Four Tide players make All-SEC honors ahead of the tournament

By WVUA 23 Digital Reporter Jeremy Bryant.

The SEC announced  the 2022 edition of the postseason awards Tuesday, with four players from the University of Alabama Men’s basketball team making All-SEC honors. Jaden Shackelford leads all players while enjoying his second consecutive year being honored as one of the best players in the conference.

Shackelford managed to make it onto the All-SEC second team after having an exceptional regular season while being a Top-10 scorer in the conference. JD Davison and Charles Bediako were selected to the All-Freshman team extending the streak of Alabama having a player earn such an honor to six, with Shackelford being the lone recipient in 2021.

Davison has had a rollercoaster season, but has shown flashes of brilliance that will likely land him high in the NBA draft on June 23. Bediako has become the rim protector that head coach Nate Oats envisioned him to be, and the hard work is paying off as he is becoming one of the more feared inside defenders in the conference coming away with the third-most blocks.

Keon Ellis also managed to grab a spot on the All-Defensive team securing his place as one of the most sound perimeter defenders snatching the seventh-most steals in the regular season. He took over for former defensive player of the year Herbert Jones, who became a stalwart in coach Oats’ system in previous years. Alabama has yielded a player on the All-Defensive list for five straight years after Jones and Donta Hall won the honor in back-to-back years.

All  four players will be counted on heavily as the Tide awaits their next opponent in the SEC tournament; They will face the winner between Georgia and Vanderbilt. Georgia gave Alabama a wake-up call when they beat the Tide in late January. Coach Oat’s squad squeaked by Vanderbilt with a 74-72 victory before losing two of their final three games of the regular season.

The team currently sits as a No. 6 seed with selection Sunday creeping up with Alabama having a good possibility of being announced as one of the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament, if they are able to get hot in the SEC Tournament.

The full list of the SEC honors can be viewed here.