The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced the 2018-19 NABC Division I All-District honors Friday. Three Vols and head Coach Rick Barnes were honored by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division I.
Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield were tabbed to NABC All-District 21 First Team, while Jordan Bone earned a spot on the second team.
Williams, a National Player of the Year candidate, has been one of the nation’s most all-around players this year, averaging 19.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. He is also shooting 57 percent from the field and an impressive 83 percent from the charity stripe.
Williams’ list of postseason honors is already impressive. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has been named SEC Player of the Year and a first-team All-SEC performer—both for the second straight season. He was also named to the SEC Community Service Team, SEC All-Tournament Team, United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) District IV Player of the Year and is a first-team All-American by Sporting News and the USBWA.
The junior forward is also up for consideration for several other player of the year honors, being tabbed to the Men’s National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award, a 2019 Citizen Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Year finalist, a 2018-19 Oscar Robertson Trophy finalist and a Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year finalist.
Schofield and Bone—both of whom earned All-SEC recognition following outstanding regular seasons—stand as Tennessee’s second- and third-leading scorers, respectively. Schofield averages 16.2 points while shooting .476 from the field and .411 from 3-point range. Bone dishes out 6.0 assists per game, owns a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio and adds 13.5 points per game.
In addition to the Tennessee players who earned NABC honors, Barnes also garnered accolades for his leading the Volunteers to one of their finest seasons in program history.
For the second time in as many years, Barnes was selected as the NABC All-District Coach for District 21.
Tennessee enters NCAA Tournament play with a 29-5 record. A first-round win over Colgate Friday would give UT its second-ever 30-win season.
The Vols spent four weeks atop the national rankings and, for the first time ever, spent the entire season ranked in the top 10 in both the AP and coaches polls. Tennessee defeated three opponents with a top-five ranking.
A school-record 19-game win streak from November through February also marked the longest win streak of Barnes’ head coaching career.
This marks his 24th career NCAA Tournament appearance—most among active SEC coaches.
Barnes already has been named the USBWA District IV Coach of the Year for the second straight season and is a finalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy Men’s College Coach of the Year and the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year awards.
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