March 10, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference announced its 2009 coaches postseason awards on Tuesday where four Gamecocks garnered postseason honors. Junior point guard Devan Downey was a unanimous selection to the first-team, while he was also selected to the SEC All-Defensive squad. Junior forward Dominique Archie was selected to the All-SEC Second Team, as well as garnering All-Defensive team honors alongside Downey. Senior guard Zam Fredrick earned the first postseason award of his career, earning a spot on the second team, and junior guard Brandis Raley-Ross earned the conference’s Sixth Man of the Year award.

LSU’s Trent Johnson earned SEC Coach of the Year honors and LSU senior guard Marcus Thornton was selected SEC Player of the Year by the league’s coaches. Ole Miss’ Terrico White took the SEC Freshman of the Year award and Alabama’s Justin Knox earned SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State was picked as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row.

One of the top point guards in the nation, Downey was named to the Coaches All-SEC First Team for the second-consecutive season, becoming the first Gamecock to ever be selected to the coaches first team in consecutive campaigns. Downey rates third in the SEC in scoring with 20.2 points, he averages 4.6 assists and 3.0 steals per game, while he has tallied double figures in scoring in 28 of 29 games this season and has tallied three or more steals 17 times. Downey was also selected to the All-Defensive Team.

Archie was selected to the Coaches All-SEC Second Team for the first time in his career. Archie’s only other previous postseason honor was a selection to the All-Freshman team during his rookie season in 2006-07. Archie currently leads the team with 34 blocks (1.7 bpg) on the year, while his 43 steals (1.5 spg) ranks second to only Downey. To date, Archie has started all 91 games of his Carolina career. Archie was also selected to the All-Defensive Team.

A senior guard, Fredrick was selected to the Coaches All-SEC Second Team – his first ever postseason honor. Fredrick provides 15.5 points per game for Carolina, while adding a solid 2.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.9 steals per game. Fredrick, who started all 29 regular-season contests for the Gamecocks, has recorded 25 double-figure scoring games this season, while he also collected his 1,000th career point during the regular season.

Junior guard Brandis Raley-Ross was awarded the SEC Sixth Man of the Year Award, becoming the first Gamecock to ever receive the SEC honor. Raley-Ross suffered a knee injury in the season opener, which sidelined him for seven non-conference contests. Raley-Ross rebounded to record five double figure scoring games in SEC play in 2009. He provides 7.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest.

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.

A complete list of the postseason awards is listed below.

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.

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

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

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.

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