Kentucky’s Ulis named SEC Player of the Year
University of Kentucky sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year by the league’s coaches on Tuesday.
Ulis also was voted the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Ulis led the Wildcats to a share of their 47th SEC regular-season championship in 2015-16. Kentucky opens play in the SEC Tournament in Nashville on Friday night.
As player of the year, Ulis was named to the All-SEC First Team, where he was joined by freshman guard Jamal Murray. Murray also was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Billy Kennedy, who coached Texas A&M to a share of the SEC championship, was named Coach of the Year. LSU standout Ben Simmons was voted Freshman of the Year.
At 5-foot-9, Ulis is the shortest player ever to be named SEC Player of the Year. He becomes the eighth Wildcat to win the award voted on by the coaches. Previous winners were Anthony Davis, John Wall, Keith Bogans, Tayshaun Prince, Ron Mercer, Tony Delk and Jamal Mashburn. Ulis is the fifth Wildcat to win the top defensive award, joining Willie Cauley-Stein, Nerlens Noel, Anthony Davis and Chuck Hayes.
Ulis played a league-high 36.8 minutes per game and averaged 16.6 points, 7.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals this season.
Murray averaged an SEC-best 22.4 points per game against league foes and is averaging 20.0 for the entire season. Murray ranks first in the league in three-point field-goals made per game (3.2), third in scoring (20.0), third in minutes per game (34.9), fourth in three-point field-goal percentage (.421) and ninth in field-goal percentage (.451).
With 619 points this season, he trails only Brandon Knight (657 points in 2010-11) for the most points by a freshman in school history.
Murray is the first Wildcat to reach double figures in 29 straight games since Jodie Meeks did it 32 times in 2008-09, and 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.
All-SEC teams
FIRST TEAM
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
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. A
lex 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.
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
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 Awards
Coach of the Year: Billy Kennedy, Texas A&M
Player of the Year: Tyler Ulis, Kentucky
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Retin Obasohan, Alabama
Freshman of the Year: Ben Simmons, LSU
Sixth-Man of the Year: Duane Notice, South Carolina
Defensive Player of the Year: Tyler Ulis, Kentucky
This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Kentucky’s Ulis named SEC Player of the Year."