by UofSC Athletic Communications
COLUMBIA, S.C. - A trio of Gamecocks were honored with SEC postseason accolades today from the league's coaches. Senior guard Hassani Gravett was named the Sixth Man of the Year, senior forward Chris Silva was named First Team All-SEC and to the All-Defensive Team for the second-straight campaign, and rookie guard A.J. Lawson was named to the All-Freshman Team.
Silva becomes the first Gamecock to earn First-Team honors in consecutive seasons since Carolina great Devan Downey was named to the First Team in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Silva led the Gamecocks in conference contests this season in points (16.3), rebounds (7.9) and blocks per game (2.1). He was 53.3 percent from the field, connected on 14-of-28 attempts from 3, and was 102-of-130 at the foul line (78.5%) in SEC play. Silva registered eight double-doubles in SEC games this season, and scored in double figures 14 times. He posted a career high 32 points in Carolina's home victory over No. 16/15 Auburn, and just last week pulled down 17 rebounds in the road win at Texas A&M for a career high in the category. South Carolina has now had an All-SEC First-Team honoree from the league's coaches in each of the last four seasons - 2016, Michael Carrera; 2017, Sindarius Thornwell, and Silva in 2018 and 2019.
Lawson was second on the team with 14.0 points per SEC contest, before missing the last three games of conference play with an ankle injury. He had nine double-figure scoring contests in league games, eight matchups with three or more assists and also pulled down 4.2 rebounds per outing. Lawson marks the first Gamecock on the All-Freshman Team since Sindarius Thornwell (2014) and the third in Martin's seven seasons at Carolina, as Michael Carrera (2013) also earned All-Freshman Team accolades during his career. Lawson scored an SEC season high 24 points in two Gamecock wins, the road victory at Vanderbilt and the come-from-behind home win over Arkansas. His season high six 3-pointers led the Gamecocks in the home win over Texas A&M and he dished an SEC high six assists in the win over Ole Miss.
Gravett has put together the best season of his career in 2018-19, posting career highs in nearly every statistical category. In league play, he had 13 double-figure scoring games, 11 contests with three or more 3-pointers and he recorded three or more assists eight times. After starting 22 contests a year ago, Gravett embraced his role off the bench this season, thriving during his senior campaign. Gravett is Carolina's third Sixth Man of the Year in program history, and the second under Martin, as Gamecock standout Duane Notice earned the honor in 2016. He scored an SEC season high 22 points in the road victory at Florida behind four 3-pointers against the Gators. He had a stretch of three straight games with four made from beyond the arc midway through the league campaign, helping to propel the Gamecocks to home wins over Texas A&M and Ole Miss. Entering postseason play, Gravett has hit double-figures in four-straight contests, averaging 15.3 points per game during the stretch.
2019 SEC Coaches Postseason Awards
First Team All-SEC
Daniel Gafford, Arkansas
PJ Washington, Kentucky
Tremont Waters, LSU
Breein Tyree, Ole Miss
Quinndary Weatherspoon, Mississippi St.
Chris Silva, South Carolina
Admiral Schofield, Tennessee
Grant Williams, Tennessee
Second Team All-SEC
Bryce Brown, Auburn
Jared Harper, Auburn
Nicolas Claxton, Georgia
Tyler Herro, Kentucky
Keldon Johnson, Kentucky
Skylar Mays, LSU
Terence Davis, Ole Miss
Jordan Bone, Tennessee
All-Freshman Team
Kira Lewis Jr., Alabama
Isaiah Joe, Arkansas
Andrew Nembhard, Florida
Tyler Herro, Kentucky
Keldon Johnson, Kentucky
Naz Reid, LSU
Reggie Perry, Mississippi State
A.J. Lawson, South Carolina
All-Defensive Team
Donta Hall, Alabama
Daniel Gafford, Arkansas
Ashton Hagans, Kentucky
Tremont Waters, LSU
Chris Silva, South Carolina
Coach of the Year: Kermit Davis, Ole Miss Player of the Year: Grant Williams, Tennessee Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Skylar Mays, LSU Freshman of the Year: Keldon Johnson, Kentucky Sixth-Man of the Year: Hassani Gravett, South Carolina Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Tremont Waters, LSU & Ashton Hagans, Kentucky
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