MSU's Roberts And Power Named To 2005 Coaches' All-SEC Basketball Team
Roberts, last year's SEC Player of the Year and a reigning consensus first-team All-American for coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs, becomes the first MSU player to collect first-team All-SEC honors during back-to-back seasons since current Dallas Mavericks standout Erick Dampier accomplished the feat during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 campaigns. Needing 10 points to become the 27th all-time member of Mississippi State's 1,000-point club, Roberts enters this week's SEC Tournament leading the conference with 18 double-doubles and in rebounding (11.1 rpg), while also ranking fourth in scoring (17.3 ppg), eighth in field-goal percentage (45.9%) and ninth in steals (1.7 spg).
In addition to collecting unanimous first-team All-SEC plaudits earlier this week by a vote of The Associated Press writers for the second consecutive season, Roberts has recently earned first-team all-district honors by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) organizations for the second straight year. The 6-9, 240-pound Houston native has also recently been selected as one of 23 student-athletes named to the official voting ballot for this year's prestigious John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year.
Roberts is joined on this year's eight-man All-SEC First Team by SEC Player of the Year and SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Brandon Bass of LSU, Alabama's tandem of Kennedy Winston and Earnest Shelton, Florida's duo of Anthony Roberson and David Lee, Ronnie Brewer of Arkansas, and Kentucky's Chuck Hayes.
Power, last year's SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year as selected by the league's coaches, begins this week's SEC Tournament averaging 11.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the 21-9 Bulldogs. Ranked 20th among the SEC's leading scorers in regular-season conference games only at 12.3 points per league contest, Power has averaged 15.1 points per game over his last nine outings heading into postseason tournament competition.
Power, 6-5, 210 pounds, is accompanied on this year's eight-man All-SEC Second Team by the Kentucky tandem of Kelenna Azubuike and Patrick Sparks, SEC Freshman of the Year Glen Davis of LSU, Florida's Matt Walsh, Chuck Davis of Alabama, South Carolina's Carlos Powell and Corey Smith of Vanderbilt.
Other 2005 SEC men's basketball postseason award recipients, as voted on by the league's head coaches, included Kentucky's Tubby Smith as SEC Coach of the Year and UK senior forward Chuck Hayes as SEC Defensive Player of the Year, as well as Todd Abernethy of Ole Miss earning the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year award.