As the Kentucky Wildcats wrapped up another successful regular season with a 26-5 record including 15-3 in the SEC, multiple Wildcats and Kentucky head coach John Calipari racked up some postseason awards, which included SEC Player of the Year going to Immanuel Quickley and Calipari being named SEC Coach of the Year.
Below is a list of the awards received by the Wildcats following the end of the regular season (courtesy of UK Athletics).
- Immanuel Quickley – SEC Player of the Year (coaches), All-SEC First Team (coaches and AP), USBWA District IV Player of the Year, USBWA All-District IV Team
- Nick Richards – All-SEC First Team (coaches and AP), SEC All-Defensive Team (coaches), USBWA All-District IV Team
- Tyrese Maxey – All-SEC Second Team (coaches), SEC All-Freshman Team (coaches)
- Ashton Hagans – SEC All-Defensive Team (coaches)
- John Calipari – SEC Coach of the Year (coaches), USBWA District IV Coach of the Year
Calipari winning SEC Coach of the Year was surprising, to me. Buzz Williams at Texas A&M seemed like a strong candidate as the Aggies outperformed expectations, but in the end, the award went to Calipari for overcoming a slow start to the season to win the SEC and have his team prepared to be in the mix as the NCAA Tournament approaches.
Immanuel Quickley joins John Wall, Anthony Davis, Tyler Ulis, and Malik Monk as Kentucky players under John Calipari to win either the AP or Coaches SEC Player of the Year. He is also the 17th Wildcat to win the award.
It’s also good to see Nick Richards getting the recognition that he deserves for the season he is having by being named First Team All-SEC. There is no doubt that Richards has been among the best big men in the SEC this year, so it is good to see him be recognized also.
Overall, a very solid list of honors that these players should be proud of. Those four players were the key cogs to this team’s success and are rightfully being recognized for it.
Now hopefully we can add someone being named Final Four Most Outstanding Player...
Tweet of the Day
#TheJourney - The one where we mounted an epic comeback against all odds to win at Florida. #BBN #TGT pic.twitter.com/E1FYsNCDao
— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) March 10, 2020
That was a good one.
Quickies
Quickley discusses journey to SEC Player of the Year - Herald Leader
A great honor for him.
Lunardi says Kentucky could be anywhere from a 2-5 seed - Cats Pause
That’s just absurd.
Kentucky WBB projected as 5 or 6 seed - KSR
It looks like they will miss out on a top four seed and the ability to host.
Freshman running back McClain receiving high praise - KSR
Could he push for playing time this season?
MAC closing tournaments to general public - ESPN
Looks like the MAC will be decided with only a few people on hand.
Why the NCAA could play the tournament without fans - Yahoo
At first, I thought no way... but now, maybe...
NFL rule changes proposed - Yahoo
The Eagles want to provide an alternative to onside kicks.
The LeBron-Giannis MVP race continues to heat up - SI
Who would you pick?