The Pac-12 will announce its men’s basketball postseason award winners and all-conference teams on Tuesday morning, based on a vote of the head coaches.
We expect it to reflect the events of the past three months: Arizona will dominate.
Unwilling to wait for official results, the Hotline opted to call its shots here and now …
Coach of the Year: Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd
Lloyd’s system was a perfect fit for the returning talent and resulted in success beyond all reasonable expectations, with a rookie coach crafting a No. 1 seed out of inherited personnel. As we wrote recently, Lloyd replacing Sean Miller unfolded in comparable schematic fashion to former UA Wildcat Steve Kerr taking over the Warriors from Mark Jackson. In each case, the switch from a grinding style of play to a free-flowing system based on spacing and ball movement allowed the returning talent to blossom. Also considered: Nobody.
Player of the Year: Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin
This two-player race featured the classic contrast: Mathurin was the best player on the best team — and is the Pac-12’s top NBA prospect — while Washington’s Terrell Brown Jr. led the conference in scoring and steals and did more than anyone to elevate his team. (From a value standpoint, Brown’s performance was unmatched.) Had the Huskies finished in the top-four, not in a logjam in the middle of the standings, we would have picked Brown. But Arizona’s dominance of the league — not to mention two decisive wins over Washington — tipped our decision to Mathurin. Also considered: Brown
Freshman of the Year: Stanford’s Harrison Ingram
As with Coach of the Year, there was no serious competition in this category. Ingram, a former five-star recruit, was the best performer (10.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game) in what we consider a mediocre group of freshmen. It wasn’t long ago that the Pac-12’s rookie classes would feature three or four one-and-done talents. This year, there was just one. Also considered: Nobody
Defensive Player of the Year: Arizona’s Christian Koloko
The 7-foot-1 junior averaged 2.45 blocks per game in league play and probably altered an additional seven or eight shots each game. His presence was the foundation of a defense that ranks in the top-15 nationally in efficiency (per the Pomeroy ratings). Oh, and Koloko averaged seven rebounds per game, as well. Also considered: UCLA’s Jaylen Clark
All-Conference Selections
(The Pac-12 will name a 10-man first team and a five-man second team. We prefer the old-fashioned structure of three five-man teams. And please note: Our picks were weighted heavily to performance in conference games.)
FIRST TEAM
Washington G Terrell Brown Jr.
Arizona G Bennedict Mathurin
USC F Isaiah Mobley
Colorado F Jabari Walker
Arizona C Christian Koloko
SECOND TEAM
WSU G Michael Flowers
UCLA G Johnny Juzang
Oregon G Will Richardson
UCLA F Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Arizona F Azoulas Tubelis
THIRD TEAM
Cal G Jordan Shepherd
UCLA G Tyger Campbell
ASU G Marreon Jackson
USC F Drew Peterson
Colorado F Evan Battey
ALL-DEFENSE
UCLA G Jaylen Clark
Arizona G Dalen Terry
Washington G Terrell Brown
ASU G Marreon Jackson
Arizona C Christian Koloko
ALL-FRESHMAN
Colorado G KJ Simpson
Utah G Lazar Stefanovic
OSU F Glenn Taylor Jr.
WSU F Mouhamed Gueye
Stanford F Harrison Ingram
ALL-NEWCOMER
(intra-conference transfers not included)
WSU G Michael Flowers (from South Alabama)
Cal G Jordan Shepherd (Charlotte)
USC G Boogie Ellis (Memphis)
ASU G Marreon Jackson (Toledo)
Washington F Emmitt Matthews Jr. (West Virginia)
Comments/explanations: We debated Mobley and Juzang for the final first-team spot. One factor working against Juzang: He missed 25% of UCLA’s league games … Koloko was an easy pick for the first five because of his impact on both ends … Had Cal managed two or three more wins, Shepherd would have been a second-team selection … Arizona’s Terry was placed on the all-defensive team in part to serve as a means of acknowledging his overall contributions … We considered all three Oregon transfers for the newcomer team but felt they canceled each other out in terms of impact, compared to each of the listed selections … Colorado’s Simpson will be the best point guard in the conference in two years, if not next season.
