 blocked shots per game against SEC teams led the league and he ranks fourth nationally with 3.4 blocks per game on the season.

Williams won the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year award after averaging seven points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game.

Coaches voted on eight member teams for First Team All-SEC, Second Team All-SEC and for the SEC All-Freshman Team. They voted on a five-player squad for the SEC All-Defensive Team. They were not permitted to vote for their own players and ties were not broken.

A complete list of the 2011 SEC Men's Basketball postseason awards follows.

First Team All-SEC

JaMychal Green, Alabama - F, 6-8, 228, Jr., Montgomery, Ala.

Chandler Parsons, Florida - F, 6-1-, 218, Sr., Casselberry, Fla.

Trey Thompkins, Georgia - F, 6-10, 245, Jr., Lithonia, Ga.

Terrence Jones, Kentucky - F, 6-8, 244, Fr., Portland, Ore.

Brandon Knight, Kentucky - G, 6-3, 185, Fr., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Chris Warren, Ole Miss - G, 5-10, 168, Sr., Orlando, Fla.

Scotty Hopson, Tennessee - G, 6-7, 200, Jr., Hopkinsville, Ky.

John Jenkins, Vanderbilt - G, 6-4, 215, So., Hendersonville, Tenn.

Second Team All-SEC

^Tony Mitchell, Alabama - F, 6-6, 210, So., Swainsboro, Ga.

^Rotnei Clarke, Arkansas - G, 6-0, 184, Jr., Verdigris, Okla.

^Kenny Boynton, Florida - G, 6-2, 183, So., Pompano Beach, Fla.

Erving Walker, Florida - G, 5-8, 171, Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Travis Leslie, Georgia - G, 6-4, 205, Jr., Decatur, Ga.

Dee Bost, Mississippi State - G, 6-2, 176, Jr., Concord, N.C.

Tobias Harris, Tennessee - F, 6-8, 226, Fr., Dix Hills, N.Y.

Festus Ezeli, Vanderbilt - C, 6-11, 255, R-Jr., Benin City, Nigeria

Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt - F, 6-7, 225, Jr., Norrkoping, Sweden

SEC All-Freshman Team

Trevor Releford, Alabama - G, 6-1, 180, Fr., Shawnee Mission, Kan.

Patric Young, Florida - F/C, 6-9, 245, Fr., Jacksonville, Fla.

Terrence Jones, Kentucky - F, 6-8, 244, Fr., Portland, Ore.

Brandon Knight, Kentucky - G, 6-3, 185, Fr., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Doron Lamb, Kentucky - G, 6-4, 195, Fr., Queens, N.Y.

Ralston Turner, LSU - G, 6-6, 193, Fr., Muscle Shoals, Ala.

Bruce Ellington, South Carolina - G, 5-9, 194, Fr. Moncks Corner, S.C.

Tobias Harris, Tennessee - F, 6-8, 226, Fr., Dix Hills, N.Y.

SEC All-Defensive Team

Delvon Johnson, Arkansas - F, 6-9, 220, Sr., Chicago, Ill.

DeAndre Liggins, Kentucky - G, 6-6, 210, Jr., Chicago, Ill.

Reginald Buckner, Ole Miss - F, 6-8, 233, So., Memphis, Tenn.

Sam Muldrow, South Carolina - F/C, 6-9, 222, Sr., Florence, S.C.

Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt - F, 6-7, 225, Jr., Norrkoping, Sweden

SEC Coach of the Year: Billy Donovan, Florida

SEC Player of the Year: Chandler Parsons, Florida

SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Riley Benock, Mississippi State

SEC Freshman of the Year: Terrence Jones, Kentucky

SEC Sixth-Man of the Year: Brian Williams, Tennessee

SEC Defensive Player of the Year: Sam Muldrow, South Carolina

^-Ties are not broken