Awards keep coming

How many awards does it take to recognize UK’s stellar freshman class and the No. 2 UK men’s basketball team (32-2, 14-2 Southeastern Conference)?

A lot.

On Monday UK freshman guard John Wall was named the SEC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year by the Associated Press, and UK head coach John Calipari was named SEC Coach of the year by the AP.

Fellow freshman DeMarcus Cousins, who hit UK’s game-tying shot as time expired in the SEC Tournament Championship game and the eventual game-winning free throw in overtime, joined Wall as an AP First Team All-SEC selection.

Junior forward Patrick Patterson was named to the AP Second Team All-SEC.

Cousins and Wall are two of 26 players selected to the National Ballot for the 2010 John R. Wooden Award, given to college basketball’s most outstanding player.

On March 9 Wall and Cousins were named to FOXSports.com‘s and CBSSports.com‘s First Team All-America and All-Freshman teams. Wall was also named Freshman of the Year by both Web sites.

Wall was also named a First Team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers’ Association. Cousins was named to the second team. Wall and Cousins were the only freshman to be named to the first or second team. The USBWA’s National Player of the Year award will be announced March 22 and presented April 2.

UK has never won a National Player of the Year award from Naismith, Wooden, Oscar Robertson, Rupp, NABC or AP.

Wall, Cousins and Eric Bledsoe were named to the SEC’s All-Tournament team on Sunday following their win over Mississippi State in the championship.