Pac-12 Insider: Doug Haller's all-conference picks
The Pac-12 will announce its conference awards Monday. Coaches vote on those selections. With just a few days left in the regular season, here are mine. Please note: The conference makes 10 first-team selections and five second-team selections. I'll do three teams of five. (Also, I value conference over non-conference performance.)
PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
T.J. McConnell, Arizona. No, he doesn't have the best numbers. He's not even the most talented player on his team. But no Pac-12 player means more to his team's success than the gritty, pass-first McConnell. The senior point guard sets the tone. He produces in the clutch. He fuels the conference's best team.
FIRST-TEAM ALL-PAC-12
G Delon Wright, Sr., Utah
If you don't appreciate Wright's game, you don't enjoy basketball. He's the rare star who doesn't need 15 shots to make an impact. He rarely forces anything, he's always in control and he does it on both ends.
G Joseph Young, Sr., Oregon
Not only is Young the Pac-12's leading scorer, he's the conference's most dangerous scorer, the type who can carry a team in the postseason.
G T.J. McConnell, Sr., Arizona
If Pac-12 coaches select McConnell as Player of the Year, he'll become the first transfer to win the award since California's Ed Gray in 1997.
G Norman Powell, Sr., UCLA
The Bruins are on the NCAA Tournament bubble. They wouldn't be here without Powell, who has been outstanding during the conference season. In addition to his strong perimeter defense, he's averaged 17.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2 steals in Pac-12 action.
F Stanley Johnson, Fr., Arizona
On nearly every other Pac-12 team, Johnson would average 20 points. At Arizona, he's learned to produce within the framework of coach Sean Miller's team.
SECOND TEAM
G Chasson Randle, Sr., Stanford
G Gary Payton II, Jr., Oregon State
G Anthony Brown, Sr., Stanford
F Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Soph., Arizona
F Josh Hawkinson, Soph., Washington State
THIRD TEAM
G Brandon Taylor, Jr., Utah
G Tyrone Wallace, Jr., California
G Askia Booker, Sr., Colorado
G Nigel Williams-Goss, Soph., Washington
F Kevon Looney, Fr., UCLA
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Arizona. Oregon State's Gary Payton II has better defensive numbers, but Hollis-Jefferson is the better on-ball defender, capable of guarding point guards or power forwards.
PAC-12 ALL-DEFENSE
G T.J. McConnell, Sr., Arizona
G Brandon Taylor, Jr., Utah
G Delon Wright, Sr., Utah
G Gary Payton II, Jr., Oregon State
F Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Soph., Arizona
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Stanley Johnson, Arizona. Just like Aaron Gordon last year, Johnson was an impact player from the time he stepped on campus. Also like Gordon, his time in Tucson won't last long.
PAC-12 ALL-FRESHMAN
G Tra Holder, Arizona State
F Stanley Johnson, Arizona
F Dillon Brooks, Oregon
F Kevon Looney, UCLA
C Jakob Poeltl, Utah
MOST IMPROVED
Josh Hawkinson, Washington State. The easiest pick of the bunch. Last year, Hawkinson averaged 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds. This year, the 6-10 sophomore has 18 double-doubles, which ties for fourth-most in the country. Overall, he averages 14.6 points and 10.9 rebounds, shooting 85.5 percent from the foul line.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Dana Altman, Oregon. Ten months ago, Oregon was a mess. A sexual-assault investigation rocked the program. Three players (including two with starting experience) were dismissed. At least one national writer called for Altman's job. Given that backdrop, no one expected much this season. The Ducks lost seven of their top nine scorers. And yet, here they sit at 22-8 and 12-5 in the Pac-12, positioned to make their third consecutive NCAA Tournament. Altman has done a nice job with a talented crop of newcomers, and he has the Ducks again playing their best at the best time.
