Norman Powell, Kevon Looney and Bryce Alford Win All-Pac-12 Honors

The Pac-12 has just released their list of all-conference honors, and Norman Powell tops the list of Bruins honored. Powell has been deservedly recognized with selection to the All-Pac-12 first team. Powell has also received honorable mention for the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.

As expected, Kevon Looney has been named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. Additionally, Looney has been awarded All-Pac-12 second team honors.

Bryce Alford is the third Bruin to receive recognition from the conference; Bryce has been named All-Pac-12 honorable mention.

Oregon's Joseph Young has been named Pac-12 Player of the Year. While I would have voted for Utah's Delon Wright for this award, the fact that Young leads the conference in scoring was undoubtedly the determining factor.

It should come as no surprise that Arizona's Stanley Johnson has been selected as Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Johnson is a more accomplished scorer than Kevon Looney, and the Walton principle (best player/best team) certainly played a part in the selection of Johnson over Looney.

Oregon State's Gary Payton II has been awarded Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. Washington State's Josh Hawkinson is the Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year, and Dana Altman is the Pac-12 Coach of the Year. In my opinion, Altman is particularly deserving of his award--he's done a tremendous job leading the Ducks to a second-place conference finish and a probable NCAA tournament bid.

The Pac-12 Conference website has a full list of all honorees.

Congratulations to Norman, Kevon and Bryce on their All-Pac-12 selections. For NP4 in particular, this is a well-deserved honor, not only for his achievements this season, but for four years of hard work and dedication to our basketball program.

Go BRUINS!