ATLANTA -- After an unbeaten run through the Southeastern Conference, top-ranked Florida reaped its rewards Monday. Dwayne Washington Jersey . Scottie Wilbekin was picked as The Associated Press Southeastern Conference player of the year, while Billy Donovan took the coaching honour for the second season in a row. Kentucky freshman Julius Randle was selected as newcomer of the year. The AP awards were announced one day after Florida defeated Kentucky 61-60 in the championship game of the SEC tournament. The Gators (32-2) were named top overall seed in the NCAAs and will open against either Albany or Mount St. Marys in the South Regional. Wilbekin and Randle were unanimous choices to the All-SEC first team, joined by Tennessee forward Jarnell Stokes, Florida forward Casey Prather and Missouri guard Jabari Brown. Wilbekin averaged 13 points and 3.8 assists a game. More important, the 6-foot-2 senior guard was the unquestioned leader for the Gators at both ends of the court, making amends from two suspensions that threatened his future with the program. He missed the first five games this season for an undisclosed violation of team rules, after behind held out the first three games the previous year. "I think when he went through that, our guys were like, OK, it happened one time, blah, blah, blah. But now it happens again, guys start pulling back, saying, OK, man, is this guy about us? Does this guy even care about us or our team?" Donovan said. Wilbekin worked hard to rebuild the relationship with his teammates, and it showed on the court. "He had to go through a long process of showing these guys that he cares and hes committed to them," Donovan said. "I think once he got through the end of that process, I think our guys kind of put their arms around him and were like, Wow, coach made this guy go through a lot. A lot of that had to do with me wanting to help him restore his credibility inside the team, and he had to do that and hes grown from that on and off the court." Wilbekin was named MVP of the SEC tournament. During hard-fought wins in both the semifinals and final, he would gather the team around him when things werent going Floridas way. "Coach cant talk to us all the time," he said, "so we try to huddle ourselves and say the right things among ourselves." Donovan repeated as coach of the year with Florida becoming the first team to go 18-0 in SEC games during the regular season. The Gators won three more games at the Georgia Dome this past weekend for their first tournament title since 2007. "Anytime you get those coaching honours or coaching awards, a lot of it is because youve got a good group and theyve done a great job," Donovan said. "I do think that when individual awards come out, its much, much more of a reflection of the people around you. Even with Scotties award, Id say the same thing. Its more of a reflection of the people around him. I think for me, its the players and the coaching staff, the people I have around me." Randle emerged as the top player from Kentuckys latest group of heralded freshmen. While some thought the Wildcats (24-10) underachieved -- after all, they started the season No. 1 and there was even speculation about whether they could go unbeaten -- the 6-foot-9 Randle led the conference in rebounding (10.5 a game) and ranked 10th in scoring (15.0). Kentucky was seeded eighth in the NCAAs and will open Friday against Kansas State in the Midwest Regional. "I feel like our chemistry is getting better," Randle said. "Were becoming a better team, getting better every game." Stokes, a 6-8 junior forward, helped Tennessee (21-12) join Florida and Kentucky as the only SEC schools in the 68-team NCAA field, ranking second to Randle in rebounding (10.3) and 12th in scoring (14.7). The Vols will face Iowa on Wednesday in a first-round game at Dayton. Prather was another of Floridas senior leaders. The 6-6 forward paced the Gators in scoring at 14.2 points per game. Brown, a 6-5 junior guard, led the SEC in scoring with an average of 19.8 points. Florida landed another player on the All-SEC second team: senior centre Patric Young. He was joined by Tennessee forward Jordan McRae, Alabama guard Trevor Releford and a pair of LSU forwards, Johnny OBryant III and Jordan Mickey. McRae and Releford both slipped to the second team after making the top squad in 2013. The 66th annual AP All-SEC team was selected by a 12-member regional media panel. AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Gainesville, Fla., contributed to this report. Quandre Diggs Jersey . CEO Steve Koonin on Tuesday told the Hawks flagship radio station that he made the decision to discipline Ferry but allowed him to keep his job managing the team. He did not say what the punishment was, but noted that he relied on a law firms three-month investigation of Ferry and him describing Deng as someone who has a little African in him. Haloti Ngata Jersey . The 30-year-old Kottaras served as Kansas Citys backup catcher last season after being claimed off waivers from Oakland in January.Now that another Olympic Games is over, many across Canada know the stories of our athletes and the various roads they took to get to their ultimate goal. But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Well, meet Derek Amell, 17-year NHL linesman and now an Olympian. When I turned on the mens hockey gold medal game between Canada and Sweden, I was happy to see that an old acquaintance would be working the lines for the biggest game on the worlds biggest stage. You see, over 25 years ago, Derek and I worked together at a drug store chain in Whitby, Ontario. I was a university student taking a year off school and he was a high school student looking to improve on his first job working the night shift at Burger King for $2.85/hr. There were two things I remembered about Derek back then: he was a lot bigger than me, and he had a very calm personality. Looking back, those are two good attributes for an NHL linesman. For Derek, the dream took off at the age of 24 when he worked his first Ontario Hockey League game. Three years later, he started working American Hockey League games and this is where our paths would cross again. I was an off-ice official with the Hamilton Canucks and Hamilton Bulldogs in the 1990s and we would touch base now and again at Copps Coliseum. I could see then that he was on his way to the NHL. "I felt the NHL was an attainable goal after working the AHLs Calder Cup Final in my first year," said Amell. He wouldnt have to wait long for the big moment. The following year, he found out he would be working NHL games in the upcoming season. In his first NHL season, the league made the decision to return to the Olympics in Nagano, meaning there was now another rung on the ladder of success for NHL players and officials. There would be some career highlights along the way, such as the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, the 2009 and 2012 Stanley Cup Finals as well as the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. Could the Olympics be next? And then he got the news. Unlike the athletes who are introduced at news conferences, Amell was contacted through e-mail by Stephen Walkom, the NHLs director of officiating. The message was sent on December 1, naming the 13 NHL officials who were chosen to work in Sochi. Of course, when athletes go to the Olympics, they stay in the Athletes Village and invite family and friends to share in the experience. Is it the same for the officials? "The officials stayed together in a hotel right inside the Olympic area. It was great to bee together with all the amateur officials," said Amell, who is a married father of two children but did not have any family join him in Sochi. Theo Riddick Jersey. To work the gold medal game, he had to prove himself again. "The gold medal officials were chosen by a panel of supervisors from various countries and it was based on performance during the tournament. We were told by e-mail after the semifinal games," said Amell. When the officials for the gold medal game were announced, former NHL player and Swedish international Peter Forsberg was incensed that Canadians would be working the game but some current Swedish players defended the decision, saying their nationality wouldnt affect their decision-making. "We knew there would be extreme scrutiny on the officiating when it was announced that the officials were Canadian," said Amell. "We knew the players would be comfortable with us since we are all in the NHL. It was more an issue with the media than with the players. "At the end of the game, the entire Swedish team came over and shook our hands and told us we did a great job. That was very satisfying for us." So which was more nerve-racking: the first NHL game or the gold medal game? "Working the gold medal game was the most nerve-racking game I have ever officiated," he admitted. Its been a long road from collecting shopping carts in Whitby to officiating at the gold medal game in Sochi. And while Amells appearance at the Olympics may not have been as celebrated as many of the athletes, or even noticed by most viewers, the accomplishment is no less significant. And just like the athletes, family plays an integral role in the success of officials, offering support and enduring hardships over the years. "Since we only work 6-8 games a year at home, the family sacrifices are large," said Amell. "I miss most of my childrens sports activities and birthdays. They understand the life of an NHL official, but it still can be very difficult on my wife and children," said Amell. As for the hundreds of people who show up at the airport for our returning athletes, how does the return of an official compare? "No one met me at the airport," Amell laughed. "It was like coming home from any other road trip!" The Olympics is a place where dreams can come true. Most people dream of winning a gold medal but dont tell Derek Amell that his accomplishment is anything less. He just achieved his Olympic goal with a lot less fanfare. And, like a linesman who goes unnoticed when he does a good job, thats the way he likes it. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
