It what should be the first of several postseason awards for the Kentucky Wildcats, Tyler Ulis has been named the SEC Player of the Year by the coaches, the league announced Tuesday.
Despite playing in the same conference with far more hyped up players like Ben Simmons and even Ulis' own teammates Skal Labissiere and Jamal Murray, there's really no question who the league's best player was this season. He's also been one of, if not the best point guard in college basketball while leading the Cats to their 47th SEC regular-season crown.
The Chicago native is the only player in the SEC averaging at least 16.6 points and 7.4 assists or better and is one of just four players nationally to achieve that feat.
Ulis is averaging 16.6 points, an SEC-best 7.4 assists (sixth nationally) and a league-best 3.8 assist-to-turnover ratio (fifth nationally). He’s dished out 10 or more assists in six of his last nine games and scored 20 or more points in 11 of his last 20 games.
Ulis was also named to the SEC's All-Defensive Team and the Defensive Player of the Year. In league play, Ulis has played 672 of a possible 725 minutes in SEC games while frequently locking down opposing guards.
As for Murray, he was named a First-Team All-SEC selection for his outstanding season. Murray has been one of the nation’s best scorers all season long. He currently leads the Wildcats in scoring at 20.0 points per game, which, if the season ended today, would be the highest scoring average at Kentucky in the Calipari era.
Murray has also posted three 30-point games this season, the most by a freshman in school history. He’s currently on a 10-game streak of scoring 20 points or more. That’s the longest such streak for any UK player since Kevin Grevey topped 20 or more points in 12 straight games in 1974-75.
Here is the full list of coaches' SEC awards and honors:
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.
Alex 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