University of Tennessee Athletics
BRUCE PEARL NAMED SPORTING NEWS COACH OF THE YEAR
March 13, 2006 | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2006
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Sporting News dished out its 2006 College Basketball Awards today with Tennessee's Bruce Pearl being named Coach of the Year after guiding his squad to the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title and its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2001. With Pearl at the helm, the Volunteers led the conference in six statistical categories, including points (81.7), 3-point field goal percentage (.394), steals (10.26), assist-turnover ratio (1.37), turnover margin (+5.89) and three-pointers made (8.81).
Sophomore guard Chris Lofton was selected Second Team All-America to go with his third team selection by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The Maysville, Ky., native leads the Vols at 17.3 points per game to go along with 3.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He set the school records for most 3-point field goals made in a game with nine against Georgia (2/11) and in a season with 106. He leads the Southeastern Conference with 3.78 3-pointers per game.
Duke's J.J. Redick took top honors as Sporting News Player of the Year. Redick has had a banner season to cap off his collegiate career. While averaging 27.8 points per game, he set the all-time scoring record in both school and ACC history and led the Blue Devils to another regular season and ACC title.
Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina was selected as Freshman of the Year. Hansbrough finished the regular season as the ACC s second leading scorer (19 points per game) and seventh overall in rebounding (7.6 per game). He set a Dean Smith Center scoring record with 40 points in a victory over Georgia Tech, which broke the ACC s single-game mark for a freshman.
The award winners were determined by Sporting News writers and editors.
First, second and all-freshman teams were also announced:
FIRST TEAM
J.J. Redick, Duke
Randy Foye, Villanova
Brandon Roy, Washington
Adam Morrison, Gonzaga
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
SECOND TEAM
Allan Ray, Villanova
Chris Lofton, Tennessee
Leon Powe, California
Glen Davis, LSU
Shelden Williams, Duke
ALL-FRESHMAN
Dominic James, Marquette
Brandon Rush, Kansas
Tyrus Thomas, LSU
Shawne Williams, Memphis
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
The 2006 Sporting News College Basketball Awards will be featured in the March 24th issue of the award-winning magazine on newsstands, Wednesday, March 15th.
