Big East Honors & Awards

With UConn and King Kemba picking up the Huskies' third championship since 1999, the Big East season is officially in the books. That means it's time to recognize the Big East's brightest stars. Honors and awards take into account the entirety of the season, rather than just Big East conference play.

All-Big East

Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame
#23 Senior Guard 6-3 205
18.4 ppg 4.3 apg 3.9 rpg

Kemba Walker, Connecticut
#15 Junior Guard 6-1 170
23.5 ppg 5.4 rpg 4.5 apg

Dwight Hardy, St. John's
#12 Senior Guard 6-2 195
18.3 ppg 2.9 rpg 1.3 spg

Austin Freeman, Georgetown
#15 Senior Guard 6-3 235
17.6 ppg 3.7 rpg 2.4 apg

Marshon Brooks, Providence
#2 Senior Guard 6-5 190
24.6 ppg 7.0 rpg 1.5 spg


Player of the Year: Kemba Walker, Connecticut
RBP's choice for National Player of the Year also takes home the conference hardware, but Marshon Brooks deserves special recognition for putting together a pretty incredible season while toiling in obscurity at Providence.

All-Defense

Preston Knowles, Louisville
#2 Senior Guard 6-1 190

D.J. Kennedy, St. John's
#1 Senior Forward 6-5 215

Gilbert Brown, Pittsburgh
#5 Senior Forward 6-6 215

John Flowers, West Virginia
#41 Senior Forward 6-7 215

Rick Jackson, Syracuse
#00 Senior Forward 6-9 240


Defensive Player of the Year: Preston Knowles, Louisville
While Rick Jackson put up impressive numbers in Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone (2.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per contest), Knowles, who averaged 1.9 swipes per contest, gets the nod for spearheading the nation's fourth most efficient defense.

Freshman of the Year: Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut
Lamb, who averaged 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest and finished the season with 11 straight games of double-digit scoring, is the choice here, but fellow UConn frosh Shabazz Napier deserves recognition for his stingy defense and playmaking.

Coach of the Year: Jim Calhoun, Connecticut
Rick Pitino, Jamie Dixon, Steve Lavin, and Mike Brey all turned in worthy performances, but Calhoun earns top honors (despite the Huskies' .500 regular season conference record) for winning the National Championship with a team that wasn't even ranked in the preseaon top 25.

And now for some regionally appropriate hip-hop.

SEC Honors & Awards

Kentucky reached the Final Four for the first time since 1998, but the Wildcats' fell to UConn last night, which means it's time to honor the SEC's finest. Honors and awards take into account the entirety of the season, rather than just SEC conference play.

All-SEC

Brandon Knight, Kentucky
#12 Freshman Guard 6-3 185
17.3 ppg 4.2 apg 4.0 rpg

John Jenkins, Vanderbilt
#23 Sophomore Guard 6-4 215
19.5 ppg 3.0 rpg 1.2 apg

Terrence Jones, Kentucky
#3 Freshman Forward 6-8 245
15.7 ppg 8.8 rpg 1.9 bpg

JaMychal Green, Alabama
#1 Junior Forward 6-8 230
15.5 ppg 7.5 rpg 2.1 bpg

Trey Thompkins, Georgia
#33 Junior Forward 6-10 245
16.4 ppg 7.6 rpg 1.7 bpg


Player of the Year: Brandon Knight, Kentucky
Vanderbilt's John Jenkins may have been the league's most potent scorer, but Brandon Knight was the league's best player, displaying a deft shooting touch and heady leadership all while leading the Cats to the Final Four as a freshman point guard.

All-Defense

DeAndre Liggins, Kentucky
#34 Junior Guard 6-6 210

Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt
#44 Junior Forward 6-7 225

Reginald Buckner, Mississippi
#2 Sophomore Forward 6-8 235

Delvon Johnson, Arkansas
#21 Senior Forward 6-9 220

Sam Muldrow, South Carolina
#44 Senior Forward 6-9 230


Defensive Player of the Year: Sam Muldrow, South Carolina
Muldrow, who averaged 3.4 blocks per contest, did his his best Jarvis Varnado impression this year, swatting five or more attempts in nine games.

Freshman of the Year: Brandon Knight, Kentucky
Knight, the SEC's best player, is the choice, but teammate Terrence Jones, who struggled toward the end of the season, deserves recognition for a fantastic freshman campaign in which the versatile forward showed off an array of skills and, at times, took over on the offensive end of the floor.

Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Kentucky
Prior to the SEC conference tourney, Alabama's Anthony Grant would have been RBP's pick for SEC Coach of the Year, but Cal gets the nod after leading his extremely young (and extremely talented) squad to the Final Four.

And now for some regionally appropriate hip-hop.

ACC Honors & Awards

With North Carolina's elimination from the NCAA tournament at the hands of Kentucky in the Elite Eight, the ACC season has come to a close. Now for a look back at the conference's best. Remember that honors and awards take into account the entirety of the season, rather than just ACC conference play.

All-ACC

Nolan Smith, Duke
#2 Senior Guard 6-2 185
20.6 ppg 5.1 apg 4.5 rpg

Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech
#23 Senior Guard 6-3 190
18.7 ppg 4.0 apg 1.6 spg

Reggie Jackson, Boston College
#0 Junior Guard 6-3 210
18.2 ppg 4.5 apg 4.3 rpg

Kyle Singler, Duke
#12 Senior Forward 6-8 230
16.9 ppg 6.8 rpg 1.6 apg

Tyler Zeller, North Carolina
#44 Junior Forward 7-0 250
15.7 ppg 7.2 rpg 1.2 bpg


Player of the Year: Nolan Smith, Duke
While his senior campaign was, to some extent, overshadowed by Jimmer and Kemba, Smith was spectacular whether he was playing off the ball or running the point during freshman Kyrie Irving's prolonged absence.

All-Defense

Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech
#1 Junior Guard 6-5 210

Chris Singleton, Florida State
#31 Junior Forward 6-9 225

Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech
#0 Senior Forward 6-7 230

John Henson, North Carolina
#31 Sophomore Forward 6-10 210

Bernard James, Florida State
#5 Junior Forward 6-10 240


Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Singleton, Florida State
Missing six games due injury may have cost him a spot on the All-ACC team, but, Singleton, who averaged 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks game, is the choice for the conference's top defender, edging out UNC's John Henson and his 3.2 blocks per contest.

Freshman of the Year: Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
It took a while for one of the most hyped freshman in history to get going, but Barnes finished the season on an absolute tear, averaging 19.8 points per game over the Tar Heels' final 14.

Coach of the Year: Leonard Hamilton, Florida State
The under-appreciated Hamilton gets the nod as his Seminoles went 11-5 in conference play, compiled 23 totals wins, reached the Sweet 16, and finished the season with the nation's most efficient defense for the second year in a row.

And now for some regionally appropriate hip-hop.