After securing its first SEC regular-season title since 2002, Alabama basketball was well-represented when the conference announced its postseason awards Tuesday.
Nate Oats was named SEC Coach of the Year, while forward Herbert Jones was named Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
In addition to individual accolades, the Crimson Tide had four players named to various All-SEC teams. Jones and John Petty Jr. earned first-team honors while Jaden Shackelford was named to the second team. Jones was also included in the all-defense squad, while Joshua Primo earned all-freshman team honors.
In his second year as head coach, Oats has led Alabama to a 21-6 record, including a 16-2 mark in SEC play. The Tide’s 21 wins are its highest regular-season total since the 2012-2013 campain. Alabama’s 16 conference wins match the program’s highest regular-season total set by the 1986-87 team which also finished 16-2 in league play. Oats is also one of 10 semifinalists named for this year’s Naismith Coach of the Year award.
Jones is the sixth Alabama player to earn SEC Player of the Year honors and first since Erwin Dudley during the 2001-02 season. He is the first Alabama player to earn SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Jones is the third player to be named both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year by the SEC. Kentucky's Tyler Ulis (2015-16) and Anthony Davis (2011-12) also picked up both honors.
Jones is averaging 10.9 points while leading Alabama in rebounds (6.1 per game), assists (3.1 per game), steals (1.7 per game), blocks (1.0 per game) and 3-point percentage (45.5). He is one of just two players in the nation named as semifinalists for the Naismith Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Petty ranks second on Alabama averaging 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds. The senior guard is shooting 44.6 percent from the floor and 38.6 percent from beyond the arc. He's also stepped his game up on the defensive end, ranking third on the team averaging 1.2 steals and .5 blocks per game.
Shackelford is Alabama's leading scorer, averaging 14.4 points per game. The sophomore guard is also averaging 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 40.8 percent from the floor and 33.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Primo has taken on a starting role for Alabama in his first year with the team. The freshman guard is averaging 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 42.1 percent from the floor and 38.6 percent from distance.
Individual awards
Coach of the Year: Nate Oats, Alabama
Player of the Year: Herbert Jones, Alabama
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Dylan Disu, Vanderbilt
Freshman of the Year: Moses Moody, Arkansas
Sixth-Man of the Year: JD Notae, Arkansas
Defensive Player of the Year: Herbert Jones, Alabama
First Team All-SEC
Herbert Jones, Alabama
John Petty Jr., Alabama
Moses Moody, Arkansas
Tre Mann, Florida
Cameron Thomas, LSU
Devontae Shuler, Ole Miss
Dru Smith, Missouri
Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
Jaden Shackelford, Alabama
Colin Castleton, Florida
Sahvir Wheeler, Georgia
Javonte Smart, LSU
Trendon Watford, LSU
D.J. Stewart Jr., Mississippi State
Jeremiah Tilmon, Missour
iAJ Lawson, South Carolina
All-Freshman Team
Joshua Primo, Alabama
Moses Moody, Arkansas
Sharife Cooper, Auburn
KD Johnson, Georgia
Isaiah Jackson, Kentucky
Cameron Thomas, LSU
Keon Johnson, Tennessee
Jaden Springer, Tennessee
All-Defensive Team
Herbert Jones, Alabama
Isaiah Jackson, Kentucky
Abdul Ado, Mississippi State
Dru Smith, Missouri
Yves Pons, Tennessee
