No ties this time. Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl was named SEC men’s basketball Coach of the Year by the Associated Press media panel on Monday.

Pearl shared the honor with Kentucky’s Billy Gillispie in the SEC coaches’ vote announced last week.

Two Vols will take All-SEC honors to Birmingham for Tennessee’s NCAA tournament opener Friday against American University (12:15 p.m., TV: WVLT).

Chris Lofton and Tyler Smith were named AP first-team All-SEC, along with Shan Foster of Vanderbilt, Richard Hendrix of Alabama, Jamont Gordon of Mississippi State and Devan Downey of South Carolina.

Foster was named Player of the Year. Florida freshman Nick Calathes was named Newcomer of the Year.

Calathes also made the second-team All-SEC squad, along with Kentucky teammates Patrick Patterson and Ramel Bradley, Charles Rhodes of Mississippi State, LSU’s Marcus Thornton and Sonny Weems of Arkansas.

UT’s JaJuan Smith was one of six players receiving honorable mention.

Lofton All-America: Lofton on Monday was named second-team All-America by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

The USBWA first-team was headlined by North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough. Other first-teamers were Michael Beasley of Kansas State, D.J. Augustin of Texas, Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis and Kevin Love of UCLA.

Beasley is the USBWA Freshman of the Year.

Joining Lofton on the second-team All-America were Foster of Vanderbilt, Luke Harangody of Notre Dame, D.J. White of Indiana and A.J. Price of Connecticut.

Early Work: The Vols are practicing early this week to get in tune for the 12:15 p.m. tipoff against American on Friday at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

Pearl put the Vols through a light day Monday. Today will be the hardest practice of the week. The team will work early Wednesday before getting on the bus for Birmingham.

Good History: The BJCC has good NCAA vibes for Tennessee. In 2000, the Vols beat Louisiana-Lafayette and Connecticut there to advance to the Sweet 16 round in Austin, Texas.

Bad History: Tennessee is 0-3 in postseason play against American coach Jeff Jones.

Jones was a teammate of Ralph Sampson’s when Virginia eliminated UT from the NCAA tournament in 1981 and again in 1982.

In 1992, Jones was Virginia’s coach when the Cavaliers bumped the Vols out of the NIT, 77-52, in Charlottesville, Va.

Tough Win: The Vols hope beating American won’t require the dramatics it took to win the only previous meeting between the teams.

Gary Carter’s half-court shot at the buzzer saved a 59-58 win on Dec. 18, 1981, at Stokely Athletics Center.

The 2008 Associated Press All-SEC men’s basketball team released Monday, with name, school, position, height and class (u-unanimous choice to first team):

FIRST TEAM

u-Shan Foster, Vanderbilt, F, 6-6, Sr.

u-Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State, G-F, 6-4, Jr.

Richard Hendrix, Alabama, F, 6-8, Jr.

Chris Lofton, Tennessee, G, 6-2, Sr.

Tyler Smith, Tennessee, F, 6-7, So.

Devan Downey, South Carolina, G, 5-9, So.

SECOND TEAM

Charles Rhodes, Mississippi State, F, 6-8, Sr.

Patrick Patterson, Kentucky, F, 6-9, Fr.

Ramel Bradley, Kentucky, G, 6-2, Sr.

Marcus Thornton, LSU, G, 6-4, Jr.

Nick Calathes, Florida, G-F, 6-6, Fr.

Sonny Weems, Arkansas, F, 6-6, Sr.

Dwayne Curtis, Mississippi, C, 6-8, Sr.

HONORABLE MENTION

Joe Crawford, Kentucky, G, 6-5, Sr.; Sundiata Gaines, Georgia, G, 6-1, Sr.; A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt, C, 6-10, Fr.; Anthony Randolph, LSU, F, 6-10, Fr.; JaJuan Smith, Tennessee, G, 6-2, Sr.; Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State, C, 6-9, So.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR — Shan Foster, Vanderbilt

COACH OF THE YEAR — Bruce Pearl, Tennessee

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR — Nick Calathes, Florida

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.