Georgia’s Yante Maten named AP SEC Player of the Year
Georgia basketball star Yante Maten has been named the 2017-18 SEC men’s basketball Player of the Year by the Associated Press.
The AP released its All-SEC honors on Tuesday, and Maten was revealed as the choice over fellow unanimous first-team member Grant Williams of Tennessee. Williams beat out Maten for the top-player honors in the SEC coaches voting, which also was released on Tuesday.
Maten is averaging 19.4 points and 8.8 rebounds during his senior campaign. He will attempt to lead the Bulldogs, who finished the regular season tied for 11th place in the SEC standings, on a miracle run through the SEC Tournament. The tournament begins Wednesday in St. Louis. No. 12 Georgia will meet No. 13 Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. (SEC Network).
This is the first time an AP SEC Player of the Year has come from a team that ended the regular season below .500 in conference play since 1971, according to AP writer Steve Megargee. The last player to accomplish that feat was Ole Miss star Johnny Neumann.
Here’s a look at the complete selections from the AP voting panel:
ALL-SEC BASKETBALL: FIRST TEAM
Bryce Brown, Auburn, guard
Daryl Macon, Arkansas, guard
u-Yante Maten, Georgia, forward
Collin Sexton, Alabama, guard
u-Grant Williams, Tennessee, forward
*u = unanimous
ALL-SEC BASKETBALL: SECOND TEAM
Jaylen Barford, Arkansas, guard
Chris Chiozza, Florida, guard
Jared Harper, Auburn, guard
Mustapha Heron, Auburn, guard
Kassius Robertson, Missouri, guard
SEC Player of the Year
Yante Maten, Georgia
SEC Coach of the Year
Rick Barnes, Tennessee
SEC Newcomer of the Year
Collin Sexton, Alabama
