Vols Josh Richardson Earns All SEC Honors

Tennessee guard Josh Richardson earned a pair of postseason honors from the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball coaches Tuesday, as the senior was named to the All-SEC first team as well as the SEC All-Defensive Team.

The senior from Edmond, Okla., becomes the first Vol ever to make the SEC All-Defensive Team multiple times. He also made the squad as a junior last season.

"We’re obviously very happy and proud of Josh," UT head coach Donnie Tyndall said. "These are both very well deserved honors for him. He’s had an incredible senior season and has represented our university and basketball team in exactly the right way."

Richardson has started every game for Tennessee while performing at an elite level. He leads the Vols in scoring (15.7 ppg, 6th in the SEC), minutes (36.2, leads the SEC), steals (2.1 spg, leads the SEC), assists (3.7 apg, 11th in the SEC), field-goal percentage (.458, 7th in the SEC) and free-throw percentage (.791, 7th in the SEC). He is also UT’s top-rebounding guard, averaging 4.2 rpg.

He is the only SEC player in the SEC to rank in the active career top-10 in scoring, assists, steals and blocks. His 1,208 career points are third-most among active players in the league and rank 33rd in school history.

In SEC games, he led Tennessee in assists 12 times and scoring nine times, including a career-high 30 point performance vs. Mississippi State.

Richardson has played a direct role in 40 percent of Tennessee’s total offensive production this year, as he has scored 24.9 percent of UT’s points while assisting on another 15.0 percent.

"I’m thankful to see the hard work pay off," Richardson said. "This wouldn’t be possible without my teammates. And coach Tyndall has been very supportive this year. But there’s still plenty of work be done this season."

Tennessee has now had at least one player named to the coaches’ All-SEC first team in nine of the last 10 years. 

In the history of the program, UT has seen 46 players honored as All-SEC first-teamers a total of 82 times, dating to 1936.

The Vols have produced three all-time SEC All-Defensive Team selections. JaJuan Smith made the team in 2008, and Richardson has now earned the honor each of the last two years.

Richardson and the Volunteers begin play at the SEC Tournament Thursday night, when they face Vanderbilt at 7 ET/6 CT at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The game can be heard on the Vol Radio Network and seen on the SEC Network.

First-team and second-team All-SEC honorees, All-Freshman Team, All-Defensive Team, along with Player, Coach and Freshman, Defensive, Sixth-Man and Scholar-Athlete of the Year were chosen by the league’s 14 head coaches. Ties were not broken. A complete list of honorees is below.

FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
Bobby Portis, Arkansas – F, 6-11, 242, So., Little Rock, Ark. 
Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky – F, 7-0, 240, Jr., Olathe, Kan. 
Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky – F, 6-11, 250, Fr., Piscataway, N.J. 
Jarell Martin, LSU – F, 6-10, 236, So., Baton Rouge, La. 
Jordan Mickey, LSU – F, 6-8, 235, So., Dallas, Texas
Stefan Moody, Ole Miss – G, 5-10, 179, Jr., Kissimmee, Fla. 
Josh Richardson, Tennessee – G, 6-6, 200, Sr., Edmond, Okla. 
Danuel House, Texas A&M – G, 6-7, 207, Jr., Fresno, Texas
Damian Jones, Vanderbilt -C, 6-10, 240, So., Baton Rouge, La. 

SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC
Levi Randolph, Alabama – G, 6-5, 210, Sr., Madison, Ala. 
Michael Qualls, Arkansas – G, 6-6, 210, Jr., Shreveport, La. 
KT Harrell, Auburn – G, 6-4, 212, Sr., Montgomery, Ala. 
Dorian Finney-Smith, Florida – F, 6-8, 218, Jr., Portsmouth, Va. 
Marcus Thornton, Georgia – F, 6-8, 235, Sr., Atlanta, Ga. 
Devin Booker, Kentucky – G, 6-6, 206, Fr., Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Aaron Harrison, Kentucky – G, 6-6, 212, So., Richmond, Texas
Craig Sword, Mississippi State – G, 6-3, 194, Jr., Montgomery, Ala. 
Jalen Jones, Texas A&M – G/F, 6-7, 223, Jr., Dallas, Texas

SEC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Anton Beard, Arkansas – G, 6-0, 190, Fr., North Little Rock, Ark. 
Devin Robinson, Florida – F, 6-8, 178, Fr., Chesterfield, Va. 
Devin Booker, Kentucky – G, 6-6, 206, Fr., Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Trey Lyles, Kentucky – F, 6-10, 235, Fr., Indianapolis, Ind. 
Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky – F, 6-11, 250, Fr., Piscataway, N.J. 
Tyler Ulis, Kentucky – G, 5-9, 155, Fr., Lima, Ohio
Wade Baldwin IV, Vanderbilt – G, 6-3, 195, Fr., Belle Mead, N.J. 
Riley LaChance, Vanderbilt – G, 6-2, 194, Fr., Brookfield, Wisc. 

SEC ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Marcus Thornton, Georgia – F, 6-8, 235, Sr., Atlanta, Ga. 
Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky – F, 7-0, 240, Jr., Olathe, Kan. 
Jordan Mickey, LSU – F, 6-8, 235, So., Dallas, Texas
Josh Richardson, Tennessee – G, 6-6, 200, Sr., Edmond, Okla. 
Damian Jones, Vanderbilt -C, 6-10, 240, So., Baton Rouge, La. 

AWARDS
SEC Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Kentucky
SEC Player of the Year:  Bobby Portis, Arkansas
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Levi Randolph, Alabama
SEC Freshman of the Year: Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky
SEC Sixth-Man of the Year: Devin Booker, Kentucky
SEC Defensive Player of the Year: Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky