...is the rivals.com All-SEC team this year. In case you haven't seen it, here it is. Note that stats are for SEC play only. Since it is the All-SEC team, I think they should be judged by what they did against each other / common opponents.
First Team:
G Devan Downey (18.1points, 3rd; 5.1assists, 2nd; 3steals, 1st)
G Jamont Gordon (17.5points, 7th; 6.3rebounds, 15th; 4.9assists, 3rd; 34% 3pt, 14th)
F Shan Foster (20.1points, 2nd; 42% 3pt, 6th)
F Tyler Smith (13.5points, 23rd; 7.8rebounds, 7th; 3.7assists, 9th)
F Richard Hendrix (16.3points, 13th; 10.1rebounds, 2nd; 1.5steals, 8th)
Second Team:
G Ramel Bradley (16.9points, 11th; 3.7assists, 8th; 1.9steals, 3rd)
G Sundiata Gaines (15.8points, 17th; 6.6rebounds, 12th; 3.8assits, 7th; 1.5steals, 6th)
G Chris Lofton (17.9points, 5th; 47% 3pt, 1st)
C Dwayne Curtis (13.8poinst, 22nd; 10.1rebounds, 1st; 60% FG, 2nd)
F Patrick Patterson (16.2ppg, 14th; 7.3rpg, 9th; 53% FG, 5th)
So why didn't these guys get in?
F Charles Rhodes (17.7points, 6th; 8.1rebounds, 6th; 1.33blocks, 9th; 57% FG, 4th)
Obviously, there may be a little bias here. I'll try to exclude it. The only All-SEC "forward" to score more points than Rhodes (17.7) was Shan Foster (20.1). The only All-SEC big men to average more rebounds than Rhodes (8.1) were the league leaders, Curtis and Hendrix (10.1 each). The only All-SEC player to have more blocks than Rhodes (1.33) was Richard Hendrix (1.87). Their justification for Foster for player of the year were his two monster games towards the end of the season, and I have no problem with him getting it - he was extremely clutch. But if they're putting more emphasis on the later games, none of the other All-SEC forwards had better finishes than Rhodes. Rhodes averaged 23.6points during his last 5 SEC games. I would have put him in place of either Patterson or Curtis.
G Marcus Thornton (21.6points, 1st; 42% 3pt, 5th)
How you can't find a way to include the SEC LEADER in points scored is beyond me. He led #2 Shan Foster by 1.5ppg, and shot the same 3pt %. He's not amongst the lead leaders in anything other than the scoring category, but neither is Foster or Lofton. I'm not saying he's better than either of them, but he had a DARN good SEC stretch. If you have better stats than the SEC Player of the Year, then you gotta at least be on one of the All-SEC Teams. Don't punish a guy just because he's on a 6-10 team. During his last 5 SEC games, he averaged 26.4 points per game, including two 35+ point outings in his last 3 games. And if you take off his 2pt, 4min game @ Arkansas, the kid averaged 22.9 points in his other 15 SEC games. Incredible.
They had Kevin Stallings as the Coach of the Year. I didn't really look into the coaches, but I would've given Gillespie some consideration, the way they turned their season around winning 11 of their last 13 games, with losses @Vandy and @Tenn.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what grinds my gears.
Edited for spelling
First Team:
G Devan Downey (18.1points, 3rd; 5.1assists, 2nd; 3steals, 1st)
G Jamont Gordon (17.5points, 7th; 6.3rebounds, 15th; 4.9assists, 3rd; 34% 3pt, 14th)
F Shan Foster (20.1points, 2nd; 42% 3pt, 6th)
F Tyler Smith (13.5points, 23rd; 7.8rebounds, 7th; 3.7assists, 9th)
F Richard Hendrix (16.3points, 13th; 10.1rebounds, 2nd; 1.5steals, 8th)
Second Team:
G Ramel Bradley (16.9points, 11th; 3.7assists, 8th; 1.9steals, 3rd)
G Sundiata Gaines (15.8points, 17th; 6.6rebounds, 12th; 3.8assits, 7th; 1.5steals, 6th)
G Chris Lofton (17.9points, 5th; 47% 3pt, 1st)
C Dwayne Curtis (13.8poinst, 22nd; 10.1rebounds, 1st; 60% FG, 2nd)
F Patrick Patterson (16.2ppg, 14th; 7.3rpg, 9th; 53% FG, 5th)
So why didn't these guys get in?
F Charles Rhodes (17.7points, 6th; 8.1rebounds, 6th; 1.33blocks, 9th; 57% FG, 4th)
Obviously, there may be a little bias here. I'll try to exclude it. The only All-SEC "forward" to score more points than Rhodes (17.7) was Shan Foster (20.1). The only All-SEC big men to average more rebounds than Rhodes (8.1) were the league leaders, Curtis and Hendrix (10.1 each). The only All-SEC player to have more blocks than Rhodes (1.33) was Richard Hendrix (1.87). Their justification for Foster for player of the year were his two monster games towards the end of the season, and I have no problem with him getting it - he was extremely clutch. But if they're putting more emphasis on the later games, none of the other All-SEC forwards had better finishes than Rhodes. Rhodes averaged 23.6points during his last 5 SEC games. I would have put him in place of either Patterson or Curtis.
G Marcus Thornton (21.6points, 1st; 42% 3pt, 5th)
How you can't find a way to include the SEC LEADER in points scored is beyond me. He led #2 Shan Foster by 1.5ppg, and shot the same 3pt %. He's not amongst the lead leaders in anything other than the scoring category, but neither is Foster or Lofton. I'm not saying he's better than either of them, but he had a DARN good SEC stretch. If you have better stats than the SEC Player of the Year, then you gotta at least be on one of the All-SEC Teams. Don't punish a guy just because he's on a 6-10 team. During his last 5 SEC games, he averaged 26.4 points per game, including two 35+ point outings in his last 3 games. And if you take off his 2pt, 4min game @ Arkansas, the kid averaged 22.9 points in his other 15 SEC games. Incredible.
They had Kevin Stallings as the Coach of the Year. I didn't really look into the coaches, but I would've given Gillespie some consideration, the way they turned their season around winning 11 of their last 13 games, with losses @Vandy and @Tenn.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what grinds my gears.
Edited for spelling
