Oregon's Joseph Young voted Pac-12 Player of the Year

In a vote of the 12 Conference coaches, OREGON senior guard Joseph Young has been named the 2014-15 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Player of the Year; ARIZONA forward Stanley Johnson was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year; OREGON STATE junior guard Gary Payton II has been named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year; WASHINGTON STATE sophomore forward Josh Hawkinson has been named Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year; and Dana Altman of OREGON is the John R. Wooden Coach of the Year, Commissioner Larry Scott announced today.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Joseph Young, Oregon

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Stanley Johnson, Arizona
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Gary Payton II, Oregon State
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Josh Hawkinson, Washington State
JOHN R. WOODEN COACH OF THE YEAR: Dana Altman, Oregon

PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
YOUNG is Oregon’s fourth Player of the Year, joining the likes of former Duck guards Ron Lee (1975-76), Terrell Brandon 1990-91), and Luke Ridnour (2002-03) with his honor. The senior guard from Houston, Texas, averaged 19.8 points and 3.7 assists through the regular season, leading Oregon to a 23-8 overall record and a 13-5 mark in Pac-12 play that landed the Ducks in a second-place tie. Young also paced the league in free throw percentage (.918) and three-point field goals made per game (2.5). In two seasons at Oregon, Young scored 1,257 points. Only Terrell Brandon scored more during a two-year period with 1,263 points. Combining his two seasons at Houston, Young has scored 2,173 points in his college career. 

PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
JOHNSON makes it back-to-back Freshman of the Year accolades for the Wildcats as he follows last year’s recipient Aaron Gordon. He’s the fourth Wildcat to earn the honor in the last nine years, and the eighth overall since the award’s inception fol-lowing the 1978-79. He averaged a team-leading 13.9 points, which was most among all Pac-12 freshmen, and 6.6 rebounds per game. A finalist for the Tisdale Award, honoring the nation’s top freshman, Johnson also finished the regular season ranked in the top 10 in the Conference in steals per game (fifth, 1.5 spg).

PAC-12 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
PAYTON II is the third Beaver to be voted Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, joining his father Gary Payton (1986-87) and Seth Tarver (2009-10). After the older Payton won the honor in 1987, the league discontinued the award until it was reinstated in 2008. The junior finished the regular season with a league-leading 92 steals (3.1 spg). His 92 thefts are fifth-most in a single season in Pac-12 history and only trails his father’s school record 100 steals set in 1990. Payton was key in leading the Beavers’ defense, allowing just 58.5 ppg, which ranked second in the Pac-12. 

PAC-12 MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR
HAWKINSON becomes the second Cougar (also, Brock Motum in 2011-12) to receive the Most Improved Player of the Year award. After averaging 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds per game during his freshman season, Hawkinson exceeded all expectations as he averaged 14.7 points and a league-leading 10.8 rebounds. He grabbed a school single-season record 19 double-doubles, passing Jim McKean’s record of 17 in 1967. He also etched his name in the WSU record book as he grabbed a single-season record-tying 323 rebounds. His 19 double-doubles currently ranks fifth among Division I players.

PAC-12 JOHN R. WOODEN COACH OF THE YEAR
ALTMAN guided Oregon to a tie for a second-place finish in the Pac-12 race after being picked to finish eight by the media in the annual preseason Pac-12 Men’s Basketball poll. Oregon posted a final record of 23-8 overall and 13-5 in Pac-12. Under Altman, the Ducks have posted 20 or more wins in a school-record five consecutive seasons. Altman’s career record stands at 530-298 over his 26 seasons of head coaching, including a 120-55 record in five seasons at Oregon. He now has 18 consecutive winning seasons as a head coach (13 at Creighton, 5 at Oregon). Only six other active coaches in Division I can stake that claim – Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Roy Williams (North Carolina), Bill Self (Kansas), Jim Boeheim (Sy-racuse) and Stew Morrill (Utah State). It’s the second time in three seasons that Altman has been honored as the league’s Coach of the Year, and the fourth time an Oregon coach has earned the distinction – Altman (2015, 2013), Ernie Kent (2002), and Dick Harter (1977).

THE VOTE: Coach of the Year, All-Conference, All-Freshman, All-Defensive teams and Most Improved Player are voted on by
the coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for themselves or their own players for the honors.