Tide's Hendrix Named All-SEC By Coaches

Richard Hendrix is the only player in the Southeastern Conference to average a double-double in points and rebounds as the league’s players head into the 2008 SEC Tournament in Atlanta. And it’s feats like that that earned the attention of the SEC’s head coaches. The 6-foot-9, 250 pound junior power forward from Athens has been voted to the SEC Coaches All-SEC first team.

Last season Richard Hendrix was second team Associated Press and Coaches All-SEC and in 2006 he was SEC Coaches Freshman All-SEC. Last week the National Association of Basketball Coaches named him to its All-District team.

Hendrix leads Alabama with his averages of 17.7 points and 10.1 rebounds. Those averages find him leading the SEC in rebounding after 31 games and ranking fourth in scoring. He ranks 13th in the nation in field goal percentages at 60.2.

Joining him on the Coaches' All-SEC Team are Sonny Weems of Arkansas, Kentucky’s Ramel Bradley, a pair of Mississippi State players Jamont Gordon and Charles Rhodes, South Carolina’s Devan Downey, Tennessee’s Chris Lofton and Tyler Smith and Vanderbilt’s Shan Foster.

Foster was the coaches’ choice for SEC Player of the Year.

Kentucky’s Billy Gillispie and Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl tied in the voting for SEC Coach of the Year.

Florida's Nick Calathes and Kentucky's Patrick Patterson shared the SEC Freshman of the Year award and Georgia's Dave Bliss earned SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State was a unanimous pick as SEC Defensive Player of the Year and Tennessee's J.P. Prince earned SEC's Sixth Man of the Year honors.

Hendrix and his Tide teammates are headed to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta where they will play Florida in the first round of the 2008 SEC Tournament on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CDT/7:30 EDT.