Gator Country

Ray Shipman was selected as the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2010 Men's Basketball / Gator Country Photo by Tim Casey

Led by the 2010 Southeastern Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year in Gator sophomore Ray Shipman (Miramar, Fla.), three Florida basketball players received 2010 conference accolades, announced by the league Tuesday.

Joining Shipman, sophomore Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was named a second team All-SEC selection and freshman Kenny Boynton (Pompano Beach,
Fla.) was tabbed an SEC All-Freshman honoree. The awards come two days prior to the kick off of the 2010 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Nashville.

Bringing in the 2010 Scholar Athlete of the Year award, Shipman becomes the third UF winner since the 2004 installment of the award, as Gator Lee Humphrey won in both 2006 and 2007.

Shipman, who has earned a 3.45 Grade Point Average as a Sport Management major at UF, has been a solid contributor for the Gators off the bench, most recently contributing nine points in UF’s close match-up on the road with Kentucky. Shipman has played in 29 of Florida’s games, with one start against FAMU Dec. 1, and had a career-best game with 10 points, including four field goals, as the Gators upset then-No. 2 Michigan State, 77-74, Nov. 27.

Walker, a 2010 Second Team All-SEC selection, gave the Gators at least one First or Second Team All-SEC player for the 11th consecutive season. For Walker, UF’s second-leading scorer with 12.6 points per game this season, the SEC honor was the second of his career after being named to the SEC All-Freshman Team last season. In addition to his scoring contributions, Walker has dished out a team-high 155 assists, grabbed a leading 45 steals and is an 80 percent free throw shooter for the Orange and Blue.

For the third year in a row, the Gators placed a freshman, Boynton, on the SEC All-Freshman team. Boynton leads the Gators in scoring, averaging 13.5 points per game, and has been the Gators’ leading scorer in a team-high nine games this season. Boynton has scored in double-digits 23 of Florida’s 31 games to date, with 20 or more points in seven.

Boynton, Shipman, Walker and the Gators (20-11, 9-7 SEC) will take on Auburn (15-16, 6-10 SEC) in the first round of the SEC Tournament at Gladstone Arena in Nashville Thursday. Game time is slated for 7:30 p.m. (ET) and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Coaches All-SEC Teams

First Team All-SEC

*Trey Thompkins, Georgia, 6-10, 247, SO Lithonia, GA
*DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky, 6-11, 270 FR Mobile, AL
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky, 6-9, 235, JR Huntington, WV
*John Wall, Kentucky, 6-4, 195, FR Raleigh, NC
Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State, 6-9, 230, Sr., Brownsville, TN
*Devan Downey, South Carolina, 5-9, 170, SR Chester, SC
Wayne Chism, Tennessee, 6-9, 246, SR Jackson, TN
*Jermaine Beal, Vanderbilt, 6-3, SR 205, DeSoto, TX

Second Team All-SEC

Mikhail Torrance, Alabama, 6-5, 210, SR Eight Mile, AL
Courtney Fortson, Arkansas, 5-11, 180, SO Montgomery, AL
Erving Walker, Florida, 5-10, 171, SO Brooklyn, NY
Tasmin Mitchell, LSU, 6-7, 238, SR Denham Springs, LA
Chris Warren, Ole Miss, 5-10, 168, JR Orlando, FL
Dee Bost, Mississippi State, 6-2, 170, SO, Concord, NC
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt, 6-11, JR 255, Sydney, Australia
Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt, 6-7, SO 210, Norrkoping, Sweden

SEC All-Freshman Team

Tony Mitchell, Alabama, 6-6, 185, FR Swainsboro, GA
*Marshawn Powell, Arkansas, 6-7, 220, FR Newport News, VA
Kenny Boynton, Florida, 6-2, 183, FR Pompano Beach, FL
*Eric Bledsoe, Kentucky, 6-1, 190, FR Birmingham, AL
*DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky, 6-11, 270, FR Mobile, AL
*John Wall, Kentucky, 6-4, 195, Fr., Raleigh, NC
Reginald Buckner, Ole Miss, 6-8, 233, Fr., Memphis, TN
*John Jenkins, Vanderbilt, 6-4, 215, Hendersonville, TN

SEC All-Defensive Team

Patrick Patterson, Kentucky, 6-9, 235, Jr., Huntington, WV
*Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State, 6-9, 230, Sr., Brownsville, TN
Devan Downey, South Carolina, 5-9, 170, Sr., Chester, SC
Sam Muldrow, South Carolina, 6-9, 220, Jr., Florence, SC
Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt, 6-7, SO, 210, Norrkoping, Sweden

SEC Coach of the Year: Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt

SEC Player of the Year: John Wall, Kentucky

SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Ray Shipman, Florida

SEC Freshman of the Year: DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky

SEC Sixth-Man of the Year: John Jenkins, Vanderbilt

SEC Defensive Player of the Year: *Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State

* Unanimous selection

More Basketball | RSS