Two University of Tennessee men's basketball players registered Associated Press All-SEC plaudits, as announced Tuesday morning.
Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Nate Ament both tallied Second Team All-SEC accolades, with Gillespie receiving SEC Newcomer of the Year recognition. Tennessee and Florida are the only two schools with multiple players who made the cut.
Monday, in the coaches' All-SEC selections, Gillespie garnered First Team All-SEC designation, while Ament collected Second Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team nods. Additionally, senior forward Felix Okpara made the SEC All-Defensive Team.
A senior guard, Gillespie produced 18.0 points, 5.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 34.3 minutes per game. He ranks second in the conference in assists, steals and minutes average, as well as seventh in scoring and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.44).
The 6-foot-1, 188-pounder scored in double digits 29 times in 31 regular season contests, including doing so in 28 consecutive games. He dropped 20-plus 12 times, with 32-plus twice.
The Greeneville, Tenn., native set and then tied the Tennessee single-game record with eight steals against both Oklahoma (Feb. 18) and Alabama (Feb. 28).