Kotsar And Couisnard Earn Coaches Postseason Accolades

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina senior forward Maik Kotsar and R-freshman guard Jermaine Couisnard were honored with SEC postseason accolades today from the league’s coaches.  Kotsar was named to the All-SEC Second Team, and Couisnard earned All-Freshman Team honors, marking the first postseason awards for both student-athletes. 

Kotsar’s selection to the Second Team marks the fifth straight season that Carolina has had a member of the coaches First or Second Team, and Couisnard’s All-Freshman honor marks the second straight year Carolina has had a freshman selected to the squad (AJ Lawson in 2019), and the fourth time under the direction of head coach Frank Martin that a Gamecock has earned All-Freshman honors (Michael Carrera, 2011; Sindarius Thornwell, 2014; AJ Lawson, 2019).

Kotsar has had the best year of his career in 2019-20, averaging 11.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.5 steals per game, all career highs.  He’s scored in double figures 20 times, with three 20-point scoring performances, while leading or sharing the team lead in scoring 10 times, in rebounding 16, and in steals and blocks 13 times.  Entering SEC Tournament action, Kotsar is the only player nationally 6-10 or taller with 40 or more steals on the year, and he is the only player in the SEC with 40+ steals and 30+ blocks.  Kotsar, who scored the 1,000^th point of his career in the Feb. 29 contest vs. Alabama, had a career-best streak of nine-straight games in double figures earlier this season, and he is now in sole possession of second place all time at Carolina with 121 career starts.  A four-year starter for Carolina, Kotsar helped lead the Gamecocks to 51 SEC victories during his career.
 
Couisnard led Carolina during SEC play with 14.8 points and 3.6 assists per game, while also posting 13 double-figure scoring games during conference action.  He has 23 games with two or more assists during his freshman year, including dishing out a season high 10 in Carolina’s March 3 home win over Mississippi State, becoming the first Gamecock since 2008 to collect 10 or more assists in a game.  Couisnard was a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week in 2020, first after the buzzer beater 3-pointer to clinch the home win over No. 10/12 Kentucky, and later in the SEC campaign following a season high 28-point scoring performance at Ole Miss. 
 
The Gamecocks are the sixth seed in this week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville, and will play the winner of the 11th-seed Arkansas and 14th-seed Vanderbilt contest on Thursday at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.  Continue to visit GamecocksOnline.com for updates on Carolina basketball.

The complete list of All-SEC honorees is below:
 
First Team All-SEC
Kira Lewis Jr., Alabama
Mason Jones, Arkansas
Samir Doughty, Auburn
Keyontae Johnson, Florida
Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky
Nick Richards, Kentucky
Skylar Mays, LSU
Breein Tyree, Ole Miss
Reggie Perry, Mississippi State
 
Second Team All-SEC
John Petty Jr., Alabama
Isaac Okoro, Auburn
Kerry Blackshear Jr., Florida
Anthony Edwards, Georgia
Tyrese Maxey, Kentucky
Maik Kotsar, South Carolina
John Fulkerson, Tennessee
Saben Lee, Vanderbilt 
 
All-Freshman Team
Jaden Shackelford, Alabama
Isaac Okoro, Auburn
Scottie Lewis, Florida
Anthony Edwards, Georgia
Tyrese Maxey, Kentucky
Trendon Watford, LSU
Jermaine Couisnard, South Carolina
Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt
 
All-Defensive Team
Herbert Jones, Alabama
Isaac Okoro, Auburn
Ashton Hagans, Kentucky
Nick Richards, Kentucky
Yves Pons, Tennessee
 
Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Kentucky
Player of the Year: Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Skylar Mays, LSU
Freshman of the Year: Anthony Edwards, Georgia
Sixth-Man of the Year: Tyson Carter, Mississippi State
Defensive Player of the Year: Yves Pons, Tennessee