Four Arizona Wildcats Grab Pac-12 Honors
Fresh off their regular season Pac-12 title, the Arizona Wildcats were part of more honors on Monday morning.
Point guard T.J. McConnell and forwards Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson were all named to the All-Pac-12 First Team. Forward Brandon Ashley was also named to the Second-Team.
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The accolades didn’t stop there. Johnson was also named to the conference’s All-Freshman Team and won the Pac-12’s Freshman of the Year, which he was an easy choice for. McConnell and Hollis-Jefferson were put on the All-Defensive Team as well.
The heart and soul of the Arizona program, you could easily argue that McConnell is the MVP of the Wildcats. In his second and last season in Tucson, the senior averaged 9.6 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per contest.
Johnson, the true freshman out of California, didn’t disappoint in what should be his only season in a Wildcats uniform. He was the team’s leader in points, averaging 13.9 points per game, and their leading rebounder, averaging 6.6 boards per game.
Hollis-Jefferson was probably the least talked about out of the bunch, but he is still a crucial part of this Wildcats basketball team. The sophomore was just behind Johnson for the team lead in points and rebounds, averaging 11.2 points and 6.5 rebounds a night.
Ashley, being a junior, is the old man of the group. Coming off of a season-ending injury last year, Ashley put up very respectable numbers during his junior campaign, averaging 11.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.6 blocks.
These awards are a tremendous honor for these players because of how they are voted on. Instead of the players doing the voting, the 12 coaches across the conference do, which goes to show you well-respected these four players are throughout the Pac-12.
McConnell, Johnson, Hollis-Jefferson and Ashley will turn their attentions to postseason play with the Pac-12 Tournament getting under way this week from Las Vegas. Arizona will play on Thursday afternoon when they take on the winner of the Cal/Washington State game.