Men's Basketball Holds Annual Awards Banquet
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas men’s basketball team held its annual awards dinner on Monday evening in Bud Walton Arena as the players, coaching staff and fans gathered to recognize the 2017-18 squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four years.
Senior guard Daryl Macon and freshman forward Daniel Gafford each took home the most awards, gathering three honors each. Macon earned Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Razorback Assist Award and Razorback Free Throw Award. Gafford took home the Chairman of the Boards award and the Co-Razorback Most Improved Award, along with being named Defensive Player of the Year.
Macon led the Razorbacks for the second straight season in assists, as the Little Rock native dished out 138 dimes as a senior, 58 more than his team-best 80 the season before. Macon also led the Razorbacks in free throw shooting, as well as the SEC as a senior, shooting 87.5 percent from the charity stripe, going 154-of-176. In the final minute and overtime of games this season, Macon went 36-of-37 at the free throw line, including a 66-of-71 mark in his career. The first team All-SEC selection by the Associated Press was the only player in the conference to rank in the top 10 in free-throw percentage (1st), 3-point field goal percentage (3rd), scoring average (5th) and assists (6th).
Gafford was named to the SEC All-Freshman team by the league coaches after averaging 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks last season. The El Dorado, Arkansas, native joined Bobby Portis and Patrick Beverley as the only Razorbacks in program history to ever be named SEC Freshman of the Week three times. He played all 35 games as a freshman, starting 26 of the final 27 games of the season. The big man became the first Arkansas freshman in program history to record 400 points, 200 rebounds and 70 blocks in a season. Along with setting the Arkansas freshman record for blocks in a season with 76, he also ranked third in offensive rebounds (77), third in defensive rebounds (140) and second in overall rebounds (217) among freshmen in program history.
Four other Razorbacks took home multiple awards, as Jaylen Barford, Anton Beard, Trey Thompson and Gabe Osabuohien each received two.
Barford, a first-team All-SEC selection by the league coaches, took home the Co-Offensive Player of the Year award and the Co-Razorback Most Improved Award. Barford led Arkansas in scoring as a senior, after adding range to his shot, hitting 87-of-201 (.443) three-point attempts, the best mark in the SEC. Barford was one of only two players (Macon) in the SEC to rank in the top 10 in 3-point field goal percentage (1st), scoring average (3rd) and field goal percentage (6th).
Beard was awarded the HAWG Award and one of two to take home the Razorback Coaches Award, along with Thompson. Beard was one of two Razorbacks, along with Barford, to start all 35 games last season. The North Little Rock native averaged 9.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest last season. He finished second on the team with 21 three-plus assist games.
Along with the Razorback Coaches Award, Thompson received the Razorback Service Award. Thompson was named to the SEC Community Service Team for the first time in his career during his senior year for his accomplishments away from the court. Thompson averaged 3.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists last year.
Arkansas Men’s Basketball 2017-18 Team Awards
Razorback Performance Award: Jonathan Holmes and Adrio Bailey
Academic Excellence Award: Gabe Osabuohien
Razorback Assist Award: Daryl Macon
Razorback Free Throw Award: Daryl Macon
Razorback Service Award: Trey Thompson
Razorback Ironman Award: Gabe Osabuohien
Razorback HAWG Award: Anton Beard
Chairman of the Boards Award: Daniel Gafford
Razorback Coaches Award: Anton Beard and Trey Thompson
Most Improved Player Award: Jaylen Barford and Daniel Gafford
Offensive Player of the Year: Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon
Defensive Player of the Year: Daniel Gafford
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