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AP Coach of the Year honors went to Arizona's Tommy Lloyd, who
led the Wildcats to a 33-4 record in his first season with the
team.
Tshiebwe shot 60.6 percent from the field for the Wildcats and
posted the highest single-season rebounding average in Division
I since 1980. He joined Anthony Davis (2011-12) as the only AP
Player of the Year winners in Kentucky's illustrious history.
"It is amazing to join somebody like Anthony Davis," said
Tshiebwe, a transfer from West Virginia. "And that gives me
confidence and gives me more help for my future, too, for what
I'm trying to do and what I'm trying to accomplish."
Tshiebwe earned 46 of the 60 votes from the panel of AP Top 25
voters. Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis received 10 of the
remaining votes, while Iowa forward Keegan Murray (three votes)
and Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn (one) finished third and
fourth in the balloting.
Tshiebwe has not announced whether he plans to return to the
Wildcats, who were stunned by No. 15 seed Saint Peter's in the
first round of the NCAA Tournament. The 6-foot-9, 255-pound
forward from the Democratic Republic of Congo played 43 minutes
in that overtime contest, racking up 30 points and 16 boards.
Lloyd, who previously spent 22 seasons as an assistant at
Gonzaga, is just the third person to receive the AP Coach of the
Year award in his first season with a team. The other two were
Indiana State's Bill Hodges in 1979 and Drake's Keno Davis in
2008.
"I always tell people, it's an easy answer: I love coaching and
teaching," Lloyd said. "Everything basketball-wise I've done,
basically I've been a part of doing before, so I had a real
comfort level and a conviction in what I wanted to do."
Lloyd received 28 of the 61 votes, while Providence's Ed Cooley
got 21 votes. No other coach received more than three votes.
--Field Level Media
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