STARKVILLE, Miss. ? When the Southeastern Conference unveiled its men’s basketball honors on Tuesday, Mississippi State was well represented.
?For the second year in a row, the league coaches tabbed Jarvis Varnado the Defensive Player of the Year. The Brownsville, Tenn., native was also named to the All-Defensive and All-SEC teams and enters Thursday’s showdown against Georgia in the SEC Tournament in Tampa, Fla., with a nation-best 143 blocked shots.
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Point guard Dee Bost, who has started all 31 games for the Bulldogs, was one of eight players named to the All-Freshman team. Earlier this year, the Concord, N.C., native set a school freshman record for assists, breaking Jamont Gordon’s mark of 129 set in 2006. He’s also currently second in 3-pointers attempted (147) and free throws made (106) and third in 3-pointers made (52) and free throws attempted (146). He heads to Tampa having already dished out 135 assists and is averaging 11.5 points and 3.5 boards.
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Varnado, who tied the SEC record with 157 blocks last year, is 19th in the league in scoring (13.0), third in rebounds (9.0) and fifth field-goal percentage (.554).
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Coaches voted on eight member teams for First Team All-SEC, Second Team All-SEC and for the SEC All-Freshman Team. They voted on a five-player squad for the SEC All-Defensive Team. They were not permitted to vote for their own players and ties were not broken.
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A complete list of the 2009 SEC Men’s Basketball postseason awards follows.
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First Team All-SEC
*Nick Calathes, Florida ? G, 6-6, 194, So., Casselberry, Fla.
*Jodie Meeks, Kentucky ? 6-4, 208, Jr., Norcross, Ga.
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky ? 6-9, 235, So., Huntington, W.Va.
Tasmin Mitchell, LSU ? F, 6-7, 240, Jr., Denham Springs, La.
*Marcus Thornton, LSU ? G, 6-4, 205, Sr., Baton Rouge, La.
Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State ? F/C, 6-9, 210, Jr., Brownsville, Tenn.
*Devan Downey, South Carolina ? G, 5-9, 175, Jr., Chester, S.C.
*Tyler Smith, Tennessee ? F, 6-7, 215, Jr., Pulaski, Tenn.
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Second Team All-SEC
Alonzo Gee, Alabama ? G, 6-6, 219, Sr., Riviera Beach, Fla.
Michael Washington, Arkansas ? F, 6-9, 239, Jr., McGehee, Ark.
Korvotney Barber, Auburn ? F, 6-7, 225, Sr., Manchester, Ga.
^Garrett Temple, LSU ? G, 6-6, 190, Sr., Baton Rouge, La.
David Huertas, Ole Miss ? G, 6-5, 200, Jr., Humacao, Puerto Rico
Terrico White, Ole Miss ? G, 6-5, 211, Fr,. Memphis, Tenn.
^Dominique Archie, South Carolina ? F, 6-7, 200, Jr., Augusta, Ga.
^Zam Fredrick, South Carolina ? G, 6-0, 203, Sr., St. Matthews, S.C.
Wayne Chism, Tennessee ? F, 609, 242, Jr., Jackson, Tenn.
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt ? C, 6-11, 250, So., Sydney, Australia
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SEC All-Freshman Team
*JaMychal Green, Alabama ? F, 6-9, 220, Fr., Montgomery, Ala.
Courtney Fortson, Arkansas ? G, 5-11, 180, Fr., Montgomery, Ala.
Erving Walker, Florida ? 5-8, 161, Fr., New York, N.Y.
Trey Thompkins, Georgia ? F, 6-8, 245, Fr., Lithonia, Ga.
*Terrico White, Ole Miss ? G, 6-5, 211, Fr,. Memphis, Tenn.
*Dee Bost, Mississippi State ? G, 6-2, 170, Fr., Concord, N.C.
Scotty Hopson, Tennessee ? G, 6-7, 185, Fr., Hopkinsville, Ky.
Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt ? G/F, 6-7, 210, Fr., Norrkoping, Sweden
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SEC All-Defensive Team
^Quantez Robertson, Auburn ? G, 6-3, 200, Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio
Garrett Temple, LSU ? G, 6-6, 190, Sr., Baton Rouge, La.
Chris Johnson, LSU ? C, 6-11, 210, Sr., Montross, Va.
*Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State ? F/C, 6-9, 210, Jr., Brownsville, Tenn.
^Dominique Archie, South Carolina ? F, 6-7, 200, Jr., Augusta, Ga.
Devan Downey, South Carolina ? G, 5-9, 175, Jr., Chester, S.C.
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Individual Honors
SEC Coach of the Year: Trent Johnson, LSU
SEC Player of the Year: Marcus Thornton, LSU
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Justin Knox, Alabama
SEC Freshman of the Year: Terrico White, Ole Miss
SEC Sixth-Man of the Year: Brandis Raley-Ross, South Carolina
SEC Defensive Player of the Year: Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State
*-Unanimous selection
^-Ties are not broken
