AJ Lawson nabs All-SEC honors from league’s coaches
South Carolina junior guard A.J. Lawson earned All-SEC second team honors, the Southeastern Conference announced Tuesday.
The 6-foot-6 guard finished fourth in the SEC in scoring with 16.9 points per game and was especially effective beyond the arc this season, finishing first in the SEC with 2.9 3-pointers made per game and second in the conference with a 35.6% 3-point field-goal percentage.
This season, Lawson became the 47th Gamecock to score 1,000 career points, and his 163 career 3-pointers rank eighth in school history. His selection marks the sixth straight season that USC has had a player named to the first or second team.
“I feel like each year I’ve grown more and more,” Lawson said Tuesday. “This year I’ve grown (a lot); we had to go through so much. Every Division I athlete who’s been through this COVID season — it’s hard. I feel like me sticking to the grind every day, trying to get better and still learning, I feel like that just shows how much I care for this game and how much I love it. It was hard, but I’ve been through it, lived through it.”
Lawson and the Gamecocks earned the No. 11 seed in this weeks SEC’s tournament in Nashville and will play No. 6 Ole Miss on Thursday night.
Full SEC awards below:
First Team All-SEC
Herbert Jones, Alabama
John Petty Jr., Alabama
Moses Moody, Arkansas
Tre Mann, Florida
Cameron Thomas, LSU
Devontae Shuler, Ole Miss
Dru Smith, Missouri
Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
Jaden Shackelford, Alabama
Colin Castleton, Florida
Sahvir Wheeler, Georgia
Javonte Smart, LSU
Trendon Watford, LSU
D.J. Stewart Jr., Mississippi State
Jeremiah Tilmon, Missouri
AJ Lawson, South Carolina
All-Freshman Team
Joshua Primo, Alabama
Moses Moody, Arkansas
Sharife Cooper, Auburn
KD Johnson, Georgia
Isaiah Jackson, Kentucky
Cameron Thomas, LSU
Keon Johnson, Tennessee
Jaden Springer, Tennessee
All-Defensive Team
Herbert Jones, Alabama
Isaiah Jackson, Kentucky
Abdul Ado, Mississippi State
Dru Smith, Missouri
Yves Pons, Tennessee
Coach of the Year: Nate Oats, Alabama
Player of the Year: Herbert Jones, Alabama
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Dylan Disu, Vanderbilt
Freshman of the Year: Moses Moody, Arkansas
Sixth-Man of the Year: JD Notae, Arkansas
Defensive Player of the Year: Herbert Jones, Alabama
This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 10:37 AM.
