Vanderbilt University doubled up on 2007 SEC coaches' postseason awards as Kevin Stallings was chosen SEC Coach of the Year by his peers and senior guard/forward Derrick Byars was selected SEC Player of the Year by the league's coaches. Florida teammates Lee Humphrey and Chris Richard earned SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and SEC's Sixth Man of the Year honors, respectively. Arkansas' duo of Patrick Beverley and Steven Hill earned the SEC Freshman of the Year award and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors, respectively.
Stallings led Vanderbilt (20-10, 10-6) to a second place finish in the SEC East Division and a first-round bye at the SEC Tournament. Its the Commodores first bye in the tournament since winning the overall SEC crown with a 14-2 league mark in 1993. The Commodores are a No. 2 seed for the first time since the league expanded prior to 1992. Vanderbilt won 10 league games this year for the first time since 1993.
Byars garnered SEC Player of the Year honors in leading Vanderbilt to a 20 win season and a 10-6 mark in SEC play. Byars was also a unanimous All-SEC First Team selection. Byars finished second in scoring during SEC play with 19.1 ppg.
Humphrey earned the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for the second straight year, sporting a 3.68 grade-point average in Applied Physiology. He is a 2006-07 First Team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America selection. Humphrey helped SEC Champion Florida to a 26-5 mark, 13-3 in league play.
Richard won the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year award. UF's first man off the bench, Richard has been a rock for the Gators, providing defense when necessary or even giving them an offensive boost when needed. Known for being a solid post-defender, Richard also chimes in with 5.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He is hitting 66.0 percent from the floor.
Beverley was awarded the SEC Freshman of the Year award. Beverley leads all SEC freshmen in scoring, steals and minutes played. He also ranked among SEC individual leaders in eight of 13 categories, tying LSU's Glen Davis for the most in the league. Beverley was one of four unanimous picks for the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Hill earned the SEC Defensive Player of the Year award. Hill leads the league in blocked shots (3.0). Defensively, he helped limit Jermareo Davidson to 2-of-9 and 3--of-9 shooting, Glen Davis to 6-of-16, Brandon Wallace to 2-of-8 and Dwayne Curtis to 4-of-10.
A complete list of the 2007 SEC Men's Basketball postseason awards follows.
FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Corey Brewer, Florida F 6-9 185 Jr. Portland, Tenn.
Al Horford, Florida C 6-10 245 Jr. Puerto Plata, D.R.
Joakim Noah, Florida F 6-11 232 Jr. New York, N.Y.
Randolph Morris, Kentucky F/C 6-11 259 Jr. Atlanta, Ga.
Glen Davis, LSU F 6-9 295 Jr. Baton Rouge, La.
Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State G/F 6-4 225 So. Nashville, Tenn.
Tre' Kelley, South Carolina# G 6-0 188 Sr. Washington, D.C.
Chris Lofton, Tennessee# G 6-2 200 Jr. Maysville, Ky.
Derrick Byars, Vanderbilt# G/F 6-7 230 Sr. Memphis, Tenn.
SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Jermareo Davidson, Alabama F 6-10 230 Sr. Atlanta, Ga.
Richard Hendrix, Alabama F 6-8 265 Fr. Athens, Ala.
Patrick Beverley, Arkansas G 6-1 172 Fr. Chicago, Ill.
Taurean Green, Florida G 6-0 177 Jr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Sundiata Gaines, Georgia G 6-1 205 Jr. Jamaica, N.Y.
Todd Abernethy, Ole Miss G 6-1 190 Sr. Carmel, Ind.
Clarence Sanders, Ole Miss G 6-2 180 Sr. Phenix City, Ala.
Charles Rhodes, Mississippi State F/C 6-8 240 Jr. Jackson, Miss.
Shan Foster, Vanderbilt G/F 6-6 200 Jr. Kenner, La.
SEC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown
Patrick Beverley, Arkansas# G 6-1 172 Chicago, Ill.
DeWayne Reed, Auburn G 6-1 175 Houston, Texas
Derrick Jasper, Kentucky G 6-6 213 Paso Robles, Calif.
Jodie Meeks, Kentucky# G 6-5 206 Norcross, Ga.
Ben Hansbrough, Mississippi State G 6-3 200 Poplar Bluff, Mo.
Barry Stewart, Mississippi State G 6-2 165 Shelbyville, Tenn.
Dominique Archie, South Carolina F 6-7 204 Augusta, Ga.
Wayne Chism, Tennessee# F 6-9 245 Bolivar, Tenn.
Duke Crews, Tennessee F 6-7 233 Hampton, Va.
Ramar Smith, Tennessee# G 6-2 185 Mt. Clemens, Mich.
SEC COACH OF THE YEAR
Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt
SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Derrick Byars, Vanderbilt
SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Lee Humphrey, Florida
SEC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Patrick Beverley, Arkansas
SEC SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Chris Richard, Florida
SEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Steven Hill, Arkansas
#-Unanimous Selection; Ties are not broken