University of Tennessee Athletics
LOFTON NAMED USBWA DISTRICT IV PLAYER OF THE YEAR
March 07, 2006 | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2006
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) has honored a pair of Tennessee players and their head coach in the organization's 2005-06 Men's All-District Teams that were announced this afternoon.
Bruce Pearl, who has led Tennessee to a 21-6 record and the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division championship this season, was named the USBWA All-District IV Coach of the Year. Pearl directed the Vols to a 12-4 SEC record that included a 9-1 mark against the SEC's Eastern Division.
Sophomore guard Chris Lofton, who is leading the Vols with 17.5 points and has broken the school record with 103 3-pointers this season, was named the USBWA All-District IV Player of the Year. A native of Maysville, Ky., Lofton is shooting 45.8 percent from 3-point range and is leading the SEC with 3.81 3-pointers per game.
C.J. Watson, a senior guard who is second on the team with 15.0 points while leading the Vols with 4.2 assists per game, was named to the USBWA All-District IV team. A four-year starter for Tennessee, the Las Vegas native is second in the SEC with 2.07 steals per game and is third with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.04.
The USBWA All-District teams are based on voting from its national membership. There are nine regions from coast to coast and a player and coach of the year are selected in each. UT's district includes Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
| USBWA ALL-DISTRICT IV (KY, TN, MS, AL, GA, FL) | |||||
| Coach of the Year | |||||
| Bruce Pearl, Tennessee | |||||
| Player of the Year | |||||
| Name, School | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | Hometown |
| Chris Lofton, Tennessee | G | 6-2 | 197 | So. | Maysville, Ky. |
| All-District Team | |||||
| Name, School | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | Hometown |
| C.J. Watson, Tennessee | G | 6-2 | 176 | Sr. | Las Vegas, Nev. |
| Rodney Carney, Memphis | F | 6-7 | 205 | Sr. | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Joakim Noah, Florida | F/C | 6-11 | 227 | So. | New York, N.Y. |
| Ronald Steele, Alabama | G | 6-3 | 185 | So. | Birmingham, Ala. |
| Taurean Green, Florida | G | 6-0 | 177 | So. | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. |
| Rajon Rondo, Kentucky | G | 6-1 | 171 | So. | Louisville, Ky. |
| Taquan Dean, Louisville | G | 6-3 | 185 | Sr. | Red Bank, N.J. |
| Shan Foster, Vanderbilt | F | 6-6 | 200 | So. | Kenner, La. |
| Jermareo Davidson, Alabama | F | 6-10 | 220 | Jr. | Atlanta, Ga. |
| Guillermo Diaz, Miami | G | 6-2 | 192 | Jr. | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
