Arizona sophomore forward Jordan Brown was named the Pac-12's Sixth Man of the Year on Monday, while guard James Akinjo was named to the all-Pac-12 first team and forward Azuolas Tubelis and wing Bennedict Mathurin were given all-freshman honors.
In voting by the league's 12 coaches, USC's Evan Mobley swept the major awards of Pac-12 Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while Trojans coach Andy Enfield was named the conference's coach of the year. Stanford's Jaiden Delaire was named Most Improved.
Meanwhile, Akinjo was named a second-team all-conference pick in Associated Press media voting, which only allows for five players on the first team. In AP voting, Oregon's Chris Duarte was named Player of the Year, Mobley was named Newcomer of the Year and Enfield Coach of the Year.
A 2018 McDonald's high school all-American, Brown played 14 of 20 conference games off the bench after UA coach Sean Miller settled on Tubelis and Christian Koloko as his starters in the post on Jan. 14. Brown and Koloko started early in the season while Brown and Tubelis also started together early in conference play.
Noted for his soft touch and difficult-to-stop jump shot, Brown wound up averaging 8.8 points in conference games while shooting 51.5% from the field. He also had three double-doubles and drew an average of 5.7 fouls per 40 minutes, the 85th highest rate in the country, though he made free throws only at a 59.8% rate.
Brown's sixth man award was particularly fitting considering that he had a season-high 25 points in his first game out of the starting lineup, on Jan. 14 at Oregon State, and he led UA to its biggest win of the season also off the bench, with 19 points and 13 rebounds against Mobley and USC on Feb. 20 in Los Angeles.
Referred to as the Wildcats' "heart and soul" by UA coach Sean Miller, Akinjo was a consistent force in both scoring and assisting teammates while logging heavy minutes on a team without Jemarl Baker (broken wrist) and Kerr Kriisa (ineligibility) for long stretches.
In conference play, Akinjo averaged 35.6 minutes, while averaging 15.9 points and 5.9 assists and a 2.4-1 assist-turnover ratio. He also shot 43.9% from the field and made 80.6% of his free throws in conference games, drawing 4.6 fouls per 40 minutes in all games while committing only 2.2.
A freshman from Lithuania whom the Wildcats largely recruited virtually last spring, Tubelis lived up to his billing after ESPN called him the best European player to take the college route in 2020-21. He might even have been the conference's freshman of the year if not for Mobley's outsized presence.
Tubelis averaged 13.7 points and 7.8 rebounds in conference play, adapting quickly enough from the international game that Miller moved him into the lineup on Dec. 22 against Montana, just before the Wildcats entered conference play.
Tubelis shot an even 50% in conference games, and hit 72.0% of his free throws.
Mathurin averaged 10.8 points and shot 42.1% from 3-point range in Pac-12 games, heating up particularly in the first half of conference play before attracting more defensive attention.
He played a key role in UA's double-overtime win at WSU on Jan. 2 with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while playing out of position much of the time due to foul trouble with UA's post players, while dropping a season-high 31 points at Oregon State on Jan. 14.
While Koloko blocked his opponents' shots 8.8% of the time he was on the floor and finished fifth in blocks during Pac-12 games (1.3 average) he did not receive at least the three votes required to be listed as an honorable mention all-defensive pick.
Official Pac-12 Conference honors (as voted on by the league's 12 head coaches)
All-conference first team (10 players)
Name School Pos. Yr. Hometown
James Akinjo UA G Jr. Oakland, Calif.
Timmy Allen Utah F Jr. Mesa, Ariz.
Tyger Campbell UCLA G R-So. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Oscar da Silva** Stanford F Sr. Munich, Germany
Chris Duarte Oregon G Sr. Puerto Plata, D.R.
Remy Martin** ASU G Sr. Chatsworth, Calif.
Evan Mobley USC F Fr. Murietta, Calif.
Eugene Omoruyi Oregon F R-Sr. Rexdale, Ontario
Ethan Thompson Oregon State G Sr. Los Angeles, Calif.
McKinley Wright *** Colorado G Sr. North Robbinsdale, Minn.
All-conference second team (third group of five players)
Isaac Bonton Washington State G Sr. Portland, Ore.
Matt Bradley California G Jr. San Bernardino, Calif.
Tahj Eaddy USC G R-Sr. West Haven, Conn.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. UCLA G/F So. Camarillo, Calif.
Johnny Juzang UCLA G So. Tarzana, Calif.
Honorable mention (receiving at least three votes): Evan Battey, Colorado; Jaiden Delaire, Stanford; Quade Green, Washington; Azuolas Tubelis, UA; Noah Williams, WSU.
*** three-time All-Pac-12 First Team honoree; ** two-time All-Pac-12 First Team honoree
All-freshman team
Efe Abogidi Washington State C Delta State, Nigeria
Bennedict Mathurin UA G/F Montreal, Quebec
Evan Mobley USC F Murietta, Calif.
Azuolas Tubelis UA F Vilnius, Lithuania
Jabari Walker Colorado F Inglewood, Calif.
Honorable mention (receiving at least three votes): Marcus Bagley, ASU; Josh Christopher, ASU; Dishon Jackson, WSU; Ziaire Williams, Stanford.
All-defensive team
Oscar da Silva Stanford F Sr. Munich, Germany
Chris Duarte Oregon State G Sr. Puerto Plata, D.R.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. UCLA G/F So. Camarillo, Calif.
Evan Mobley USC F Fr. Murietta, Calif.
Eli Parquet Colorado G Jr. Beaumont, Texas
Honorable mention (receiving at least three votes): Warith Alatishe, OSU; Bryce Wills, Stanford; McKinley Wright, Colorado.
Associated Press all-conference honors (as voted on by media who regularly cover the league)
Players are listed alphabetically with name, school, height, weight, class and hometown (“u-” denotes unanimous selections):
First team
u-Chris Duarte, Oregon G Sr., Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
u-Evan Mobley C USC Fr., Murrieta, California
u-McKinley Wright IV Colorado G Sr. North Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Remy Martin ASU G Sr. Chatsworth, California
Oscar da Silva Stanford F Sr. Munich, Germany
Second team
James Akinjo UA G Jr. Oakland, California
Timmy Allen Utah F Jr. Mesa, Arizona
Ethan Thompson Oregon State G Sr. Los Angeles
Eugene Omoruyi Oregon F Sr. Rexdale, Ontario
Isaac Bonton, Washington State G Sr. Portland, Oregon
