SAN FRANCISCO – A popular mantra in the Arizona Basketball program with players and head coach
Sean Miller is "With team success, comes individual accolades". The regular season champions of the Pac-12 Conference this season showed the truth of that quote by dominating the Pac-12's conference awards.
Deandre Ayton was voted to six different honors by the league's coaches, leading an Arizona-heavy award list that also included
Allonzo Trier,
Dusan Ristic and
Rawle Alkins.
Ayton was named Pac-12 Player of the Year as he destroyed numerous freshman, team and conference records. The Nassau, Bahamas native was also the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, finishing the regular season ranked in the top five of the conference in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks. He was a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Week after numerous record-breaking performances and averaged 19.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game for the regular season. Perhaps none of Ayton's memorable games was more emphatic than his 26-point, 20-rebound showing versus California on Senior Day that made him the first Wildcat to post a 20-20 game since Al Fleming in the 1975-76 season. The All-American candidate was also voted to the league's All-Conference First Team and All-Defensive Team.
The 7-foot-1-inch freshman was selected to the Pac-12 All-Conference First team alongside junior
Allonzo Trier. Trier's first team nod comes after posting one of the best scoring and most efficient seasons in college basketball at 18.9 points per game. He finished fourth in the conference in scoring, tenth in field goal percentage, fourth in free throw percentage, tenth in three-point field goal percentage and tenth in three-point field goals made. Trier spent much of the season as one of only three players in the nation to shoot greater than 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from beyond the arc and 85 percent at the free throw line. The Seattle native opened the season by posting back-to-back games 32 and 31 points, which earned him Pac-12 Player of the Week honors for the third time in his career.
Dusan Ristic became the program's all-time winningest player in a storybook senior season, surpassing Kaleb Tarczewski and Matt Muehlebach. The highlight-filled season included Ristic winning conference player of the week honors for his strong showing in home wins over Colorado and Utah. The center averaged 17 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting an incredible 81 percent from the field for that week. Ristic finished the regular season averaging 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 57.0 percent from the field and 78.9 percent at the free throw line. His award-winning performance also included perhaps the most memorable trio of three-pointers in McKale Center history. Ristic also became the 28
th player in UA history to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds in a career.
Rawle Alkins followed up his Pac-12 All-Freshman selection a year ago by earning Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention as a sophomore. Alkins gave the Wildcats a little bit of everything in 2017-18, spending games as UA's leading scorer, leading rebounder, lead assist man and steals leader. Included in his many highlights was his SportsCenter Top 10 reverse, spinning dunk versus Oregon State in McKale Center. The sophomore finished the regular season averaging 13.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. After scoring 20 points or more just once as a freshman, Alkins eclipsed the 20-point mark five times as a sophomore. That handful of big scoring games includes his 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting in his team's win at New Mexico in just Alkins' second appearance of the season.
With the regular season championship secured, by a full two games, the Wildcats will look to defend their Pac-12 Tournament championship as well. UA opens tourney play in Las Vegas on Thursday, March 8 with the winner of the Arizona State-Colorado match-up.
