Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Kingsley gets All-SEC honors
Senior center on second team, makes all-defensive list.
FAYETTEVILLE — The state of Arkansas was well represented Tuesday when the SEC coaches and Associated Press media voters announced their men’s basketball honors.
Kentucky freshman guard Malik Monk, who grew up in Lepanto and played at Bentonville High School, was the AP’s choice for SEC player of the year and a first-team pick and newcomer of the year by both the coaches and media. Monk also was voted to the coaches’ All-Freshman team.
Florida guard KeVaughn Allen, a sophomore from North Little Rock, was a firstteam All- SEC pick by the coaches for their eight-player team and a second-team pick by the AP, which had five players each on its first and second teams.
Arkansas Razorbacks senior center Moses Kingsley earned All-SEC second-team recognition. He made the all- defensive team for the second consecutive season.
Monk, who is averaging 21.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists for SEC regular-season champion Kentucky, did not sweep player of the year honors. The coaches’ choice was South Carolina senior guard Sindarius Thornwell.
Thornwell is averaging 21.2 points along with 7.3 rebounds and a conference-best 2.2 steals.
Taking the scoring average to thousands of a point, Monk leads the SEC at 21.161 points per game to Thornwell’s 21.160.
“I’m not going to say nobody’s better than me,” Monk told reporters in Lexington, Ky., when asked about Thornwell. “I’m going to say I’m the one. He’s a great player.”
Monk is the third Arkansas native to win an SEC player of the year honor along with former Razorbacks Corliss Williamson (Russellville) in 1994 and 1995 and Bobby Portis (Little Rock) in 2015.
“I feel like the overall year is pretty good,” Monk said. “I had some ups and downs. I think I could have done better.
“But a new season is here. It’s tournament time, so I need to focus in even more.”
Monk has led No. 8 Kentucky ( 26-5) in scoring 17 times, including 47 points against North Carolina, 37 against Georgia, 34 against
Ole Miss, 33 against Florida and 27 against South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
“I think one of the things that makes him such an elite player is that he scores in bunches,” Vanderbilt Coach Bryce Drew said. “He scores so quick.
“Both times we played Kentucky I thought we did a decent job on him, and then you look and see his numbers and go, ‘ Well, we couldn’t have done that decent of a job on him.’ He just makes it look very easy how he scores the ball.”
Kentucky Coach John Calipari praised Monk for his scoring efficiency. Monk made 46.3 percent from the field, including 40.9 on three-pointers, and 84.7 percent from the free-throw line.
“When he gets in a zone, you’ve just got to let him go,” Calipari said. “Put him in space where he can get shots off.”
Monk is attempting to become the first freshman to lead the SEC in scoring since LSU’s Chris Jackson averaged 30.2 points in 1989.
“Cal set me up well,” Monk said. “He gives me the ball as much as I want. I’m just trying to execute off that because I’m getting the ball.”
Kingsley is averaging 12.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and an SEC- leading 2.6 blocked shots.
“I’m proud of Moses,” Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. “He’s been stellar for us defensively and offensively. Congratulations to him.”
Kingsley helped the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (23-8, 12-6) earn the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament.
“Moses takes pride in his defense,” Razorbacks senior guard Manny Watkins said. “That’s really what he was happy about, getting on the all-defensive team.
“But he doesn’t let it affect him in any way. The awards are nice and stuff, but we’ve got a big picture on our minds. We’re focused on the SEC Tournament and winning games.”
Arkansas senior guard Dusty Hannah and junior guard Daryl Macon — both from Little Rock — lead Arkansas in scoring with averages of 14.6 and 13.3 points, respectively.
“I was personally disappointed we didn’t have more guys,” Anderson said of Kingsley being the only Razorback receiving All-SEC recognition. “For what these guys have done on the floor and their record in the conference.
“But that’s someone’s opinion and that’s my opinion.”
Allen was the lone All-SEC player for No. 17 Florida (24-7, 14-4), which finished second to Kentucky in the standings.
“I was surprised and I was very happy that I was honored,” Allen told reporters in Gainesville, Fla. “It means a lot just to be honored with the great players on there.”
Allen is averaging 13.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists and shooting 40.1 percent on three-pointers.
“KeVaughn has been terrific for us,” said Florida’s Mike White, the SEC coach of the year. “He’s hit some huge shots for us and he’s an improved defender and rebounder. That’s not surprising because he’s a competitive kid and he’s a high character guy.
“Some people forget he’s just a sophomore. I know he’s done a lot for us already, but his ceiling is even higher than what we’re seeing right now. He’s going to continue to improve as a basketball player.”