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Three Tennessee basketball players earned recognition in the All-SEC awards.
Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie made the All-SEC first team, while freshman forward Nate Ament earned his way onto the second team. Senior center Felix Okpara was selected for the All-Defense team.
The Vols (21-10) finished as the No. 5 seed in the SEC. They received a bye in the SEC Tournament and will play the winner of No. 12 seed Auburn and No. 13 seed Mississippi State at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on March 12 (3 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
Gillespie was the Vols' main ball-handler and one of their top offensive options throughout the season. He averaged 18 points, 5.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals through 31 games and had 12 outings with 20 or more points.
With Gillespie, Tennessee has had a player on the first team for a fifth year in a row. He follows Santiago Vescovi (2022-23), Dalton Knecht (2024), and Zakai Zeigler (2024-25)
For a brief moment, Ament was the Vols' leading scorer above Gillespie and likely could've made the first team. His high ankle sprain, though, kept him out of Tennessee's last two games and slightly dropped his averages. He finished with 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steals.
Ament also made the All-Freshman team.
Okpara was the anchor of the best defense in the SEC. The Vols allowed a conference-best 69.4 points per game, largely due to Okpara's presence around the rim. He grabbed 6.2 rebounds per game and led the team with 1.4 blocks, and had three games with three or more blocks.
Florida's Todd Golden won Coach of the Year, and freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. was named SEC Player of the Year.
SEC First Team:
SEC Second Team
SEC Al-Defensive Team
SEC All-Freshman Team
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]
Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Nate Ament, Ja'Kobi Gillespie make All-SEC for Tenenssee basketball
Continue reading...
Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie made the All-SEC first team, while freshman forward Nate Ament earned his way onto the second team. Senior center Felix Okpara was selected for the All-Defense team.
The Vols (21-10) finished as the No. 5 seed in the SEC. They received a bye in the SEC Tournament and will play the winner of No. 12 seed Auburn and No. 13 seed Mississippi State at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on March 12 (3 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
Gillespie was the Vols' main ball-handler and one of their top offensive options throughout the season. He averaged 18 points, 5.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals through 31 games and had 12 outings with 20 or more points.
With Gillespie, Tennessee has had a player on the first team for a fifth year in a row. He follows Santiago Vescovi (2022-23), Dalton Knecht (2024), and Zakai Zeigler (2024-25)
For a brief moment, Ament was the Vols' leading scorer above Gillespie and likely could've made the first team. His high ankle sprain, though, kept him out of Tennessee's last two games and slightly dropped his averages. He finished with 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steals.
Ament also made the All-Freshman team.
Okpara was the anchor of the best defense in the SEC. The Vols allowed a conference-best 69.4 points per game, largely due to Okpara's presence around the rim. He grabbed 6.2 rebounds per game and led the team with 1.4 blocks, and had three games with three or more blocks.
Florida's Todd Golden won Coach of the Year, and freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. was named SEC Player of the Year.
SEC First Team:
- Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee
- Thomas Haugh, Florida
- Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama
- Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt
SEC Second Team
- Nate Ament, Tennessee
- Rueben Chinyelu, Florida
- Mark Mitchell, Missouri
- Otega Oweh, Kentucky
- Dailyn Swain, Texas
SEC Al-Defensive Team
- Rueben Chinyelu, Florida
- Somto Cyril, Georgia
- Felix Okpara, Tennessee
- Billy Richmond III, Arkansas
- Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt
SEC All-Freshman Team
- Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
- Amari Allen, Alabama
- Nate Ament, Tennessee
- Malachi Moreno, Kentucky
- Meleek Thomas, Arkansas
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]
Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Nate Ament, Ja'Kobi Gillespie make All-SEC for Tenenssee basketball
Continue reading...
