Arizona Wildcats Receive Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Season Awards

The 2016-2017 Pac-12 season awards have been handed out. Several Wildcats received honors.

Arizona finished the 2016-2017 Pac-12 regular season on Saturday with a win over ASU. With the conference tournament quickly approaching, it was time to hand out conference awards.

In the preseason, before all of the adversity the team would face, a few Wildcats were on award watch lists.

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Media picked Allonzo Trier to be on the First Team All Pac-12 list. Lauri Markkanen found his name on the Second-Team All-Pac-12 list, as well as being considered for the Pac-12 All-Freshman team. Kobi Simmons and Rawle Alkins were also on the All-Freshman Pac-12 watch list.

Coach Sean Miller is always on preseason Coach of the Year lists. But this year, with everything thrown at Arizona, he became a heavy favorite to win the Pac-12 Coach of the Year award.

So, where did the Wildcats finish? Let’s get to it with a big one: Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

Arizona Head Coach Sean Miller Awarded Pac-12 Coach of the Year

Congratulations to Head Coach Sean Miller on being the 2016-2017 John R. Wooden Coach of the Year!

As Wildcat fans, we all felt he deserved this with the season the team has had. Injuries, suspension, more injuries, it seemed everything was being thrown at Miller. He stood the test, got his young men to stay grounded, and they battled it for a share of the Pac-12 Regular Season Championship.

This is the third time in eight seasons in the Pac-12 that Coach Miller has won the award. The Pac-12 Conference website had this to say about Coach Miller:

“Miller joins Lute Olson (seven), Mike Montgomery (four), Dana Altman (three), George Raveling (three) and Lorenzo Romar (three) as mentors with three-or-more Pac-12 Coach of the Year awards. He guided a short-handed and freshman-laden Arizona lineup to an 11-2 non-conference mark, then went 16-2 in league play to earn a share of the Pac-12 regular-season crown, the 15th in Wildcats’ program history and fourth of his tenure.”

The awards for Coach Miller may not stop there. Several top NCAA Men’s Basketball analysts believe Sean Miller should be named the National Coach of the Year. Just this past week, Miller was listed as a semifinalist for the Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year.

Next award… All Pac-12 First Team.

Arizona Freshman Lauri Markkanen Receives Two Pac-12 Awards

Congratulations to Lauri Markkanen!

Lauri has drawn the praises from all of the top NCAA basketball analysts and NBA draft experts all season long. The freshman from Finland faced his fair share of ups-and-downs this season, but Arizona would not be where they are without him.

This season the freshman is averaging 15.2 PPG and 7.5 RPG. He also ranks in the top-15 of the conference in scoring (tied for 12th), rebounding (12th), free-throw percentage (.837 – 1st), three-point percentage (.428 – 5th), three-point field goals made (1.9 per game – tied for 15th), and defensive rebounds (5.1 per game – 13th).

Most mock drafts have Lauri being drafted as the seventh overall pick. NBA executives love big men who can shoot, have great size and have a lot of potential. Lauri checks all the boxes and will be heavily looked into over the next month.

His standout play not only earned him a spot on the All-Conference First Team, but also a member of the All-Freshmen Team.

While we’re on the topic of All-Freshmen Team…

Arizona Freshman Rawle Alkins Named to Pac-12 All-Freshmen Team

Congratulations to Rawle Alkins!

The freshman from New York has been on a tear as of late. It’s about time he’s finally recognized for the hard-work, effort and sweat he’s put into helping Arizona be successful.

Surprisingly he’s flown under the radar a bit nationally, a sort of silent assassin you could say. But after his double-double against ASU on a national stage, the rest of the nation is fully aware of what kind of player he is.

His stats won’t jump out at you compared to another freshman in the Pac-12. Right now Rawle is averaging 11 ppg, 5.4 rpg, two assists and one steal per game. On the season, Rawle has two double-doubles (New Mexico, ASU). But he makes a big impact on the games.

Several games this year Alkins finished just shy of a double-double. Those nights he may not stand out to the casual fan. But when you watch him on the floor, there’s a big shift when he is taken out.

Miller asked Alkins to do a lot this year, and he owned up. He absolutely deserves the recognition he received today!

Next award… All Pac-12 Defensive Team.

Arizona Senior Guard Kadeem Allen Receives Two Pac-12 Awards

Congratulations to Kadeem Allen!

The senior guard is a member of the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. Most fans wanted to see Kadeem receive the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award, which went to Jordan Bell from Oregon, but the All-Defensive Team is still a great honor.

Kadeem is averaging 9.4 ppg, 3.1 apg, four rpg and 1.6 steals per game. He locked up defenders, had a game-winning shot immediately followed up by a game-winning steal against Michigan State. When the defense needed a stop, Allen took control.

For the past two years, Coach Miller has raved about Kadeem’s work ethic, intensity, leadership and defensive IQ. Back in January, after beating Colorado, Miller made it very clear how he feels about Kadeem.

“During the eight seasons that I’ve been here, he’s right there as the best. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody play better defense against a great opponent more than he did.”

Allen is typically called on to defend the other teams best player. He’s guarded a variety of players who are now in the NBA. This season he’s guarded a few soon to be lottery picks, on top of defending other NBA caliber players. This type of trust also led him to be awarded Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team honors!

The next and final award… All Pac-12 Second Team.

Arizona Sophomore Guard Allonzo Trier Named to All Pac-12 Second Team

The 2016-2017 season was clouded by what was going on with Trier and his suspension. People were talking about whether or not he’d play again this year, if he’d leave to play overseas in the second semester, or if he would simply leave school and prepare for the draft.

But once we heard his side of the story, and the NCAA allowed him back on the court, Trier showed everyone what he could do. And what he can do led him to receive Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team honors!

This season Trier is averaging 16.4 ppg, 2.6 apg and five rpg with only playing 12 games and starting seven of them. The last four games have been his best basketball of the season: 21 points against Washington, 25 against USC, 28 against UCLA and 19 against ASU.

If Trier played each game this season, I have no doubt he’d be First Team All-Conference and potentially Player of the Year.

Must Read: Arizona Baseball Has Strong Start to 2017 Season

Overall, the 2016-2017 season has been a success so far. A share of the Pac-12 title, a 2-seed in the Pac-12 tournament, looking at a 3-seed or 2-seed in the NCAA tournament, and several well-deserved conference awards. Now it’s time to BEARDOWN and win the Pac-12 tournament!